Check it out!

IT'S ALIVE!

    The "It's Alive!" scene from Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931) is one of the most famous in movie history (click on slide show, left, to view). The phrase ("It's Alive!") ranked high on a recent list of the most famous dialogue in movie history. A book was written titled It's Alive and a movie was made with the same title.
    In terms of mise-en-scene (that is, the action within the shot), notice actor Colin Clive's erect posture and his look upwards, because the film is very much about finding superior power within himself and therefore reaching above himself, to the heights.
    The set design (the tower; the windmill; the laboratory table that is raised up), as well as camera movements (the tilt shots) emphasize this upward motion.
    Nor is this theme at odds with the other theme pointed out in handouts: the flight from normal sexual relations (namely with his intended bride, Elizabeth). In fact, the two themes go together.
    At the end of the film, the monster throws Frankenstein down from the windmill, and the two last shots we see of him are shots of him laying down, first on the ground below the windmill, then in the family's bed, semi-conscious, perhaps on his wedding night. But even if it is not on his wedding night, since this sequence directly follows the windmill sequence (with no indication of time in between), it is as if it were on his wedding night.
    This is the way the classical Hollywood cinema produces meanings, in elliptical or indirect ways. This is due mainly to censorship problems (no major studio would have released the film with an explicit sexual theme), commercial pressure (audiences would have avoided a film with such a theme), and also artistic economy (it is the nature of the artist to hide as much as to show).
    The ending itself is ambiguous. In one sense, Frankenstein has failed; this illustrates the biblical proverb, "Pride goes before a fall." In another sense, his failure is his success; he has avoided normal sexual relations with his intended bride, the motive for his mad doctor experiments in the first place (experiements which, tellingly, he revealed to Elizabeth on the night of their engagement).
    Is it any wonder that the sequel to Frankenstein was The Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1935), with even more explicit sexual imagery?

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THE LAST PICTURE SHOW: Friday 29 February 2008

THE LAST PICTURE SHOW

The Last Picture Show (Peter Boganovich, 1971) was one of the few feature films since 1960 to deliberately use black and white film stock instead of color, which by then (under commercial pressure) had replaced black and white as the film stock of choice. Bogdanovich chose black and white to evoke a dusty and dying town and way of life and link them to the films shown in the story's movie theatre.
    There are other elements of cinematography we'll study in this film. For example, a moving camera shot can emphasize an element in a scene more effectively than lighting, as when the camera tilts and pans from the bed to Ruth Popper and the youth, Sonny (top, left). A dolly-in followed by a dolly-out keeps Sam the Lion's monologue interesting (above, right); this is also followed by a fadeout. Finally slow lap dissolves can link different characters or different places and times (left).

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Sample description of a person, with analysis

M Is for the Many Meals She Made

By DeNeen L. Brown
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 4, 2005
To read the original post, go here.

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First note the title. It's a well-chosen title, punning on the famous acrostic about "Mother" ("M" is for the many things she did for me, etc.). She doesn't just title her essay, "My Grandmother," but finds a title that captures the imagination.
My grandmother's hands are wrinkled and buttered and floury.
    Her swollen knuckles knead the flour into crusts for the pies.
The writer doesn't "tell" about her grandmother; she "shows" us. One of the best ways is by showing the person "doing" something (another way is by showing them talking). Note the strong verb ("knead") and adjectives ("buttered" and "floury"; "wrinkled" is fairly common but sturdy). Note how specific she is (lower level of generality; not "baking" but "kneading . . . crusts"). Below the writer begins with another action ("hopping"): showing, not telling. Note the many vivid (specific) images (underlined):
    Now she is hopping on her good leg to get to the sink, where she will drain the boiling sweet potatoes, the steam rolling off the water, melting her curls. Her red lipstick is glistening in the kitchen heat.
Note in the following paragraphs the repetitions of the conjunction, "and," which can be quite effective to build a rhythm (Hemingway was a master of the use of ands). This style reaches its climax in the third paragraph below. Note there are no general rules (some students may accuse a teacher of "contradicting" himself by saying one thing but also the opposite on occasion. It's obvious that too much use of "ands" is bad writing (if you don't now what you're doing). If you know what you're doing and do it deliberately, it's good. Clearly the writer here wishes to stress t he tedium of her grandmother's life, but also the ritual dedication, which she admires and which (as we learn below) is a lifestyle that is now lost to the granddaughter. Don't ignore the specific details below either:
    She will mash the potatoes with sugar and butter and add some cinnamon and nutmeg. And she will beat the eggs and squeeze in a little fresh lemon to keep the pies from turning brown.
    She will wash the roast and season it and put it in the oven. She will wash the collard greens and boil them until they are tender. She will scrape the corn off the cob and mix it with a little flour and salt and pepper and fry it in some butter.
    Her aching hands scrape and mix and season and dust and wash and stir as she hops around that little kitchen in Kansas on her one good leg.
Note that the writer had delayed revealing her grandmother's name (Christine Taylor) until now. This is a device called "cataphora," which adds interest (curiosity). Note how the writer contrasts Grandmother and "the rest of the family" (sleeping). Note the strong final sentence of the next paragraph: "But they know Sundy dinner will be ready after church," which further defines Grandmother as a dedicated matriarch (female head of the household):
    The sun hasn't even come up yet, and Christine Taylor has been up an hour making Sunday dinner, banging pots and pans, running water. The rest of her family, now spread over town in their own little houses, is sleeping. Nobody really knows when she cooks. But they know Sunday dinner will be ready after church.
Below is where I would differ with the writer, who seems to lose focus, from Grandmother to herself. That does not mean a double focus is impossible; because the essay is obviously not about Grandmother, but about Grandmother seen from the point of view of the writer's past and current life; in this sense, the essay has unity and the writer is in control of her double focus (in a sense, a double subject with a single focus). The real subject of the essay is the melting pot, and how an Afro-American woman (as we soon discover) has lost her basic ("soul") values. And that's another strength of the essay; the way the writer withholds important details until later, allowing the reader to "discover" her real subject: living as an Afro-American person. Still, we will jump to the next point in the essay where the focus shifts back to Grandmother. Besides, I believe the writing is not up to the rest of the essay in the strike-through text below; the details are less vivid, etc.
    I remember sitting in the pew, waiting for those dinners. But the preacher always stood between me and Grandmother's feast. He stood up there in the pulpit, preaching his sermon, long sermon. Reading the Scripture, long Scriptures.
    I remember sitting on those hard church benches, my mind trying to listen to the sermon, but wrestling with worldly concerns:
    Fried corn, greens, turkey, peach cobbler -- and sweet potato pie--waiting on Grandmother's table.
    The preacher would huff and the church organ would jump on his words, emphasizing each syllable.
    And I would wait, sitting in my Sunday dress, hair pressed and tied, tight, in ribbons, sitting with my knees lotioned, socks turned down and patent leather shoes polished.
    Praying little prayers, like: "God, please let the service end so I can go eat. Amen."
    Sometimes, He would answer those prayers sooner than later.
    Church would end at 1:58 p.m. rather than the regular 2:30.
    We would shake the pastors' hand. Wait for my mother to finish talking. Wait for the cars to file out of the gravel parking lot. Wait, in the back seat of the white Ford Granada, windows rolled down, hand stuck out the window, beating the waves of the wind, traveling all the way down to where Grandmother lived in a little white house up a broken driveway. There, the food sat, like a glorified offering.
I'm not too fond of the dialogue (below); one feels that almost anyone could have spoken those words. What is missing is something a little special. Still, it is dialogue. But the idiomatic phrase ("dig in") is simple but strong ("dig in" means to eat hungrily):
    Grandmother would open the door. "Come on in, baby. Help yourselves. Plates are on the table."
    And we would dig in.
    "Mother, this is so good," my mother would say. "You really put your foot in it today."
    (Putting your foot in it means "This is an excellent meal! You seasoned it perfectly." But at these Sunday dinners, nobody but the proper cousins talked like that.)
A carefully chosen analogy (comparing two things of different kinds) adds to one's style:
    We would dip into the sweet, red Kool-Aid punch with its ring of ice floating like an iceberg. We would eat until we were bursting. No pretense was needed. No need to make small, polite conversation. No need to talk at all. You could just sit on a sofa and eat, and nobody would think you were rude. And when you became a teenager, you could eat, put your plate in the sink and leave without helping to clean up, and nobody would say you were wrong.
    At Grandmother's house, it was always about the Food.
Note how the writer plays on two different meanings of "Soul Food": Afro-American food, but also spiritual food, tying a family together, as shown in the ritual acceptance of the newcomer in the family (below):
    This was Soul Food, food for the soul. Sunday dinner was the glue in the family, like flour and water--always spiced with drama.
    I remember when the uncle brought home the new wife who was from "another culture, " and everybody stopped eating when the uncle put some chitlins on her plate. We waited for her to actually eat these meticulously cleaned, incredibly rich pig intestines. And when she did, we knew she would fit in.
    As I grew and went off into the world, I would encounter other people's cooking at holidays and always leave slightly disappointed by the blandness, the lack of salt, the lack of
seasoning--the lack of drama.
    Grandmother grew up in Mississippi, a pretty little thing who got married at 17 to get out of the house. Took the train north to Chicago. She doesn't talk about that part of her life much. Only bits and pieces slip out every now and again. Like the time I was helping her get dressed and I asked her about the scars on her back, three slashes on each side of her pretty back. The kind that you see in photos at the Smithsonian.
    She doesn't talk much about that or having to move aside on the sidewalk in a segregated town.
Note how the writer reveals grim details bit by bit, to aid in the reader's process of discovery of what it meant to be a black person in her grandmother's time; so the essay "accrues" (builds) meaning, from being a mere picture of a person's grandmother to a picture of an entire ethnic (Afro-American) group. A minor point: although numbers up to a hundred should be spelled out, she writes "seventeen" as "17." Like I repeat in class, style has become less standardized than in the past; or the Washington Post editors simply overlooked it. Note, below, how omitting the subject ("She") adds to the style ("Doesn't" instead of "She doesn't"). If it's done on purpose, it's right; if it's done unknowingly and without a sense of pattern, it's wrong. Also "doesn't" has a purpose greater than style; it expresses or dramatizes the grandmother's refusal to speak about memories she's troubled by:
    Doesn't talk much about the first husband, whom she left because he was mean. Doesn't talk much about the second husband, who was good to her but was in the service and her kids didn't want to travel the world with him, so she stayed home. She doesn't talk much about the move from Chicago to Oklahoma to Kansas, where she worked in a hospital for 25 years, cooking for more than 300 people each day, getting up at 4 every morning for the day shift. Twenty-five years--until one day she asked for a vacation and they didn't give her the days she wanted, so she retired early. She's been retired 13 years. She is 79.
    Now she hops around in her own kitchen, hopping to keep the family together.
Now we can see that the subject if not only Grandmother, but the writer herself, who sees herself in comparison to her grandmother. Now note how the writer makes a simple and mundane action (eating) into a symbol or metaphor of a way of life:
    Sometimes, I wonder how far I have gone from Grandmother's house.
    It has come to this. I rarely eat greens. Who has time to wash each leaf, checking it for ladybugs? . . . I rarely eat homemade macaroni and cheese anymore. Who has time to make the roux and dice the onion finely? In fact, I don't have big Sunday dinners anymore because everything has changed and I have moved so far away from family.
I like this dialogue; it has a special ring to it:
    On Sundays, I call Grandmother's house and she says, "Hey, baby. How you doin'? I'm so proud of you."
The final paragraph seems like a weak way to end the essay, but not if one realizes that food is really a symbol of the "soul" and of a way of life, which has forever changed:
    I hang up and turn to my own Sunday dinner, something quick: grilled salmon and brown rice, a sliced organic tomato with extra-virgin olive oil. Grandmother would have never had this on her Sunday dinner menu. My dinner is not soul food.

