A moral (from
Latin ''morālis'') is a
message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a
story or
event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a
maxim. A moral is a lesson in a story or in real life.
Finding morals
As an example of an explicit maxim, at the end of
Aesop's fable of
the Tortoise and the Hare, 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 fictional character in a work of art such as a novel, play, or a film whom audiences recognize from frequent recurrences in a particular literary tradition. There is a wide range of st ...
s is a means of conveying the moral of the story by eliminating 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's
plays, 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 to ''
Romeo and Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
'').
Arts
Throughout the history of recorded literature, the majority of fictional writing has served not only to entertain but also to instruct, inform or improve their audiences or readership. In
classical drama, for example, the role of the
chorus was to comment on the proceedings and draw out a message for the audience to take away with them; while 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 literature ...
Britain.
Morals have typically been more obvious in
children's literature, sometimes even being introduced with the phrase:
The 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 purposes.
Some examples are: "Better to be safe than sorry" (
precautionary principle), "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 are the most famous of stories with strong moral conclusions.
Moral tales
Morals were one of the main purposes of literature during 1780–1830, especially in
children's literature. Part of the reason for this was the writings of
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...
and
Jean-Jacques Rousseau 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'', elevating the outstanding morals of one young boy above the rapscallion nature of another.
Maria Edgeworth (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". 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.
See also
*
Allegory
As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...
*
Morality play
References
External links
{{Authority control
Literature
Narratology