Ecclesiastes Chapter -1
From Old Testament by King Solomon
The words of the Preacher,
the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Vanity[b] of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens[c] to the place where it rises.
The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been already
in the ages before us.
There is no remembrance of former things
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things[e] yet to be
among those who come after.
Summary of Christian Old Testament Ecclesiastes Chapter -1
- Popularity of “Ecclesiastes Chapter -1”: Published back in the 16th century, “Ecclesiastes Chapter-1” is a thoughtful, poetic piece in theological writing. In this poetic piece, King Salmon talks about the pain a wise man has to bear while looking at the real side of things. He is stated to have composed this piece keeping in mind the nothingness and vanity he saw in the things around him. Although the piece was published ages ago, the way the speaker touches the universal thematic strand makes this poetic piece unparalleled and unique.
- “Ecclesiastes Chapter -1” As a Representation of Reality: This poetic piece presents the folly of humankind. It begins with a claim that all things are vanity. The speaker makes this bold claim intentionally to provide a wise answer to questions about loss and gain. To him, man gains nothing from his toil. Nature works under certain unchangeable principles. Similarly, the life cycle of human beings remains the same, and things repeatedly happen with not even the slightest change in order. As the poetic piece continues, he describes the lack of satisfaction he experienced on the earth.
It seems that he has never heard or seen anything that can bring him eternal joy. He further states that every generation claims to experience something new and unique, but nothing new has ever been done. The way we have forgotten our past generation, the future generations will also erase the memory of the present generation. All of this realization makes him state that life has been futile. The speaker ends by referring to his knowledge, wisdom, and experience that make him conclude that there is vanity on the earth. Also, he regrets being a wise man, as his wisdom always brings him sorrow and worry. - Major Themes in “Ecclesiastes Chapter -1”: Wisdom, the nothingness of life, and the reality of life are the major themes. The speaker claims that everything on the earth is vanity. To support his argument, he gives an example of the cyclical nature of life and the set pattern of natural objects. He says that everything has been the same for ages, and human beings’ claim that they are experiencing something new is a lie. Being a wise man, he knows that man can’t change most of the things happening in the world. Moreover, he feels pity for those who work hard, but their hard work bears no fruit. In fact, he builds up this argument to state a straightforward fact that wisdom brings a lot of pain. To him, a wise man is an unhappy soul in the world because he can see what others cannot see. Unfortunately, he cannot alter people’s views about certain things; he can only make a judgment based on his wisdom. Thus, this simple poetic piece sheds light on the life of a wise man, like what problems he faces while walking on the path of wisdom and truth.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Ecclesiastes Chapter -1
Though it is a translated portion of words spoken by King Solomon, it has good use of literary devices to enhance the intended impact of his words. These devices are as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in “nor the ear filled with hearing” and the sound of /o/ in “among those who come after.”
- Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some verses. This chapter shows the use of anaphora in the repetition of “vanity” in the first stanza to emphasize the point, such as;
“Vanity[b] of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /t/ in “Is there a thing of which it is said,” and the sound of /n/ in “There is no remembrance of former things.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
“There is no remembrance of former things
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things[e] yet to be
among those who come after.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. This chapter shows the use of imagery, such as “A generation goes, and a generation comes” and “to the place where the streams flow.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects different in nature. This chapter presents wisdom as an extended metaphor to show how it steals happiness from the one who owns it.
- Rhetorical Question: Rhetorical question is a question that is not asked in order to receive an answer; it is just posed to make the point clear. King Solomon posed rhetorical questions at many places in the poem to emphasize his point such as, “What does man gain by all the toil/at which he toils under the sun??”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. This chapter shows the use of symbols, such as wisdom, reality, vanity, and worry.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Ecclesiastes Chapter -1
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows descriptive, simple and poetic diction.
- Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are thirty-three lines in this poem with no stanza break.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. Initially, the poem shows an indifferent tone, but later it turns into a philosophical and suggestive one.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to praise the mastery of God, who created everything in order.
“The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens[c] to the place where it rises.
The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.”