A cliché, the dictionary tells us, is “a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.” As a literary device, it’s not considered a good idea. Other words that come to mind are hackneyed (lacking significance through having been overused) or trite (overused and consequently of little import; lacking originality or freshness). Any author or writer will want to avoid these things!
And yet…
I watched an old Clint Eastwood film yesterday, the first he ever directed himself. It’s called ‘Play Misty For Me’ and is a tale of unrequited love and the dangers of obsession, about a woman who develops a grand passion for a DJ and ends up threatening violence and death because her ‘love’ is not reciprocated. I found it pretty predictable, lacking emotional impact (mainly because I didn’t like any of the characters!), and tedious in places. Not renowned for my great perspicacity in film-watching, I predicted just about every plot twist before it happened and consequently felt a little bit cheated at the end of the film. I’m a great admirer of Clint Eastwood and this film certainly lacked the impact ‘Unforgiven’ or ‘Gran Turino’ had on me.
Similarly, earlier in the week I’d read a review of Tim Hughes’s new album ‘Love Shine Through’ that talked about the banality of some lyrics, complaining about trite phrases in worship songs. That got me interested, because the song in question (‘Keep The Faith‘) is one I absolutely love.
What was the difference, I asked myself, between the frustration I felt at the clichés in the film and the frustration the reviewer felt at the lyrics in the song and the way other people view the film and I view the song? Yes, personal preferences obviously come into the equation, but what is it about words which can inspire one person and leave another feeling cold?
As someone fascinated and bewitched by words, I have been thinking a lot about these things lately, particularly about metaphor, how language can be used to state something which is actually not what the individual words mean in themselves. I love words that startle me, expressions that make me see truth in a different light, that tease my imagination and open up new paths of thinking. Lyrics such as ‘reckless abandon wrapped in common sense’ (Casting Crowns, ‘Somewhere In The Middle’), ‘the impoverished power that sets the soul free’ (Michael Card, ‘The Basin and the Towel’), ‘we’re all hanging empty, empty and upside down’ (Rich Mullins, ‘Somewhere’) capture me. They lead me on new journeys to discover more of the vastness of God, to understand the complexity of the human heart and to see and live in a different way.
Yet I have come to the conclusion that maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to shun clichés, to cold-shouder banalities or to dismiss platitudes as ‘meaningless’. If they express truth, however repetitive that truth may sound to our itching ears, then they have achieved something. Truth is truth. We can’t dismiss something as unimportant just because it’s packaged in a way we’re familiar with. As Ecclesiastes points out ‘there is nothing new under the sun.’ (Eccl 1:9)
As someone with great respect for wordsmiths who craft words on a daily basis, I think we perhaps need to understand that a cliché is only meaningless if we shrug off the truth it contains. Original thought is great and I love the way people can help us to see truth in a new way by the words they use. Nonetheless, simplicity doesn’t have to be irrelevant and truth doesn’t have to be constantly repackaged to appeal to us. Maybe we need to recapture simple truths, in whatever form they come, and never lose that childlike wonder at the mysteries that can be revealed through words.