Have you used proverbs in your writing? You may have because a proverb is a brief simple and popular saying. It is a short sentence that gives advice and stands for a commonplace truth. A proverb may also have an allegorical meaning behind its everyday message.
Proverbs explain a specific point. We can easily understand them by looking at what they refer to. The meaning of the higher you go, the harder you fall is clear, isn’t it? Proverbs teach and educate readers and listeners. They often contain expert advice. They tell us what will happen at different times in our lives.
They are accepted universally because of the wisdom they contain. By remembering proverbs, we are able to accept the difficult and awkward situations we find ourselves in.
Proverbs are so useful in making arguments clear that authors use them as they are, twist and bend them or create anti-proverbs to add strength to their writing.
Poets use proverbs in titles of their poems – “A Bird in the Bush by Lord Kennet is an example. Some poems contain multiple proverbs.
Since proverbs are usually metaphorical and indirect, they allow writers to express their messages in a less harsh way. The Bible has a “Book of Proverbs.”
Popular proverbs in speech
All of us grew up listening to proverbs in everyday speech. Are you familiar with the following common proverbs?
- Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
- Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone.
- All that glitters is not gold.
- A bad workman always blames his tools.
- Spare the rod and spoil the child.
- It is no use crying over spilled milk.
- Look before you leap.
- Two wrongs don’t make a right.
When proverbs clash
It is an interesting pastime to collect proverbs from conversations you hear around you. Some magazines have listed proverbs that are opposite to one another. Read these:
Look before you leap. BUT He who hesitates is lost. So what should you do? Plunge or think well before you do? How about this? Many hands make light work. BUT Too many cooks spoil the broth. Figure it out!
Many proverbs came out of the writings of great authors. These writers crafted precise sentences with a lot of meaning. These sentences were quoted often and they became part of our everyday speech and writing. They became proverbs.
Alexander Pope gave us many proverbs such as: “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread” and “To err is human, to forgive, divine.” Proverbs come in handy and make our writing look good and classy. But our writing can be very cliched (boring, because people have read them so often) when we overuse proverbs. We cannot write sentences that are nothing but a string of proverbs. We cannot expect the reader to understand all the proverbs. So use proverbs for additional explanations, to sum up what you have written.
Proverbs in literature
(1] Things Fall Apart (By Chinua Achebe)
“If a child washes his hands he could cat with kings.”
Meaning: If you work to make yourself better, you can have a great future. Everyone can build his or her own fame.
[2] Romeo and Juliet (By William Shakespeare)
“The weakest goes to the wall.”
Meaning: Weak people may not do well or struggle in difficulties.
[3] The Power and the Glory (By Graham Greene)
“There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in …We should be thankful we cannot see the horrors and degradations lying around our childhood, in cupboards and bookshelves, everywhere.”
Meaning: Childhood is a blessing for us, as we do not face horrible experiences like humiliation and degradation from people.
[4] Aesop’s Fables: An Astrologer and A Traveller (By Aesop)
“We should make sure that our own house is in order before we give advice to others.”
Meaning: We should act upon our own words, before advising others to do the same.
[5] The Buddha
“Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.”
Picture Credit : Google
