Chavel S. The Utility and Futility of Poetry in Qohelet

Ch. 6, pp. 93-110 from Couey, J., & James, E. (Eds.). (2018).
Biblical Poetry and the Art of Close Reading. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.This essay argues that Qohelet's famous bit of speech on the seasons at 3:1-8 mimics and mocks proverbial poetry, as part of his larger, prosaic denial that life has discernible and usable rhythms and rhymes.