February 23, 2011: Language and Metaphor

So, a few weeks ago in my discussion section for the course Religion in Human Experience, we were discussing the Human Experience part of the course. It was at the very end of the discussion that I was struck by the epiphany of the essayist's congruence to Walt Whitman's image of then interconnected roots of grass and the commonalities among all human experience. Being the good nerdfighter I am, I then went to the public library and got a copy of both "Song of Myself" and John Green's amazing novel Paper Towns (if you haven't read it, you really should. It came out three years ago, I've read it multiple times, and it is still powerful to me) to further delve into this idea that began brewing in my head.

As I was analyzing religious theory, poetry, and the novel (which includes insightful analysis of the poetry), the importance of metaphor stood out to me. The religious theorists use terms like "consciousness" and "presence" to describe being intellectually and emotionally available to other humans; Whitman uses the grass; and Green introduces a more individualized metaphor of being made of strings that can and eventually do break.

I've been pondering metaphors for weeks now, and I think they help us think about tough subjects. It is hard to come up with an objective and universal way to talk about a huge concept like humanity, but the metaphors of interconnectedness that describe experience make it easier to understand another person's point of view. Isn't that what we try to do anyway?

And from metaphors, I began to rediscover the power of words. Language has such an influence on how we think about a topic, from words that sound beautiful to rhetorical strategies to emphasize their power when supporting a side in a debate. Words often sound better in my head and are hard to externalize as eloquently as I think them, but unless they are spoken they have no real influence.

I guess my main point is that language and metaphor have immense unifying power. They can help us understand one another, explain our personal worldview, and persuade others to take action. And even outside their power, they are just beautiful. I hope I never cease to recognize how amazing language is and can be.

Today is awesome because my psych study had a really comfy chair. DFTBA