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Assigned Film for Friday 22 February 2008

Color

KODACHROME

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    OUR first chapter this semester studies the art of cinetmatography. One element of this art is film stock. One kind of film stock is color film.
    At first, color was very slow; that is, it needed a lot of lights to "take" an image. Those lights (along with the light needed for projection) made the colors on the screen look bright, hard, and garish. Hence color stock was used mainly for unrealistic movies, such as musicals, romances, science fiction, and later westerns.
    As film stock became faster (fixing images more quickly), less lighting was needed, allowing for more realistic (low-key) color effects. Soon it became possible to shoot great gangster films (The Godfather) and film noir (Body Heat, Blade Runner) in color without artistic compromise.
    But there's a picturesque beauty to the older color films in the way they transformed the real world into fantasy, even when fantasy was not the theme of the movie. This effect was captured in the hit record, "Kodachrome," by Paul Simon ("Sound of Silence," "Bridge Over Troubled Water"). ("Kodachrome" is a trademark name for one kind of color film stock.) Here are the lyrics to Paul Simon's song so you can follow along:
When I think back
On all the crap I learned in high school
It's a wonder I can think at all
And though my lack of education
Hasn't hurt me none
I can read the writing on the wall
Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So Mama don't take my Kodachrome away
If you took all the girls I knew
When I was single
And brought them all together for one night
I know they'd never match
My sweet imagination
Everything looks worse in black and white
Kodachrome, etc.

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Gustav Mahler (Click to ENLARGE)

Some film comments (NOT REQUIRED READING, but will help)

Film Course Issues

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REGARDING a new student's question whether missing the first semester places her at a disadvantage in the second semester, the answer (in one sense) is obviously yes. But only in the sense that redundancy (repetition) is the basis of learning.
    If you hear classical music ten times (even by ten different composers) you're better off listening to your eleventh classical composition than the person who has never heard a single classical piece. But strictly speaking there's nothing that should prevent the novice listener from learning about that new piece of music, because education in the arts is recursive: that is, elements of an art form are taught throughout the year.
    It's impossible, for example, to focus on a Beethoven symphony in terms of rhythmic patterns without exposing related elements of composition as well (melody, harmony, orchestral textures, dynamics, etc.).
    At the same time, as my comments below show, it's well (from the point of view of learning as distinct from grading) that our new students view previously assigned films when possible (they're all in the library or online), especially when these are discussed in class or by email (as below).
    In a related issue, I wish to address a passage from your textbook (p. 143f.):

Although today the default choice for feature film production is color, the period from 1940 to 1970 was a time during which the choice between color and black and white needed to be carefully considered, and many films shot in color during that period might have been even stronger if they had been shot instead in black and white. John Ford's The Searchers (1956; cinematographer: Winton C. Hoch), a psychological western that is concerned less with the traditional western's struggle between good and evil than with the lead characters' struggle against personal demons, might have been an even more powerful film had it been shot in black and white instead of color. Doing so might have produced a visual mood, as in film noir, that complemented the darkness at the heart of the movie's narrative.

