Proverb Presentation Wednesday 30 September 2009

PROVERB PRESENTATION
For Wednesday 30 September 2009

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Students should have a chance to speak more in this class. So for Thursday  choose a proverb, quote, or saying and explain its source (writer, book, film), its meaning as you understand it, its significance to you (why you chose it), some background information (where you found it, whether others used it), and something special in the phrasing, idea, or vocabulary of the proverb. Give your name first and then your presentation. Make your presentations brief and to the point. Examples:

    1. "Poor and content is rich and rich enough." From Shakespeare's Othello. The proverb sums up a basic principle of happiness, to be content with whatever one  has. In terms of style, the contrast between "poor/rich" is effective and ironic (to be poor is to be rich, if one is content). Note also the repetition of "and" which adds rhythm to the proverb. Finally the repetion of the word "rich" emhasizes the irony of the proverb.

    2. "Let Justice roll down like a river, Righteousness like a never-ending stream." This is from the minor biblical prophet, Amos. Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King quoted this at least twice in his speeches. It sums up the importance of social justice in the Bible. Biblical poetry, rather than using rhyme, rhymes one idea with another, by repeating or contrasting it. So justice/righteousness, river/stream, roll down/never-ending are repeated for maximum effect, adding power to the thought. It also shows how the Bible can be used as a blueprint for social justice.

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