Exemplum

Exemplum

Exemplum

Definition

An example, model, short tale, narrative, or anecdote used in literary pieces and speeches to explain a doctrine or emphasize a moral point. 

Example from Canterbury Tales

"He would allow-just for a quart of wine-
Any good lad to keep a concubine
A twelvemonth and dispense it altogether!
Yet he could pluck a finch to leave no feather:
And if he found no rascal with a maid
He would instruct him not to be afraid"
(665-670)

"The Pardoner's Tale" story

Function

In Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, the stories of “The Summoner” and “The Friar” being greedy and evil are a direct slam of the Catholic Church during the 14th century in Europe. Chaucer makes it clear that he is against the way the Church was operating. In The Pardoner's Tale, the exemplum is that greed is the most horrendous of all evils because all of the men who wanted the treasure ended up killing each other, thus showing that none of them were rewarded in the end.

Another example

A boy called out "Wolf!" to scare the local villagers, even though there was no wolf. He did this many times. One day, a wolf actually did come up to the boy, and he yelled "Wolf! Wolf!", but nobody came to help him, because they thought he was lying again. 

This is possibly the most famous exemplum of them all, along with the story of the tortoise and the hare. 

Non-original mnemonic

Original mnemonic

Exemplum Example

Posted by Andy Nuber