Can we not also benefit from speaking through metaphor, contrary to what Plato believes? Cannot some things only be spoken of truly through metaphor, such as love or beauty?
Plato himself received his lessons from readings of Homer, an epic poet, who always spoke his messages through metaphor. While Plato focused mainly on the overall teachings of Homer and ignored the metaphor, I believe that metaphor may be one of the greatest means of understanding something. Not only is it a creative way to express one's views, but if it is a memorable metaphor, than it can help stick in one's head and thus benefit from it. There is a beauty in knowledge and metaphor, so the two can easily go hand in hand.
In regards to beauty, and love for that matter, I believe that to really capture what beauty or love mean is through the use of metaphor, or more specifically through poetry. The weaver of words composes his lines from the heart, not solely from the mind. The deepest expressions on love have been given through poetry and song, and beauty captured in words and the visual arts. If we truly know the essence of everything within ourselves, as Plato believes, then the best way to convey the essence of beauty and love is through beautiful means, which come from the very soul.
Or even if we do not subscribe to Plato's beliefs, beauty and love are simply words assigned to certain feelings by humans. The way that a person expresses their love for someone or something are often through means that are considered artistic, be it poetry or song or visualization, all of which embrace metaphor as a necessary tool. One can attempt to reason why we feel things such as these, yet they will never fully capture the essence of these feelings, for they are driven by emotion, the human condition, which goes beyond reason, and embrace our artistic side, with metaphor as its guide.
No comments:
Post a Comment