Moral Absolute
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A moral (from
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''morālis'') is a
message A message is a unit of communication that conveys information from a sender to a receiver. It can be transmitted through various forms, such as spoken or written words, signals, or electronic data, and can range from simple instructions to co ...
that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a
story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Narrative, an account of imaginary or real people and events ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting ** News story, an event or topic reported by a news orga ...
or
event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...
. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a
maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment *Maxim (magazine), ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** Maxim (Australia), ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** Maxim (India), ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim ...
. A moral is a lesson in a story or real life.


Finding morals

As an example of an explicit maxim, at the end of Aesop's fable of
the Tortoise and the Hare "The Tortoise and the Hare" is one of Aesop's Fables and is numbered 226 in the Perry Index. The account of a race between unequal partners has attracted conflicting interpretations. The fable itself is a variant of a common folktale theme in w ...
, in which the plodding and determined tortoise won a race against the much-faster yet extremely arrogant hare, the stated moral is "slow and steady wins the race". However, other morals can often be taken from the story itself; for instance, that arrogance or overconfidence in one's abilities may lead to failure or the loss of an event, race, or contest. The use of
stock character A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a type of character in a narrative (e.g. a novel, play, television show, or film) whom audiences recognize across many narratives or as part of a storytelling tradition or convention. Th ...
s is a means of conveying the moral of the story by eliminating the complexity of personality and depicting the issues arising in the interplay between the characters, enabling the writer to generate a clear message. With more rounded characters, such as those typically found in
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
's
plays Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...
, the moral may be more nuanced but no less present, and the writer may point it out in other ways (see, for example, the
Prologue A prologue or prolog (from Ancient Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier st ...
to ''
Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
'').


Arts

Throughout the history of recorded literature, most fictional writing has served not only to entertain but also to instruct, inform, or improve their audiences or readership. In
classical drama Classical drama may refer to: *Theatre of ancient Greece *Theatre of ancient Rome The architectural form of theatre in Rome has been linked to later, more well-known examples from the 1st century BC to the 3rd Century AD. The theatre of ancient ...
, for example, the role of the
chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...
was to comment on the proceedings and draw out a message for the audience to take away with them. At the same time, the novels of Charles Dickens are a vehicle for morals regarding the social and economic system of
Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...
Britain. Morals have typically been more obvious in
children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...
, sometimes even being introduced with the phrase:
moral of the story is
…". Such explicit techniques have grown increasingly out of fashion in modern storytelling, and are now usually only included for
ironic Irony, in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what, on the surface, appears to be the case with what is actually or expected to be the case. Originally a rhetorical device and literary technique, in modernity, modern times irony has a ...
purposes. Some examples are: "Better to be safe than sorry" (
precautionary principle The precautionary principle (or precautionary approach) is a broad epistemological, philosophical and legal approach to innovations with potential for causing harm when extensive scientific knowledge on the matter is lacking. It emphasizes cautio ...
), "The evil deserves no aid", "Be friends with whom you don't like", "Don't judge people by the way they look", "Slow and steady wins the race", "Once started down the dark path, forever will it hold your destiny", and "Your overconfidence is your weakness".
Aesop's Fables Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a Slavery in ancient Greece, slave and storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 Before the Common Era, BCE. Of varied and unclear origins, the stor ...
is one of the most famous collections of stories with strong moral conclusions.


Moral tales

Moral tales were one of the main purposes of literature during 1780–1830, especially in
children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...
. Part of the reason for this was the writings of
John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...
and
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...
in the 18th century, which brought attention to children as an audience for literature. Following in their line of thought, Thomas Day (1748–1789) wrote ''
Sandford and Merton ''The History of Sandford and Merton'' (1783–89) was a best-selling children's book written by Thomas Day. He began it as a contribution to Richard Lovell and Honora Sneyd Edgeworth's ''Harry and Lucy'', a collection of short stories for chi ...
'', elevating the outstanding morals of one young boy above the rapscallion nature of another.
Maria Edgeworth Maria Edgeworth (1 January 1768 – 22 May 1849) was a prolific Anglo-Irish novelist of adults' and children's literature. She was one of the first realist writers in children's literature and a significant figure in the evolution of the novel i ...
(1776–1849) was another prominent author of moral tales, writing about how a wise adult can educate a child; one of her more famous stories is "
The Purple Jar "The Purple Jar" is a well-known short story by Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849), an Anglo-Irish writer of novels and stories. "The Purple Jar" first was published in ''The Parent's Assistant'' (1796) and reappeared in ''Rosamond'' (1801). Edgeworth's ...
". During this time, the theme of "a young heroine or hero gaining wisdom and maturity" was taken up by many other writers. The ability of children to derive moral lessons from stories and visual media develops around the age of 9 or 10 years. Research in developmental psychology has shown that children’s ability to understand and apply moral lessons from stories typically begins to develop between the ages of 9 and 10, as they become more capable of abstract thinking. In more recent children's literature, moral lessons continue to be conveyed through fantasy and adventure stories. For example, in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, themes of friendship, courage, and standing up for what is right are central moral messages that resonate with young readers.


See also

*
Allegory As a List of narrative techniques, literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a wikt:narrative, narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political signi ...
*
Morality play The morality play is a genre of medieval and early Tudor drama. The term is used by scholars of literary and dramatic history to refer to a genre of play texts from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries that feature personified concepts ( ...


References


External links

{{Authority control Narratology Literary theory