¥WebsterÕs New Collegiate Dictionary:
–A usually short fictitious story that illustrates a moral
attitude or a religious
principle.
¥Common literary definition:
–An extended simile
–Since a simile is a figure of speech in which a comparison is explicitly
stated, e.g., big as a barnÉ
–É a parable is longer–a sentence to a
story– which makes an explicit
comparison.
–E.g., Òthe kingdom of heaven is like (this
story IÕm going to tell you)Ó