Proverbs offer a concise record of folk wisdom and have appeared in oral tradition, literature, art, and popular culture for centuries. Written by the foremost authority on proverbs, this reference gives high school students, undergraduates, and general readers a concise yet comprehensive overview of proverbs in world culture. The volume begins with definitions and classifications of proverbs, followed by discussions of several notable examples. The book then examines approaches to the study of proverbs and the place of proverbs in literature, politics, popular songs, and everyday life. It closes with a bibliography of print and electronic resources and a glossary. Included are numerous illustrations.
Just about everyone has heard at least one proverb, and most people have heard more. Proverbs offer a concise record of folk wisdom and have appeared in oral tradition, literature, art, and popular culture for centuries. One of the most varied and fascinating types of folklore, proverbs are studied at all levels and are of interest to a wide range of audiences. Written by the foremost authority on proverbs, this reference gives high school students, undergraduates, and general readers a concise yet comprehensive overview of proverbs in world culture.
The volume begins with definitions and classifications of proverbs and a discussion of their origin and dissemination. It then discusses several representative proverbs from around the world. This is followed by a review of scholarship on proverbs. The book next looks at how several proverbs have appeared in political speeches, literature, popular culture, and everyday life. The handbook closes with a bibliography of print and electronic resources and a glossary. Included are numerous photos illustrating the role of proverbs around the world.
| Introduction | xi | |
| 1 | Definition and Classification | 1 |
| Definition Attempts | 2 | |
| Proverb Markers and Meanings | 4 | |
| Origin and Dissemination of Proverbs | 9 | |
| Traditional Forms Related to the Proverb | 13 | |
| The International Type System of Proverbs | 16 | |
| Types of International Proverb Collections | 20 | |
| Major Anglo-American Proverb Collections | 22 | |
| Various Specialized Proverb Collections | 25 | |
| Selected Bibliography | 29 | |
| 2 | Examples and Texts | 33 |
| "Big Fish Eat Little Fish": A Classical Proverb about Human Nature | 34 | |
| "First Come, First Served": A Medieval Legal Proverb from the Millers | 43 | |
| "The Apple Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree": A Proverb's Way from Germany to America | 52 | |
| "The Only Good Indian Is a Dead Indian": A Slanderous Proverbial Stereotype | 60 | |
| "Good Fences Make Good Neighbors": An Ambiguous Proverb of Relationships | 69 | |
| "A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words": An Advertising Slogan Turned American Proverb | 79 | |
| Proverbs from Different Cultures and Languages | 88 | |
| Authentic American Proverbs | 100 | |
| Regional American Proverbs | 106 | |
| Native American Proverbs | 108 | |
| African American Proverbs | 112 | |
| Selected Bibliography | 114 | |
| 3 | Scholarship and Approaches | 117 |
| Proverb Journals, Essay Volumes, and Bibliographies | 118 | |
| Proverb Collections and Future Paremiography | 121 | |
| Comprehensive Overviews of Paremiology | 125 | |
| Empiricism and Paremiological Minima | 127 | |
| Linguistic and Semiotic Considerations | 131 | |
| Performance (Speech Acts) in Social Contexts | 133 | |
| Issues of Culture, Folklore, and History | 135 | |
| Politics, Stereotypes, and Worldview | 137 | |
| Sociology, Psychology, and Psychiatry | 139 | |
| Use in Folk Narratives and Literature | 142 | |
| Religion and Wisdom Literature | 144 | |
| Pedagogy and Language Teaching | 146 | |
| Iconography: Proverbs as Art | 148 | |
| Mass Media and Popular Culture | 150 | |
| Selected Bibliography | 153 | |
| 4 | Contexts | 161 |
| "A Man of Fashion Never Has Recourse to Proverbs": Lord Chesterfield's Tilting at Proverbial Windmills | 162 | |
| "Early to Bed and Early to Rise": From Proverb to Benjamin Franklin and Back | 171 | |
| "Behind the Cloud the Sun Is Shining": Abraham Lincoln's Proverbial Fight Against Slavery | 180 | |
| "Conventional Phrases Are a Sort of Fireworks": Charles Dickens's Proverbial Language | 189 | |
| "Make Hell While the Sun Shines": Proverbial War Rhetoric of Winston S. Churchill | 198 | |
| "Man Is a Wolf to Man": Proverbial Dialectics in Bertolt Brecht | 207 | |
| Benjamin Franklin's "The Way to Wealth" | 216 | |
| Proverb Poems and Popular Songs | 224 | |
| Proverbs in Caricatures, Cartoons, and Comics | 236 | |
| Proverbs and the World of Advertising | 244 | |
| Proverbs as Headlines and Slogans | 250 | |
| Bibliography | 257 | |
| Bibliographies | 257 | |
| Proverb Journals | 258 | |
| Major Proverb Studies | 259 | |
| Multilingual Proverb Collections | 266 | |
| Bilingual Proverb Collections | 269 | |
| Anglo-American Proverb Collections | 272 | |
| Regional and Thematic Proverb Collections | 275 | |
| Web Resources | 279 | |
| Glossary | 281 | |
| Index | 285 | |
| Names | 285 | |
| Subjects | 290 | |
| Proverbs | 295 |
Overview
Proverbs offer a concise record of folk wisdom and have appeared in oral tradition, literature, art, and popular culture for centuries. Written by the foremost authority on proverbs, this reference gives high school students, undergraduates, and general readers a concise yet comprehensive overview of proverbs in world culture. The volume begins with definitions and classifications of proverbs, followed by discussions of several notable examples. The book then examines approaches to the study of proverbs and the ...