    This text brings up a number of related issues.
    First, the issue of aesthetic (=artistic feeling) judgments. Recently I saw the western, 3:10 to Yuma, which nearly all critics considered a revival masterpiece in the western genre but I consider a dismal failure on nearly all levels.
    So what standards are being used? In the end, all the critic can do is give educated reasons for an opinion. There's a difference between a mere opinion and an informed opinion (that is, informed by previous encounters with art of that kind, artistic principles, moral values, etc.).
    Second, Richard Barsam (our text's author) gives educated reasons for his opinion that Ford's film would have been better in black and white. They are reasonable, but I disagree with them.
    Third, when we generalize (as he does) one must be specific about the period being discussed. I doubt if anyone believes that color can't paint as seedy a picture of life today as black and white did years ago. (I'm not saying Barsam is ignorant of these changes, for he's clearly aware of them.) Otherwise Gordon Willis would not have filmed masterpieces of color cinematography in Francis Coppola's Godfather films. No one would argue these classics of low-key lighting would have looked better in black and white.
    True, color film stock was slower when Winton Hoch filmed Ford's The Searchers in color. But here we have to consider the issue of trade-offs.
    Even assuming Barsam is correct that film stock should match subject matter (gangster movie=black and white; musical=color), whatever "film noir" elements are in The Searchers, the film clearly falls within the western film genre more than in the film noir genre. In fact, it's precisely the tension between an idealized western landscape and community (the homesteaders) and the twisted mind of Ethan Edwards that is the subject of Ford's film; it is the conflict between racism and democracy that is the real subject (the "subtext") of Ford's film.
    To have made the film in black and white would not only have deprived viewers of some of the most beautiful images in the western film genre but would have destroyed that tension I mentioned above. We must assume that Ford believed in American democracy and the moral achievement of the American settlement even as he recognizes the racist impulses that made that achievement possible. It is the delicate balance between these values that gives his film its power. Black and white film stock would have destroyed that balance in my opinion.
    Nor is The Searchers film noir, though Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) may fit comfortably in a film noir movie. Film noir involves an entire community, often even the "good" people. There's no indication that anyone is evil in Ford's film except Edwards. In fact, Edwards' madness is purposely contrasted against the sanity of the other characters.
    This is not to "prove" my view is correct. Aesthetics (art appreciation) is a continuing dialogue, as poet T. S. Eliot (among others) have pointed out. Every new work and each new artist forces a new evaluation of everything that has come before.
    Even Shakespeare was considered a "barbarian" by Neoclassical French critics. Bach and the Blues needed revival: Bach by the  Romantics and the Afro-American Blues by middle-classic white youth in the 1960s. Mozart (in the iconic shadow of Beethoven) suffered neglect up to early in the last century, while Vivaldi was almost forgotten for hundreds of years until his music was rediscovered in the 1930s. Today, The Four Seasons may well be the most popular music in the classical repertoire; while no rational person would question that Mozart plumbed the depths of emotion as much as Beethoven ever did, or more so.
    For students, the important thing is to keep your mind open, read critically, trust your own (aesthetic) responses, but (above all) see as many films as possible and try to analyze and explain them as well as you can, based on evolving aesthetic principles and a seasoned (or disciplined) sensibility.

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Regarding your first paper

Students,
Regarding your first paper, here's a list of goals:

1. Decide which kind of paper you wish to write:
    a. A descriptive essay, describing a person, place, house, garden, or other scenic location. This should be organized mainly by space: far to near, up to down, from one room to another, in an orderly climax of importance:
    "It seemed to me as a child that Father was born with a scowl on his face. No matter how cheerful the occasion, he never managed a smile on his face . . . As he turned out the lights he kissed me tenderly on the forehead and whispered, 'Goodnight, Princess.'"
    Here the description is of a person's father; the orderly arrangement is from a focus on the father's rough personality to the sweetness within him (following the ellipsis: . . . , which here represents the missing part of the essay).
    b. Narration. This is organized by time: early to late; past to future; present-past (as with movie flashbacks). This essay narrates a period of time: early spring; early morning; late evening; a lonely or spooky midnight; childhood; a painful moment; a happy moment; a holiday; a decade (the '90s). This too should be organized logically; the logic is always YOURS (the writer's), but there must be logic, with some kind of climax (from lesser to greater importance): obviously a narration of a birth climaxes with the birth of a baby (more important than the would-be father chain smoking in the hospital waiting room, or the married couple racing to the hospital, etc.); the narration of a marriage proposal climaxes with the lover asking his beloved to marry him, after a long meal at a romantic restaurant, etc.
    c. An expository essay can focus on an action: fishing for salmon; moving into a new house; a walk in the countryside; a meal at a restaurant.
    d. An argument may focus for or against capital punishment or higher tuition with supporting reasons. Again, organization is important: from less important to more important, from first to last, from past to present ("In the past we burned witches at the stake; later the guillotine was considered less painful, followed by the electric chair. But does that mean we have advanced in our humanity?")
    e. A review discusses, analyzes and evaluates a work of art (movie, poem, CD, etc.). Again: find an orderly arrangement.
    f. Confessional essay: confessing a strength or weakness one has or any peculiarity of character: "Curse me. Insult me. Make me an outcast of humanity. Tell me I am mad. But I cannot stand the sight of babies. Nor do I have the slightest wish to kiss them or hold them." And so on.
    In any essay, brainstorming for details is important, as we learned in the first semester. Ideas have to be discovered.
    Finally, you should seek out a model, either on the internet or on the library shelves. This is easy to do. If you think you want to write on cooking (an action), then of course search out cooking sites; with a little effort, soon you'll find an adequate essay on preparing a meal.
    In all cases, remember never to lift even a single phrase from your source. To be safe, always staple your source to your original. There's nothing wrong however with directly copying your source, but only as an exercise, identified as such.
    For next week, bring your chosen model to class as well as your chosen subject for your future essay and explain how you plan to model your own essay on your source text, or what you learned from it.
    Don't neglect vocabulary. Every essay you write needs an adequate vocabulary. For example, if you plan to write on cooking your favorite fish, you need to know the words for pots, special knives, cooking utensils, etc.
    Any questions, feel free to contact me.

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CUPID: For week of 26 February 2008

CUPID
(The Honeymooners)

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Go to the following links (1, 2, 3, 4), view program, and answer the following questions (you can also access each segment nearby the previous segment);

