Fables & Proverbs

• What is a fable?
• What is a proverb?

• What purpose do they serve?

• Do they serve any purpose to a modern
audience?
Do you know any fables?
 What do proverbs actually mean?
• Dead men tell no tales
• Slow and steady wins the race [the tortoise and the hare]
• A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
• Sour grapes
• Look before you leap
• You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear
• A shy mouse
• Dog in a manger
• A sly fox
• A big fish in a small pond
• One swallow doesn’t make a summer
• Action speaks louder than words
• The jackdaw envies the eagle
• The pot calling the kettle black
• Donkeys would prefer to be lions
• He who laughs last, laughs longest
 Objectives:

• Develop understanding and interpretations of

“Mrs Aesop.”
 Aesop’s Fables
• Aesop was a Greek storyteller who was a slave during
the sixth century.
• His fables have been reproduced countless times, and
are well known across the world.
• Perhaps his most famous fable is that of the hare and
the tortoise with the well known moral slow and steady
wins the race.
• Historical information is little and unreliable but it has
been stated that he was small and unprepossessing.
• Want more fables? www.aesopfables.com
 First reading
• What is happening? • Personal response
• Who is mentioned? • Understanding
What are they like? • Details
• Where does the action
take place?
• When? What strikes you as you
• Why does the action read this poem?
take place? What stands out?
 Fables & Proverbs in the Poem
• Which proverbs are referenced in the poem?
• What effect does the referencing of the
proverbs have in the poem?
• Are any fables referenced in the poem?
• What effect does this have in the poem?
 Second reading
• How has the writer used • Unlocking deeper
language? Think about: meaning (AO1)
– Words and their connotations
– Who speaks • Rooting answers in the
– Strong imagery text (AO2)
– The inclusion of proverbs / • Analysing language
fables
– The tone of the poem (AO2)
– The use of graphology in the
poem
– Poetic techniques (simile,
metaphor, personification, etc.)
 Third reading
• How does Mrs Aesop • Developing your
gain power in the poem? interpretations (AO3)
• Does this poem have a
moral? What is it?
• Who has the last laugh?
Discuss these questions
Why?
with a partner and
• Why has Duffy given Mrs record some notes.
Aesop a voice?
• What struggle has Mrs
Aesop endured?
 What are you going to do to make sure you
learn from today’s lesson?
• Open book exam, but a
clean copy.
• 30 poems to cover, little
time for revision.

• Information is best
retained/learned when you:
– Convert it into different forms
– Revisit it frequently
– Do something active with it
– Use images and visual cues
Is this poem still a text transformation?

• WHAT has been retained by Duffy?

• WHAT has been altered by Duffy?
 Objectives:

• Develop understanding and interpretations of

“Mrs Aesop.”