litical analysis with self protective riddles. Often visibly driven by a combative sociopolitical context, and by determination to confer words the status of objects, this textual self-consciousness perfectly suited Aesop's fables to the cultural climate of Augustan England." (Lewis, 1996)
             To understand the use of fable as a political tool, one must understand its history. Mark Loveridge's book, A History of Augustan Fable, talks about the fable's ancient Greek origins, for it is in this period that all antique fables make their first appearance.
             It is impossible to mention the word fable without automatically recalling the name Aesop. Aesop is considered the father of fable, for it is to him that most fables are attributed. Yet his origins are shrouded in mystery. Even his very existence is uncertain. "Several early Greek historians mention him as a Thracian slave on the island of Samos in the sixth century BC." (Loveridge, 1998) According to legend, Aesop was extremely ugly, (the name Aes-opos means base face). (L
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