    1. Why does the counter man in the pizzeria say that schoolteachers are all the same?
    2. What does Ralph order (no need to mention the sauce)?
    3. Since he's on a diet, what does he order instead of his first choice?
    4. What does Ed order?
    5. Which school did Ralph and Herman go to as children?
    6. Why does Herman think Ralph has changed?
    7. Which row was Ralph in in the class picture?
    8. How many years has Ralph been married?
    9. What is Alice's (Ralph's wife) maiden name?
    10. What color hair does she have?
    11. When is it wonderful to be married, according to Ralph?
    12. Why doesn't Herman get married?
    13. How many people does Ralph handle on the bus every day?
    14. How old does Ralph estimate the female diner is?
    15. What occupation does he think she has?
    16. How old does Ed think she is?
    17. What occupation does he think she has?
    18. What grade does she teach according to Ed?
    19. If Ralph doubts Ed's veracity, what is Ed willing to submit to?
    20. What does Ed want Herman to talk to the girl about?
    21. What approach does Ed recommend to talk with the girl?
    22. What approach does Ralph recommend?
    23. What does Ralph ask to borrow from the girl?
    24. What did Ralph accomplish, according to Ed?
    25. What does the counter person tell the girl he has in the kitchen after Ralph spills coffee on her?
    26. How many cousins does Alice have?
    27. What are their names?
    28. How long has the family tried to get them married off?
    29. Who looks like Abraham Lincoln, according to Ed?
    30. What is Evelyn's phone number?
    31. How does Ralph describe his weight to Evelyn over the phone?
    32. Why does Ralph think Evelyn hung up the phone?
    33. What recently happened between Charlotte and her boyfriend?
    34. What time does Ralph make the date for between Charlotte and Herman?
    35. What does Herman plan to do with his blue suit for the date?
    36. What does Ralph plan to buy Alice when he goes home?
    37. What does Ralph call Ed's sandwich?
    38. What color hair does Evelyn have?
    39. What does Trixie say men do when they feel guilty over a love affair?
    40. How long has it been since Ralph bought Alice flowers?
    41. Where did Trixie hear the rumor of Ralph having an affair?
    42. Why are beauty parlors a menace to society according to Ed?
    43. What tournament does Ralph have next week?
    44. When Alice asks Ralph to tell her the truth, what does he confess to?
    45. How much money was involved?
    46. What does Ralph say he charges pretty women instead of a fare?
    47. What does he same women have to do if they want a transfer?
    48. What does the bus advertise instead of "Madison Avenue"?
    49. Why doesn't Ralph want Ed to explain what the confusion to Alice?
    50. Where is Alice taking the clothes in her suitcase?
    51. Why does Alice say she wants to get away from the house?
    52. Why does Alice wish Ralph comes back?
    53. Why does Trixie think that Ed is considerate?
    54. What is Charlotte's friend, Ethel, wary of?
    55. What are Mike's (Charlotte's ex-boyfriend) two faults?
    56. What is embroidered on Ethel's handkerchief?
    57. What does Ethel bet Charlotte her date will look like?
    58. What is Mike liable to think about Ralph when he enters?
    59. How does Ethel solve the problem?
    60. How long does Ethel know Ralph according to Ethel?
    61. How long does Ralph know Ethel according to Ralph?
    62. What phrase does Ralph use to call Ethel?
    63. How does Ralph discover Ethel's name?
    64. After Evelyn calls Ralph sweet, what does Ethel call him?
    65. What does Ralph call himself when Ed enters Ralph's apartment?
    66. Why doesn't Ed do anything when he sees Alice walking with her suitcase?
    67. What seven things in the house remind Ralph of Alice?
    68. Why does Ed want to charge Ralph ten dollars for his possessions?
    69. Who does Ed say may come back some day?
    70. Why does Herman say he can't take Charlotte out that night?
    71. What are Ralph's final words to Alice?

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Home Listening Assignment Due 25 February 2008

Home Listening Assignment
Due 25 February 2008

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Click on the image below, view, then answer the following questions.

    1. What are a record number of people at risk from?
    2. What is hitting many communities hard?
    3. What, according to the newscast, doesn't discriminate?
    4. What did Melissa West never imagine?
    5. Melissa West has been recently a) married, b) divorced, c) fired, d) retired.
    6. At what age did she start having "perfect credit"?
    7. How many children does she have?
    8. How much is her mortgage payment?
    9. What method is she using to pay this fee?
    10. What job did Annette Tuttle have?
    11. How old is she?
    12. How many rooms does she have in her mortgaged home?
     13. Who says she's in trouble, like other people? (A first name is good enough.)

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Wisdom Literature (PROVERBS, ECCLESIASTES, SONG OF SONGS): Week beginning 26 February 2008

For Week beginning
26 February 2008

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Proverbs
The book of Proverbs is a loose collection of proverbs (short wisdom sayings), some which may go as far back as King Solomon (c. 900 BCE), though most scholars date the final "redaction" at around 300 BCE, which is after the Exile. (For new students, a "redaction" is an edit of a book by later writers in a way with new material. This term is common in Bible criticism.)
Hebrew parallelism should be noted here and elsewhere in the book prophets, etc. Parallelism is a kind of rhyme whereby one part of a verse either repeats the content of the first part (synonymic parallelism), contrasts it (antithetic parallelism), or advances it in some way (progressive parallelism). I'll give three simple examples of each:
1. Synonymic parallelism: "Buy me a soft drink; purchase me a cola."
2. Antithetic parallelism: "Buy me a soft drink; but do not buy me milk."
3. Progressive parallelism: "Buy me a soft drink; buy it or I will die of thirst."
These are not eloquent examples and are not intended to be. You'll see enough good examples below and in other Bible texts. Now what is the point of parallelism? Repetition is part of a human need (as is imitation). All art is based on repeating; while being able to perceive those repetitions is necessary to enjoy all art. Sometimes the repetition is exact: "Twinkle, twinkle little star." Or "star/are" (exact repetition of sound). But more commonly there always some variation: the melody is the same but some notes are changed or it's arranged for a different instument, is louder, softer, reversed (as in Bach), etc. Soon you'll take pleasure in these patterns in the Bible if you don't already. But they were misunderstood, even by Jesus, or at least the writer of the Gospel of Matthew. For Matthew's Jesus quotes the prophet, Zechariah: "See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." By the time of Jesus' time, the writer of Matthew's Gospel forgot how to read this parallelism (donkey/colt), which says the same thing twice. So Matthew understood it literally to mean both a donkey and a colt. Thus when he has Jesus speak, Jesus asks for "a donkey . . . with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me" (21:2). Luke, who probably wrote a decade later, corrected the mistake; Luke's Jesus says, "you will find a colt tied there, which no-one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here" (LUKE 19:30). So if Jesus, or at least the writer of the Gospel of Matthew, misunderstood parallelism, there's nothing to be ashamed about. Just keep your mind open and learn to recognize these repetitions in the texts you read. The books below, as well as all the book prophets, are full of these parallel verses.
As for authorship, though  Solomon may have written some of the proverbs (see 1 Kings 4:32) he certainly did not write most of them. But Solomon was so revered (respected) all books of wisdom were said to be written by him.
Regarding Wisdom Literature in the Bible, these are books that rely more on universal ideas than on the special promise to Israel. That's why there's no mention of the Jewish Covenants (to Abraham, Moses, David) or to the Torah (Sabbath, etc.). Chapters 1-9 are considered a later addition, to "preface" the collection of Solomon's proverbs beginning chapter 10:

1:1 The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel:
1:8 My son, listen to your father’s instruction,
    and don’t forsake your mother’s teaching:
1:9 for they will be a garland to grace your head,
    and chains around your neck.
1:10 My son, if sinners entice you, don’t consent.
1:11 If they say, “Come with us,
    Let’s lay in wait for blood;
    let’s hide secretly for the innocent without cause;
1:12 let’s swallow them up alive like Sheol [Hell],
    and whole, like those who go down into the pit.
1:13 We’ll find all valuable wealth.
    We’ll fill our houses with spoil.
1:14 You shall cast your lot among us.
    We’ll all have one purse.”
The criminal traps himself and his own blood is shed:
1:15 My son, don’t walk in the way with them.
    Keep your foot from their path,
1:16 for their feet run to evil.
    They hurry to shed blood.
1:17 For in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird:
1:18 but these lay wait for their own blood.
    They lurk secretly for their own lives.
1:19 So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain.
    It takes away the life of its owners.
Wisdom is then personified as a Lady, and later contrasted to Lady Folly. All these proverbs have a mainly secular (non-religious) sense, though God is referred to; Egyptian influence is apparent in some of them. The image of Lady Wisdom as a consort (marriage partner) of God, from the beginning of the world may have seemed unsatifactory to strict Jews who did not wish God to have a consort, like Canaanite gods; later, in early Christian writings, Jesus replaces Lady Wisdom, as in the Gospel of John ("In the beginning was the Word," that is, Jesus). The following suggests the preaching of Jesus "in the public squares" and "I will pour out my spirit on you":
1:20 Wisdom calls aloud in the street.
    She utters her voice in the public squares.
1:22 “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?
    How long will mockers delight themselves in mockery,
    and fools hate knowledge?
1:23 Turn at my reproof.
    Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you.
    I will make known my words to you.
Verse 1:23b: At Pentecost, Jesus pours out his spirit and his followers speak in tongues, as the prophet Joel predicted.
1:24 Because I have called, and you have refused;
    I have stretched out my hand, and no one has paid attention;
1:25 but you have ignored all my counsel,
    and wanted none of my reproof;
Note synonymic parallelsim in these verses above and below:
1:26 I also will laugh at your disaster.
    I will mock when calamity overtakes you.”
The following woman is often called Lady Folly, contrasting against Lady Wisdom. These are called personifications. Note that this evil woman is called a "foreigner"!
2:16 To deliver you from the strange woman,
    even from the foreigner who flatters with her words;
2:18 for her house leads down to death,
    her paths to the dead.

