The literary use of proverbs

Literary scholars and folklorists have long been interested in studying the use and function of proverbs in literature. Earlier scholarship consisted primarily of annotated lists of the proverbs found in literary works, while more recent publications address the problems of identification and interpretation of proverbial language in poetry, dramas, and prose. For a bibliographical review of hundreds of literary proverb studies see Wolfgang Mieder, Proverbs in Literature: an International Bibliography (Bern: Peter Lang, 1978); and see also his general article on “The Essence of Literary Proverb Studies, " Proverbium, no. 23 (1974), 888-894.