Reader, teller and teacher

Henryson's Narrator acts as reader, teller and teacher of his Moral Fables , as he guides his audience with direct addresses and manipulation of responses. The development of character and motif, his use of language and mood, and the relation of moralitates to tales are examined in the study of the Narrator's techniques. The themes of the work are introduced in the early tales and summarized in the last fable. The repetition and variation of themes support acceptance of the order used in the Bassandyne Print , a source which presents the thirteen fables as a formed, complete and balanced work.