Overview

"""The proverb and related forms have long been objects of general interest and the occasion of many books, but they have attracted little serious and thorough study . . . . The definition of a proverb is too difficult to repay the undertaking; and should we fortunately combine in a single definition all the essential elements and give each the proper emphasis, we should not even then have a touchstone. An incommunicable quality tells us this sentence is proverbial and that one is not. Hence no definition will enable us to identify positively a sentence as proverbial."" Archer Taylor Archer Taylor's ""The Proverb"" (1931) and ""An Index to 'The Proverb'""(1934) present the classic and comprehensive study on paremiology. The Proverb deals with definition problems, metaphorical proverbs, proverbial types, variants, proverbs in folk narratives and literature, loan translations and the classical or Biblical origin of many proverbs. Taylor analyzes customs and superstitions reflected in proverbs; he studies legal, medical and weather proverbs; and he also investigates their content and style. Proverbial prophecies, blasons populaires, proverbial expressions, wellerisms and proverbial comparisons are dealt with as well. The large index contains many comparative and bibliographical notes on major European proverbs."

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9781888215717

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Reviews

The Proverb is a definitive work . . . proverbs were and remained Archer Taylor's first love. Wayland D. HandTaylor's most impressive single work [is] his matchless and unmatched The Proverb, surely the best and most concise examination of the genre . . . . Its worth was recognized from the first, and more than any other single work it has been responsible for the lively interest apparent in the scholarship of proverbs . . . . Wolfgang Mieder quoting Bartlett Jere Whiting

Author Information

Archer Taylor (August 1, 1890-September 30, 1973). Taylor earned his PhD at Harvard. He taught at Washington University in St. Louis 1915-25, University of Chicago 1925-39 and University of California, Berkeley 1939-58. Taylor published The Proverb (1931), its Index (1934) and Bibliography of Riddles (1939). Archer Taylor and Bartlett Jere Whiting published A Dictionary of American Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, 1820-1880 (1958). He wrote A History of Bibliographies of Bibliographies (1955) and General Subject-Indexes Since 1548 (1966). His library is at University of Georgia, except his ballad collection at University of California, Berkeley. More information at www.archertaylor.com.

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