The commandment to wear phylacteries around the forearms and forehead is suggested here:
3:3 Don’t let kindness and truth forsake you.
    Bind them around your neck.
    Write them on the tablet of your heart.
Many believers consider the following verse of great comfort:
3:5 Trust in Yahweh with all your heart,
    and don’t lean on your own understanding. 
3:13 Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
    the man who gets understanding.
3:15 She is more precious than rubies.
    None of the things you can desire are to be compared to her.
The following suggests the image of the Egyptian Goddess of Truth, Maat, who held a looped crosss (ankh) in her right hand and a feather with which to weigh the sins of the dead:
3:16 Length of days is in her right hand.
    In her left hand are riches and honor.
3:17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness.
    All her paths are peace.
Refers to the Garden of Eden in Genesis and suggests that Wisdom might return us there:
3:18 She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her.
    Happy is everyone who retains her.
In later Jewish-Christian though, Jesus replaces (Lady) Wisdom:
3:19 By wisdom Yahweh founded the earth.
    By understanding, he established the heavens.
This is a key idea in Old and New Testaments; that not doing good is as much a sin as doing evil. Chapter 25 of Matthew is key here; in speaking of the Last Judgment, Jesus never mentions doing evil as the cause of punishment, but not doing good!
3:27 Don’t withhold good from those to whom it is due,
    when it is in the power of your hand to do it.
3:28 Don’t say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again;
    tomorrow I will give it to you,”
    when you have it by you.
Beautiful imagery below, contrasting the good and the wicked:
4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the dawning light,
    that shines more and more until the perfect day.
4:19 The way of the wicked is like darkness.
    They don’t know what they stumble over.
A Deuteronomist idea here, neither swerving to left or right:
4:27 Don’t turn to the right hand nor to the left.
    Remove your foot from evil.
A warning against adultery. Notice that ideas here suit monogamy (one wife: the wife of one's youth); Jesus later makes this into a commandment: "what God has joined let no man put asunder" (separate). Note that sex is viewed as part of a normal life ("let her breasts satisfy you"); in later Jewish (i.e. Christian) thinking, sex was looked upon with distrust. Note the metaphoric language below: the cistern is the body. Verses 5:15-16 are obvious examples of synonymic parallelism with little change in content:
5:15 Drink water out of your own cistern,
    running water out of your own well.
5:16 Should your springs overflow in the streets,
    streams of water in the public squares?
5:17 Let them be for yourself alone,
    not for strangers with you.
5:18 Let your spring be blessed.
    Rejoice in the wife of your youth.
5:19 A loving doe and a graceful deer—
    let her breasts satisfy you at all times. 
One should show charity to one's neighbor but not involve oneself in their debts. These proverbs plead that you get rid of that burden. Note the synonymic simile (comparison) in v. 6:5:
6:1 My son,
    if you have struck your hands in pledge for a stranger;
6:2 You are trapped by the words of your mouth.
The following (6:6) may well be the most famous proverb in the collection. It includes progressive parallelsim, advancing the main idea with others. Note that in Proverbs, Nature becomes a guide as much as God or the Torah (Law), or more so:
6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard.
    Consider her ways, and be wise;
6:7 which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,
6:8 provides her bread in the summer,
    and gathers her food in the harvest.
6:10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to sleep:
6:11 so your poverty will come as a robber,
    and your scarcity as an armed man.
Another reference to phylacteries:
6:20 My son, keep your father’s commandment,
    and don’t forsake your mother’s teaching.
6:21 Bind them continually on your heart.
    Tie them around your neck.
6:23 For the commandment is a lamp,
    and the law is light.
6:27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap,
    and his clothes not be burned?
6:28 Or can one walk on hot coals,
    and his feet not be scorched?
6:29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife.
    Whoever touches her will not be unpunished.
6:34 For jealousy arouses the fury of the husband.
    He won’t spare in the day of vengeance.
6:35 He won’t regard any ransom,
    neither will he rest content, though you give many gifts.
The prostitute speaks:
7:16 "I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry,
    with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.
7:17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
7:18 Come, let’s take our fill of loving until the morning.
    Let’s solace ourselves with loving.
7:19 For my husband isn’t at home.
    He has gone on a long journey.
7:20 He has taken a bag of money with him.
    He will come home at the full moon.”
8:12 “I, wisdom, have made prudence my dwelling.
8:15 By me kings reign,
    and princes decree justice.
Jesus says: "Ask and it shall be given," which is a paraphrase of 8:17b. (For new students, verses are numbered by book, chapter, verse, sometimes with an "a" or "b" to show the first or second part of the verse. So Proverbs 8:17b means the book of Proverbs, chapter 8, verse 17, second half ("Those who seek," etc.).
8:17 I love those who love me.
    Those who seek me diligently will find me.
Wisdom is pictured the way Jesus later is, as with God from the beginning. So Jesus replaces Lady Wisdom in the Gospel of John:
8:22 “Yahweh possessed me in the beginning of his work,
    before his deeds of old.
8:23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning,
    before the earth existed.
8:29 When he marked out the foundations of the earth;
8:30 then I was the craftsman by his side."
The phrase "seven pillars" has become famous; Lawrence of Arabia titled his book, "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom." The number seven probably denotes (means) perfection and has no literal meaning (God made the world in seven days, resting on the seventh day). The following a charming vignette (small picture) of Wisdom personified as a hostess:
9:1 Wisdom has built her house.
    She has carved out her seven pillars.
9:2 She has prepared her meat.
    She has mixed her wine.
    She has also set her table.
9:4 As for him who is void of understanding, she says to him,
9:5 “Come, eat some of my bread,
    Drink some of the wine which I have mixed!
9:6 Leave your simple ways, and live.
    Walk in the way of understanding.”
Verse 9:5 (above) may have influenced the Last Supper of bread and wine.
10:1 The proverbs of Solomon.
Note the antithetic parallelism in these proverbs:
10:2 Treasures of wickedness profit nothing,
    but righteousness delivers from death.
St. Paul later says, "Love covers a multitude of sins":
10:12 Hatred stirs up strife,
    but love covers all wrongs.
10:24 What the wicked fear, will overtake them,
    but the desire of the righteous will be granted.
10:25 When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more;
    but the righteous stand firm forever.
The following is a warning not to cheat at business:
11:1 A false balance is an abomination to Yahweh,
    but accurate weights are his delight.
11:2 When pride comes, then comes shame,
    but with humility comes wisdom.
The uselessness of evil:
11:4 Riches don’t profit in the day of wrath,
    but righteousness delivers from death.  
11:7 When a wicked man dies, hope perishes,
    and expectation of power comes to nothing.
11:22 Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout,
    is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.
An idea, preaching charity, later repeated in Ecclesiastes:
11:24 There is one who scatters, and increases yet more.
    There is one who withholds more than is appropriate, but gains poverty.
One of the most famous proverbs, later one phrase became the title of a play/movie: "Inherit the Wind."
11:29 He who troubles his own house shall inherit the wind.
11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life.
