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Literature Glossary

Don’t be an oxymoron. Know your literary terms.

Over 200 literary terms, Shmooped to perfection.

Apologue

Definition:

An apologue is a short, moral story meant to teach the reader something. You'll sometimes see talking animals in an apologue, as in George Orwell's Animal Farm.

An apologue is similar to a fable or an allegory because it's not really about what's literally going on; it's about the lesson the story teaches.