The Beauty of Imagery

Ecclesiastes is full of images, parallels and situations which become vivid and real in the readers' mind while reading. For example:

"Dead flies make the perfumer's

ointment give off a stench;

so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor." - Ecclesiastes 10:1

The images in Ecclesiastes make the book relatable, they draw you in and touch your heart. The message of the book could be communicated in much fewer words but would have a significantly smaller impact. The author of Ecclesiastes is able to draw from the landscape around him to paint "word pictures" in order to engage his readers. Just like T.S. Elliot used the lazy London streets as the landscape in his poems to engage his readers and Johnny Cash uses the sights and sounds of the railroad in his songs. Wisdom comes in all shapes and sizes but the most memorable forms are the ones you can relate to.