"Tender mercies" became the title of a movie. The quote has a bitter irony, as if to say, even the good acts of an evil person do not measure up to the standard of goodness:
12:10 A righteous man respects the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
13:1
Many proverbs have great psychological (and social) insight. People can't be denied of their hopes for long:
13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
    but when longing is fulfilled, it is a tree of life.
13:23 An abundance of food is in poor people’s fields,
    but injustice sweeps it away.
One of the most famous (and controversial) of all proverbs, commonly phrased as, "He who spares the rod spoils the child." This is an example of whether the Bible should be red literally or not. If one relies on parallelism, one can dismiss "rod" as a mere metaphor or synonym for "discipline" and make "discipline" the main word.
13:24 One who spares the rod hates his son,
    but one who loves him is careful to discipline him.
In other words, you can make your life easy but only at the cost of income:
14:4 Where no oxen are, the crib is clean,
    but much increase is by the strength of the ox.
14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man,
    but in the end it leads to death.
A typical warning against sacrifice without love:
15:8 The sacrifice made by the wicked is an abomination to Yahweh,
    but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
15:17 Better is a dinner of herbs, where love is,
    than a fattened calf with hatred.
Familiar in the common proverb, "Man proposes, God disposes."
16:1 The plans of the heart belong to man,
    but the answer of the tongue is from Yahweh.
Note the psychological insight:
16:2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes;
    but Yahweh weighs the motives.
This proverb instills faith that everything is in God's control, as in the Joseph story where God allowed everything to happen for the best (Joseph became Governor of Egypt, etc.).
16:4 Yahweh has made everything for its own end—
    yes, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Again: "Man proposes, God disposes."
16:9 A man’s heart plans his course,
    but Yahweh directs his steps.
Familiar more simply as, "Pride goeth before a fall":
16:18 Pride goes before destruction,
    and a haughty spirit before a fall.
16:25 There is a way which seems right to a man,
    but in the end it leads to death.
16:31 Gray hair is a crown of glory.
    It is attained by a life of righteousness.
16:32 One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty;
    one who rules his spirit, than he who takes a city.
Casting lots was common among the Jews from the earliest times, as with the Urim and Thummim, which scholars believe were dice thrown to answer yes or no (Exodus 28:30). Later Matthias replaced Judas by lot as the 12th apostle (Acts 1:26). But the idea was that God controlled the chance:
16:33 The lot is cast into the lap,
    but its every decision is from Yahweh.
17:1 Better is a dry morsel with quietness,
    than a house full of feasting with strife.
17:5 Whoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker.
    He who is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished.
17:16 Why is there money in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom,
    since he has no understanding?
17:22 A cheerful heart makes good medicine,
    but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Mind over matter:
18:14 A man’s spirit will sustain him in sickness,
    but a crushed spirit, who can bear?
18:17 He who pleads his cause first seems right;
    until another comes and questions him.
Examples of comic proverbs:
19:24 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
    he will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
20:14 “It’s no good, it’s no good,” says the buyer;
    but when he is gone his way, then he boasts.
20:22 Don’t say, “I will pay back evil.”
    Wait for Yahweh, and he will save you.
21:2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,
    but Yahweh weighs the hearts.
21:3 To do righteousness and justice
    is more acceptable to Yahweh than sacrifice.
Preaching equality, like Job, who knew the God who made him also made his servant:
22:2 The rich and the poor have this in common:
    Yahweh is the maker of them all.
22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go,
    and when he is old he will not depart from it.
22:13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside!
    I will be killed in the streets!”
24:10 If you falter in the time of trouble,
    your strength is small.
Another warning about not helping people when they need help:
24:12 If you say, “Behold, we didn’t know this;”
    doesn’t he who weighs the hearts consider it?
He who keeps your soul, doesn’t he know it?
    Shall he not give to every man according to his work?
24:16 A righteous man falls seven times, and rises up again;
    but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.
24:19 Don’t fret yourself because of evildoers;
    neither be envious of the wicked:
24:20 for there will be no reward to the evil man;
    and the lamp of the wicked shall be snuffed out.
Note the way the proverbs are loosely organized:
25:1 These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.
St. Paul later quotes this proverb. The idea is if you forgive your enemy he will feel shame:
25:21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat.
    If he is thirsty, give him water to drink:
25:22 for you will heap coals of fire on his head,
    and Yahweh will reward you.
Comic images:
26:14 As the door turns on its hinges,
    so does the sluggard on his bed.
26:15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish.
    He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
St. James says the same thing in his letter from the New Testament:
27:1 Don’t boast about tomorrow;
    for you don’t know what a day may bring forth.
27:7 A full soul loathes a honeycomb;
    but to a hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet.
Comic and ironic, since the blessing is obviously meant as a curse, like telling a classmate whom you dislike, "I hope you pass your exam!"
27:14 He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning,
    it will be taken as a curse by him.
Also translated as, "Where there is no vision, the people perish":
29:18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint;
    but one who keeps the law is blessed.
29:25 The fear of man proves to be a snare,
    but whoever puts his trust in Yahweh is kept safe.
30:1 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the oracle:
The perfect life is neither rich nor poor; either extreme is bad:
30:8  "Give me neither poverty nor riches.
    Feed me with the food that is needful for me;
30:9 lest I be full, deny you, and say, ‘Who is Yahweh?’
    or lest I be poor, and steal,
    and so dishonor the name of my God.
Strong image:
30:20 “So is the way of an adulterous woman:
    she eats and wipes her mouth,
    and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’
31:1 The words of king Lemuel; the oracle which his mother taught him.
31:2 “Oh, my son!
31:8 Open your mouth for the mute,
    in the cause of all who are left desolate.
31:9 Open your mouth, judge righteously,
    and serve justice to the poor and needy.”
Proverbs achieves unity by ending with Lady Wisdom, this time as an ordinary but noble woman:
31:10 Who can find a worthy woman?
    For her price is far above rubies.
31:13 She seeks wool and flax,
    and works eagerly with her hands.
31:14 She is like the merchant ships.
    She brings her bread from afar.
31:15 She rises also while it is yet night,
    gives food to her household,
    and portions for her servant girls.
31:16 She considers a field, and buys it.
    With the fruit of her hands, she plants a vineyard.
31:17 She arms her waist with strength,
    and makes her arms strong.
31:18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
    Her lamp doesn’t go out by night.
31:19 She lays her hands to the distaff,
    and her hands hold the spindle.
31:20 She opens her arms to the poor;
    yes, she extends her hands to the needy.
31:25 Strength and dignity are her clothing.
    She laughs at the time to come.
31:26 She opens her mouth with wisdom.
    Faithful instruction is on her tongue.
31:30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain;
    but a woman who fears Yahweh, she shall be praised.

