PROVERB
Proverb is a brief, simple and
popular saying, or a phrase that gives advice and effectively embodies a
commonplace truth based on practical experience or common sense. A proverb may
have an allegorical message behind its odd appearance. The reason of popularity
is due to its usage in spoken language as well as in the folk literature. Some
authors twist and bend proverbs and create anti-proverbs to add literary
effects to their works. However, in poetry, poets use proverbs strategically by
employing some parts of them in poems’ titles such as Lord Kennet has written a
poem, A Bird in the Bush, which is a popular proverb. Some poems
contain multiple proverbs like Paul Muldoon’s poem Symposium.
A. Function of Proverb
Proverbs play very important roles in different types
of literary works. The most important function of proverbs is to teach and
educate the audience. They often contain an expert advice with a role for
educating the readers on what they may face if they would do something. Hence,
proverbs play a didactic role, as they play a universal role in teaching wisdom
and sagacity to the common people. Since proverbs are usually metaphorical and
indirect; therefore, they allow writers to express their message in a less
harsh way.
B. Examples of Proverbs in Literature
Example 1 :
From
William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
“The weakest goes to the wall.”
The weak people are never favored.
“He that is strucken blind cannot
forget
The precious treasure of his
eyesight lost.”
A man who loses his eyesight can
never forget the importance of lost eyesight.
“One fire burns out another’s burning,
One pain is lessen’d by another’s
anguish.”
You can burn new fire from lightening another fire, similarly a new pain could
mitigate your old pain.
C. Proverbs
Throughout the World
African Proverbs
Across the
vast continent of Africa, many African nations disseminated proverbs that were
meant to educate and inspire those who used them.
Here are a
few examples of African proverbs :
a) “A tree is known by its fruit” – (of Zulu origin -
this means that success is shown by the deeds.)
b) “I have been bitten by a tsetse fly” – (of Tanzanian
origin – this means that a person will continuously be a pest until you pay off
a debt.)
c) “The word of friend makes you cry – the word of an
enemy makes you laugh” – (of Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger
– this means that a friend will tell you the truth and sometimes the truth
hurts, whereas an enemy will only lead you down the wrong path by giving you
advice that seems good but is not.)
Asian Proverbs
Some
examples of Asian proverbs include the following :
a)
“The old horse in the stable still yearns to run” – (this means that those who
are older still have things they would like to accomplish.)
b)
“A spark can start a fire that burns the entire prairie” – (this means that a
small problem can snowball into a huge problem that can cause major damage.)
c)
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed
him for a lifetime” – (this means that teaching people is better in the long
run because it gives them the skills to provide for themselves as opposed to
you doing things for them.)
American Proverbs
Some
examples of American based proverbs include :
a)
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder” – (this means that when you separate
from someone that you love by putting distance between you that you will
inevitably love them more and yearn to see them.)
b)
"All that glitters is not gold” – (this means that just because something
looks good, does not necessarily mean that it is good.)
c)
"A monkey in silk is a monkey no less” – (this means that just because
someone dresses fancy does not necessarily mean that they are fancy or of good
character.)
English Proverbs
Some
examples of English proverbs include :
a) Early to bed
and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
b) It’s no use locking
the stable door after the horse has bolted.
c) Laugh and the
world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone.
d) See a pin and pick it
up, all the day you’ll have good luck; see a pin and let it lie, bad luck
you’ll have all day.
e) ‘Tis better to
have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.
f) Monday’s child
is fair of face/Tuesday’s child is full of grace,/Wednesday’s child is full of
woe,/Thursday’s child has far to go,/Friday’s child is loving and
giving,/Saturday’s child works hard for its living/And a child that’s born on
the Sabbath day/Is fair and wise and good and gay.
Proverbs from Other Countries
a)
Arabic Proverb: An army of sheep led by a lion would defeat an army of lions
led by a sheep.
b)
Finnish proverb: Even a small star shines in the darkness.
c)
Italian Proverb: After the game, the king and pawn go into the same box.
d)
Jewish Proverb: God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.
e)
Russian Proverb: Better to stumble than make a slip of the tongue.
f) Spanish Proverb: Since we cannot get what we like, let
us like what we can get.
D. Role of Proverbs in Society
Proverbs play many roles in society. The first,
possibly, most common role that a proverb plays is to educate. Most often
tossed around as expert advice in conversation, the innate role to educate
people on what might happen if they do something. Think of a proverb as a
little tidbit of wisdom that just about everyone – no matter where they are
from – can offer. There is a proverb for just about every circumstance, and
proverbs can be applied to any situation.
