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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 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 characters 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'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).
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, 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. At the same time, the novels of Charles Dickens are a vehicle for morals regarding the social and economic system of Victorian Britain.
Morals have typically been more obvious in children's literature, 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 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 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. Part of the reason for this was the writings of John Locke 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.
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
- Morality play
References
- The Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 1989. p. 456. ISBN 978-0198611868.
- Simon Blackburn (2005). The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy. Oxford University Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-0198610137.
- James Rachels (2009). The Elements of Moral Philosophy. McGraw-Hill Education. pp. 12–14. ISBN 978-0073386713.
- Aesop (1996). Aesop's Fables. Penguin Classics. ISBN 978-0140369847.
- Jack Zipes (2000). The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198601159.
- Harold Bloom (1998). Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human. Riverhead Books. ISBN 978-1573227513.
- Vuong, Quan-Hoang (2022). The Kingfisher Story Collection. AISDL. ISBN 979-8353946595.
- K.J. Fielding (1967). Charles Dickens: A Critical Study. London: Oxford University Press. pp. 101–110. ISBN 978-0192813466.
- "Aesop's Fables: Online Collection - Selected Fables". Retrieved 18 March 2013.
- Dennis Butts (2006). Jack Zipes (ed.). Children's Literature. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 93–96. ISBN 978-0195146561.
- Pai, Seeta. "And The Moral Of The Story Is ... Kids Don't Always Understand The Moral". NPR.
- Alan Richardson (1994). Literature, Education, and Romanticism: Reading as Social Practice, 1780-1832. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 45–50. ISBN 978-0521462761.
- Lawrence Kohlberg (1981). The Philosophy of Moral Development. San Francisco: Harper & Row. pp. 45–52. ISBN 978-0060647605.
- Elizabeth E. Heilman (2008). Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter. New York: Routledge. pp. 22–29. ISBN 978-0415964845.
External links
The dictionary definition of moral at Wiktionary
This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Moral news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2021 Learn how and when to remove this message A moral from Latin moralis 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 real life Finding moralsAs 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 characters 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 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 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 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 At the same time the novels of Charles Dickens are a vehicle for morals regarding the social and economic system of Victorian Britain Morals have typically been more obvious in children s literature 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 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 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 Part of the reason for this was the writings of John Locke 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 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 alsoAllegory Morality playReferencesThe Oxford English Dictionary Oxford University Press 1989 p 456 ISBN 978 0198611868 Simon Blackburn 2005 The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy Oxford University Press p 25 ISBN 978 0198610137 James Rachels 2009 The Elements of Moral Philosophy McGraw Hill Education pp 12 14 ISBN 978 0073386713 Aesop 1996 Aesop s Fables Penguin Classics ISBN 978 0140369847 Jack Zipes 2000 The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0198601159 Harold Bloom 1998 Shakespeare The Invention of the Human Riverhead Books ISBN 978 1573227513 Vuong Quan Hoang 2022 The Kingfisher Story Collection AISDL ISBN 979 8353946595 K J Fielding 1967 Charles Dickens A Critical Study London Oxford University Press pp 101 110 ISBN 978 0192813466 Aesop s Fables Online Collection Selected Fables Retrieved 18 March 2013 Dennis Butts 2006 Jack Zipes ed Children s Literature New York Oxford University Press pp 93 96 ISBN 978 0195146561 Pai Seeta And The Moral Of The Story Is Kids Don t Always Understand The Moral NPR Alan Richardson 1994 Literature Education and Romanticism Reading as Social Practice 1780 1832 Cambridge Cambridge University Press pp 45 50 ISBN 978 0521462761 Lawrence Kohlberg 1981 The Philosophy of Moral Development San Francisco Harper amp Row pp 45 52 ISBN 978 0060647605 Elizabeth E Heilman 2008 Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter New York Routledge pp 22 29 ISBN 978 0415964845 External linksThe dictionary definition of moral at Wiktionary