Ecclesiastes
This little book teaches that all life is vanity (useless). It's a powerful book and is as good a companion for our journey through life as any. It's almost Buddhist preaching on the vanity of life is balanced by a confidence in God's justice and design; whether this was a later addition, to make the book suitable for inclusion in the Bible, is an open matter. But we all need a dose of this wisdom now and then. "Vanity" here means (literally) vapor or emptiness; a close synonym is "useless." Note how the very style of the verses imitate the useless cycles of Time:

1:1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
1:2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” 1:3 What does man gain from all his labor in which he labors under the sun? 1:4 One generation goes, and another generation comes; but the earth remains forever. 1:5 The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hurries to its place where it rises. 1:6 The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north. It turns around continually as it goes, and the wind returns again to its courses. 1:7 All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, there they flow again. 1:8 All things are full of weariness beyond uttering. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. 1:9 That which has been is that which shall be; and that which has been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. 1:10 Is there a thing of which it may be said, “Behold, this is new?” It has been long ago, in the ages which were before us. 1:11 There is no memory of the former; neither shall there be any memory of the latter that are to come, among those that shall come after.
"Solomon" becomes a type of the person who has everything and is therefore in a position to prove the uselessness of everything. Though attributed to King Solomon, the book was probably written around 300 BCE:
1:12 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 1:13 I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under the sky. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and a chasing after wind. 1:15 That which is crooked can’t be made straight; and that which is lacking can’t be counted. 1:17 I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also was a chasing after wind. 1:18 For in much wisdom is much grief; and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
2:1 I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth: therefore enjoy pleasure;” and behold, this also was vanity.
2:4 I made myself great works. I built myself houses. 2:11 Then I looked at all the works that my hands had worked, and at the labor that I had labored to do; and behold, all was vanity and a chasing after wind, and there was no profit under the sun.
2:14 The wise man’s eyes are in his head, and the fool walks in darkness—and yet I perceived that one event happens to them all.
2:18 I hated all my labor in which I labored under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me. 2:19 Who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have rule over all of my labor in which I have labored, and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity.
 In later Jewish thought, this became a commandment, namely to enjoy life, because this comes from God:
2:24 There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God.
3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:
Some of the most famous verses in the Bible, but how to read them? As practical advice or as part of a useless cycle of action?
3:2 a time to be born,
    and a time to die;
a time to plant,
    and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3:3 a time to kill,
    and a time to heal;
a time to break down,
    and a time to build up;
3:4 a time to weep,
    and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn,
    and a time to dance;  
3:8 a time to love,
    and a time to hate;
a time for war,
    and a time for peace.
The common assumption that reference to God was added only at the end doesn't add up, unless the Redactor was very skillful in weaving God in other verses too. The Preacher's message seems clear: only God has value, but nothing else, or nothing without God; however useless life seems, "God has done it, that men should fear before him" (3:14); nothing man does can add to or detract from God's work. As the Catholic writer G. K. Chesterton observed, pessimism and optimism are false opposites; they both go together: once we realize how hopeless life on earth is, we can find God and achieve real hope, not false hope. So optimism fulfills pessimism! This I think is how to read the Preacher of Ecclesiastes. Even Elvis leaves the building, finally; but God never leaves; that's the message here:
3:11 He [God] has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in their hearts, yet so that man can’t find out the work that God has done from the beginning even to the end. 3:14 I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; and God has done it, that men should fear before him.
Again, what seems like pessimism is true optimism: our hopes on this earth are useless (this is a pagan idea too, as in "the vanity of human wishes" or "The Wheel of Fortune"). But the Preacher finds real hope in God; seeing that we ourselves are no better than the animals encourages us to seek our only dignity in God, not in ourselves:
 3:18 I said in my heart, “As for the sons of men, God tests them, so that they may see that they themselves are like animals. 3:19 For that which happens to the sons of men happens to animals. As the one dies, so the other dies. Yes, they have all one breath; and man has no advantage over the animals: for all is vanity. 3:20 All go to one place. All are from the dust, and all turn to dust again. 3:21 Who knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, whether it goes downward to the earth?”
4:1 Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold, the tears of those who were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter. 4:2 Therefore I praised the dead who have been long dead more than the living who are yet alive.
Here the Preacher's pessimism has moral import or value: Why labor ueslessly and for whom?
4:6 Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and chasing after wind.
7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men, and the living should take this to heart. 7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the face the heart is made good. 7:4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
7:10 Don’t say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not ask wisely about this.
7:13 Consider the work of God, for who can make that straight, which he has made crooked? 7:14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; yes, God has made the one side by side with the other, to the end that man should not find out anything after him.
7:15 All this have I seen in my days of vanity: there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who lives long in his evildoing. 7:16 Don’t be overly righteous, neither make yourself overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
7:29 Behold, this only have I found: that God made man upright; but they search for many schemes.”
 8:11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 8:12 Though a sinner commits crimes a hundred times, and lives long, yet surely I know that it will be better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him. 8:13 But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he lengthen days like a shadow; because he doesn’t fear God.
9:9 Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your life of vanity, which he has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity: for that is your portion in life, and in your labor in which you labor under the sun. 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, where you are going.
9:11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.
A famous quote: "Dead flies spoil the ointment":
10:1 Dead flies cause the oil of the perfumer to send forth an evil odor; so does a little folly outweigh wisdom and honor.
Since we don't know God's plan, all we can do is what makes sense to us to do. The famous verse 11:1 has been differently interpreted. It can either mean to give charity, since God will reward us; or it can mean just do what makes sense at the time because perfect plans are impossible:
11:1 Cast your bread on the waters;
    for you shall find it after many days.
11:6 In the morning sow your seed,
    and in the evening don’t withhold your hand;
    for you don’t know which will prosper, whether this or that,
    or whether they both will be equally good.
This pessimist agrees life can be beautiful, BUT:
11:7 Truly the light is sweet,
    and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to see the sun.
11:8 Yes, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all;
    but let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many.
    All that comes is vanity.
Nothing puritanical here: accept your youthful desires, but remember you'll have to face God too, so keep a balance:
11:9 Rejoice, young man, in your youth,
    and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth,
    and walk in the ways of your heart,
    and in the sight of your eyes;
    but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
This warns of the coming of old age and (possibly) even the end of the world:
12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth,
    before the evil days come, and the years draw near,
    when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them;”
12:2 Before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are darkened,
    and the clouds return after the rain;
12:3 in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble,
    and the strong men shall bow themselves,
    and the grinders cease because they are few,
    and those who look out of the windows are darkened,
12:4 and the doors shall be shut in the street;
    when the sound of the grinding is low,
    and one shall rise up at the voice of a bird,
    and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;
12:5 yes, they shall be afraid of heights,
    and terrors will be in the way;
    and the almond tree shall blossom,
    and the grasshopper shall be a burden,
    and desire shall fail;
    because man goes to his everlasting home,
    and the mourners go about the streets:
12:6 before the silver cord is severed,
    or the golden bowl is broken,
    or the pitcher is broken at the spring,
    or the wheel broken at the cistern,
12:7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was,
    and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
12:8 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher.
    “All is vanity!”
The following verses are often thought to be an obvious (later) addition to be sure readers ended on a Godly note:
12:13 This is the end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. 12:14 For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil.

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Song of Solomon
Some scholars have tried to organize these verses into a drama or plot, but most scholars see  them as a loose collection of erotic (love) verses. Remember, "God saw that it was good"; so sex is good too. That's the main point if these verses are read straight. But they have also been read as an allegory of God's love for man and man's love for God, or as the love between God and the Church. The atrribution of characters is a later addition to help the reader separate speakers. In English the Beloved is the woman, the Lover is the man. In some readings there are three characters, including the "king"; in other readings, the king is just another name for the lover, who is a "king" to his beloved. Note the equality of love or desire in the man and the woman; in loving, there is equality and the Fall from Paradise is undone; they eat of all the fruits of the Garden at least in their minds.