English and
American proverbs are almost second nature when delivered. The origins are
quite often little known, yet the expressions are popular. Ethnic proverbs, on
the other hand, may be a little deeper to digest, and require non-natives of
the proverb’s country of origin, to think about the meaning in order to better
understand how it applies to their lives.
A proverb (from Latin: proverbium) is a
simple and concrete saying, popularly known and repeated, that expresses a
truth based on common sense or experience. They are often metaphorical. A
proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as
a maxim. Proverbs fall into the category of formulaic language.
Proverbs are often borrowed from similar languages and
cultures, and sometimes come down to the present through more than one
language. Both the Bible (including, but not limited to the Book of
Proverbs) and medieval Latin (aided by the work of Erasmus) have played a
considerable role in distributing proverbs across Europe. Mieder has concluded
that cultures that treat the Bible as their "major spiritual book contain
between three hundred and five hundred proverbs that stem from the Bible." However,
almost every culture has examples of its own unique proverbs.
Examples :
a) Haste makes
waste
b) A stitch in time
saves nine
c) Ignorance is
bliss
d) Mustn't cry over
spilled milk.
e) You can catch
more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.
f) You can lead a
horse to water, but you can't make him drink.
g) Those who live in
glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
h) A bird in the hand is
worth two in the bush.
i) Fortune
favours the bold
j) Well
begun is half done.
IDIOMS
An idiom (also called idiomatic
expression) is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning
conventionally understood by native speakers. An interesting fact regarding the
device is that the expression is not interpreted literally. The phrase is
understood as to mean something quite different from what individual words of
the phrase would imply. Alternatively, it can be said that the phrase is
interpreted in a figurative sense. Further, idioms vary in different cultures
and countries. This meaning is different from the literal meaning of the
idiom's individual elements. In other words, idioms don't mean exactly what the
words say. They have, however, hidden meaning.
Idiom Examples
Example 1 :
“Every cloud
has its silver lining but it is sometimes a little difficult to get it to the
mint.”
The
statement quoted above uses “silver lining” as an idiom which
means some auspicious moment is lurking behind the cloud or the difficult time.
Example 2 :
“American
idioms drive me up the hall!”
Here, the
word “idioms” is used as an idiom.
Example 3 :
“I worked
the graveyard shift with old people, which was really demoralizing, because the
old people didn’t have a chance in hell of ever getting out.”
In the
extract quoted above, “graveyard shift” is employed as an idiom.
Example 4 :
“As happy as
a clam”
Mary was
happy as a clam on the day of her wedding.
Meaning :
Pleased, very content
Origin : So
why in the world would a clam ever be happy? They're shellfish, they don't have
feelings. The expression most likely began because when a clam's shell is
opened up, it does look like the clam is smiling.
Other
Example :
“A hot
potato”
Speak of an
issue (mostly current) which many people are talking about and which is usually
disputed
“A penny for
your thoughts”
A way of
asking what someone is thinking
“Actions speak louder than words”
People's
intentions can be judged better by what they do than what they say.
“Add insult
to injury”
To further a
loss with mockery or indignity; to worsen an unfavorable situation.
“An arm and
a leg”
Very
expensive or costly. A large amount of money.
“At the drop of a hat”
Meaning:
without any hesitation; instantly.
“Back to the
drawing board”
When an
attempt fails and it's time to start all over.
“Ball is in
your court”
It is up to
you to make the next decision or step
“Barking up
the wrong tree”
Looking in
the wrong place. Accusing the wrong person
Functions of Idiom
Writers and public speakers use idioms generously. The
purpose behind this vast use of idioms is to ornate their language, make it
richer and spicier and help them in conveying subtle meanings to their intended
audience. Not only do idioms help in making the language beautiful, they also
make things better or worse through making the expression good or bad.
For example, there are several idioms that convey the
death of a person in highly subtle meanings and some do the same in very
offensive terms. They are also said to be exact and more correct than the
literal words and sometimes a few words are enough to replace a full sentence.
They help the writer make his sense clearer than it is, so that he could convey
maximum meanings through minimum words and also keep the multiplicity of the
meanings in the text intact.
It has also been seen that idioms not only convey
subtle meanings but also convey a phenomenon that is not being conveyed through
normal and everyday language and also they keep the balance in the
communication. Furthermore, they provide textual coherence, so that the reader
could be able to piece together a text that he has gone through and extract
meanings the writer has conveyed.
