exemplum
Story teaching lesson
An exemplum is a story or anecdote used to illustrate a moral point, particularly in medieval sermons and didactic literature.
Preachers drew from collections of exempla—tales of saints, sinners, and miraculous interventions—to make abstract lessons concrete and memorable for their congregations.
The term remains useful in literary criticism for this specific rhetorical device: The sermon included an exemplum about a greedy merchant struck blind.
Instructive allegorical narrative
- fableMoral tale with animals
- allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
- moralityRight and wrong principles
- cautionaryServing as warning
admonition · warning · lesson · didactic · edifying · instructive · anecdote · tale
Of the Middle Ages
- sermonClergy's worship address
- narrativeAccount of events
- taleSpoken or written narrative
- homilyReligious discourse on scripture
Chaucer · collection · compilation · hagiography · saint · legend · folklore · chronicle
Picture explaining something
- analogyExplanatory likeness between things
- metaphorImplied identity comparison
- simileComparison via "as"
- allusionIndirect reference to something
persuasion · argument · oratory · proof · demonstration · evidence · citation · reference
Representation or paradigm
- paradigmGoverning framework of thought
- epitomePerfect representative of type
- archetypeOriginal model for copies
- idealStandard of perfection
standard · specimen · representative · quintessence · embodiment · template · benchmark · classic
parable
Instructive allegorical narrative
- fableMoral tale with animals
- allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
- moralityRight and wrong principles
cautionary · admonition · warning · lesson · didactic · edifying · instructive · anecdote · tale · narrative
medieval
Of the Middle Ages
homily · Chaucer · collection · compilation · hagiography · saint · legend · folklore · chronicle · manuscript
illustration
Picture explaining something
- analogyExplanatory likeness between things
- metaphorImplied identity comparison
- simileComparison via "as"
allusion · persuasion · argument · oratory · proof · demonstration · evidence · citation · reference · amplification
model
Representation or paradigm
- paradigmGoverning framework of thought
- epitomePerfect representative of type
- archetypeOriginal model for copies
ideal · standard · specimen · representative · quintessence · embodiment · template · benchmark · classic · typical
exemplumuniversal law
Rule applying everywhere always
axiom · theorem · statistical analysis · empirical data · theoretical framework
- exemplary serviceAssistance worthy of imitation
exemplary, exemplar, exemplify, exemplified, exemplifying, exemplifies