1:1 The Song of songs, which is Solomon’s.
Beloved
1:2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth;
    for your love is better than wine.
Read as allegory, "dark" below can mean full of sin; the Christian, for example, is dark (full of sin) but is loved by God (the Lover) anyway ("but lovely"):
1:5 I am dark, but lovely,
    you daughters of Jerusalem,
    like Kedar’s tents,
    like Solomon’s curtains.
1:6 Don’t stare at me because I am dark,
    because the sun has scorched me.
Vineyard seems to be used in both senses: a real vineyard, but also the woman's body ("I haven't kept my own vineyard"):
My mother’s sons were angry with me.
    They made me keeper of the vineyards.
    I haven’t kept my own vineyard.
1:7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves,
    where you graze your flock,
    where you rest them at noon;
    For why should I be as one who is veiled
    beside the flocks of your companions?
Lover
1:8 If you don’t know, most beautiful among women,
    follow the tracks of the sheep.
    Graze your young goats beside the shepherds’ tents.
1:9 I have compared you, my love,
    to a steed in Pharaoh’s chariots.
1:10 Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings,
    your neck with strings of jewels.
Beloved
1:12 While the king sat at his table,
    my perfume spread its fragrance.
1:13 My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh,
    that lies between my breasts.
1:14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
    from the vineyards of En Gedi.
Lover
1:15 Behold, you are beautiful, my love.
    Behold, you are beautiful.
    Your eyes are doves.
Beloved
1:16 Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, yes, pleasant;
    and our couch is verdant.
As allegory, Jesus is the "Rose of Sharon" and the "Lily of the Valleys":
Beloved
2:1 I am a rose of Sharon,
    a lily of the valleys.
Lover
2:2 As a lily among thorns,
    so is my love among the daughters.
Beloved
2:3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood,
    so is my beloved among the sons.
I sat down under his shadow with great delight,
    his fruit was sweet to my taste.
2:4 He brought me to the banquet hall.
    His banner over me is love.
2:5 Strengthen me with raisins,
    refresh me with apples;
    For I am faint with love.
2:6 His left hand is under my head.
    His right hand embraces me.
2:7 I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem,
    by the roes, or by the hinds of the field,
    that you not stir up, nor awaken love,
    until it so desires.
The following verse (2:9b) is the basis of the Jewish priest (Kohan) spacing the fingers of his hand so God can look through them, a gesture borrowed by Leonard Nimroy for his character Spock in Star Trek.
2:9 My beloved is like a roe or a young hart.
    Behold, he stands behind our wall!
He looks in at the windows.
    He glances through the lattice.
2:10 My beloved spoke, and said to me,
    “Rise up, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.
2:11 For, behold, the winter is past.
    The rain is over and gone.
2:12 The flowers appear on the earth.
    The time of the singing has come,
    and the voice of the dove is heard in our land.
2:13 The fig tree ripens her green figs.
    The vines are in blossom.
    They give forth their fragrance.
Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
    and come away.”
Lover
2:14 My dove in the clefts of the rock,
    In the hiding places of the mountainside,
    Let me see your face.
    Let me hear your voice;
    for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.
The "little foxes" are those who interfere with the lovers in their passion (that "spoil the vineyards," or the lovers bodies). As allegory "the little foxes" are sins that "spoil" God's "vineyards" (the wine of life).
2:15 Catch for us the foxes,
    the little foxes that spoil the vineyards;
    for our vineyards are in blossom.
Beloved
2:16 My beloved is mine, and I am his.
    He browses among the lilies.
2:17 Until the day is cool, and the shadows flee away,
    turn, my beloved,
    and be like a roe or a young hart on the mountains of Bether.
As allegory, the following verses show how the soul must seek God (Jesus) before he is found.
3:1 By night on my bed,
    I sought him whom my soul loves.
    I sought him, but I didn’t find him.
Lover

4:1 Behold, you are beautiful, my love.
    Behold, you are beautiful.
The Lover says he will go to the body of his Beloved ("to the mountain of myrrh, to the hill of frankincense").
4:6 Until the day is cool, and the shadows flee away,
    I will go to the mountain of myrrh,
    to the hill of frankincense.
4:7 You are all beautiful, my love.
    There is no spot in you.
4:11 Your lips, my bride, drip like the honeycomb.
    Honey and milk are under your tongue.
    The smell of your garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
The Lover says his Beloved is still a virgin:
4:12 A locked up garden is my sister, my bride;
    a locked up spring,
    a sealed fountain.
The Beloved returns the compliment. There is perfect equality between the lovers; her body belongs to him ("his garden" with "precious fruits"):
Beloved
4:16 Awake, north wind; and come, you south!
    Blow on my garden, that its spices may flow out.
Let my beloved come into his garden,
    and taste his precious fruits.
Lover
5:1 I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride.
    I have gathered my myrrh with my spice;
    I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;
    I have drunk my wine with my milk.
Beloved
5:2 I was asleep, but my heart was awake.
5:4 My beloved thrust his hand in through the latch opening.
    My heart pounded for him.
5:5 I rose up to open for my beloved.
    My hands dripped with myrrh,
    my fingers with liquid myrrh,
    on the handles of the lock.
As allegory, these verses tell of the soul's difficult search for God (other translations have "Lover" instead of "Beloved"). The search for God can be painful; God appears for a while then seems to be absent ("I looked for him, but I didn't find him. I called him, but he didn't answer"). Moreover, the Beloved (the Christian soul) must suffer pain from society in her search (she is beaten):
5:6 I opened to my beloved;
    but my beloved left; and had gone away.
My heart went out when he spoke.
    I looked for him, but I didn’t find him.
    I called him, but he didn’t answer.
5:7 The watchmen who go about the city found me.
    They beat me.
    They bruised me.
5:16 His mouth is sweetness;
    yes, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved, and this is my friend,
    daughters of Jerusalem.
6:2 My beloved has gone down to his garden,
    to the beds of spices,
    to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
6:3 I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.
    He browses among the lilies,

7:1 How beautiful are your feet in sandals, prince’s daughter!
    Your rounded thighs are like jewels,
    the work of the hands of a skillful workman. 
7:6 How beautiful and how pleasant you are,
    love, for delights!
7:7 This, your stature, is like a palm tree,
    your breasts like its fruit.
7:8 I said, “I will climb up into the palm tree.
    I will take hold of its fruit.”
Let your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
    the smell of your breath like apples,
Beloved
The following reverses Genesis, where God punishes Eve by saying woman's desire will be for the man; here the man desires the woman:
7:10 I am my beloved’s.
    His desire is toward me.
7:11 Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field.
Verse 7:11b: Actually, a literal translation of "lodge" is also "bushes," which makes more sense, but is indelicate (possibly, "let us do it in the bushes"):
    Let us lodge in the villages.
7:12 Let’s go early up to the vineyards.
    Let’s see whether the vine has budded,
    its blossom is open,
    and the pomegranates are in flower.
    There I will give you my love.
7:13 The mandrakes give forth fragrance.
    At our doors are all kinds of precious fruits, new and old,
    which I have stored up for you, my beloved.
The woman wants complete devotion ("Set me as a seal on your heart"), for love is a fire even floods can't put out:
8:6 Set me as a seal on your heart,
    as a seal on your arm;
    for love is strong as death.
    Jealousy is as cruel as Sheol.
    Its flashes are flashes of fire,
    a very flame of Yahweh.
There is debate whether God (Yahweh) is mentioned in the Song of Songs; this translation includes "Yahweh," while others omit it. So the book of Esther is the only book that never mentions the word God.
8:7 Many waters can’t quench love,
    neither can floods drown it.
If a man would give all the wealth of his house for love,
    he would be utterly scorned.
The Song ends with the Beloved begging her lover to take possession of her body like "a young stag on [her] mountains of spices"!
Beloved
8:14 Come away, my beloved!
    Be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices!

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