Articulate Animals in the Fables of Babrius

Babrius’ collection of Greek fables from the Second Sophistic period is positively brimming with examples of animal speech, from sharp-witted foxes, pleading fish and boastful toads to complaining quadrupeds, plaintive birds and apologetic insects. Babrius has a marked preference for presenting animal speech as direct speech. As a consequence, Babrius’ animal characters articulate and express their psychological and emotional states in a vivid and ‘humanized’ manner and the audience is drawn closer to the narrative and the characters. This chapter will demonstrate the effectiveness of Babrius’ narrative method and argue that Babrius’ use of direct speech strengthens his moral and didactic objectives as a fable narrator