Mythological and Folkloric Foundations of Moral Poetics: An Artistic Synthesis in the Fables of Jean De La Fontaine

This article examines the artistic synthesis of mythological and folkloric elements in the fables of Jean de La Fontaine. Rooted in ancient Greco-Roman mythology and European folk traditions, La Fontaine’s fables transform traditional narrative materials into refined poetic structures serving moral and philosophical purposes. Using the IMRAD framework, the study analyzes the sources, mechanisms, and aesthetic results of this synthesis. The findings indicate that La Fontaine’s fables do not merely reproduce mythological or folkloric patterns, but creatively reinterpret them in accordance with the principles of Classicism, thus establishing a new model of moral poetics within European literature.