Robert Henryson's development of the didactic role of the fable form in "The moral fables of Aesop"

INTENT: The purpose of the paper is to examine Henryson's collection of Aesopic and Reynardian Fables in the light of whatever instructive intent he may have had in undertaking the work. METHOD: The paper first examines both Henryson's personal history, and the social and legal background against which the fables were composed. There follows a brief discussion of the development of the fable form from its earliest appearances, incorporating an examination of Henryson's possible didactic intentions in selecting this format for his work. The paper then moves on to examine the various methods according to which instruction has been contained in the fables. This includes a discussion of such topics as Henryson's expansion of the originals, political criticism, the introduction of Aesop as a character, the use of humour and the operation of the "Fables" as a single work. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that Henryson does indeed incorporate both the original moral messages, and a full range of deeper messages, in his Fables without compromising their success as literature, or as entertainment