nietzsche on spoken word
by wren cullen
Nietzsche on Spoken Word:
To Nietzsche, there is no such thing as the truth. It is a human construct made of subjective terms. Our entire language, our way of communicating between life, does not exist outside of our humanity; nature cares not for truth or lies. To Nietzsche, metaphors are as close to the truth that man can reach because every language-based concept is simply our association between a symbolic representation of our experience and the physical thing. To him, concepts are metaphors that do not correspond to reality. We use metaphors and other literary devices to convey our feelings when words fail us. An example would be saying “she was drowning in a sea of grief,” as she is not literally drowning, but she is stricken with grief. Spoken word poetry is not meant to remind us of the experience we are speaking of, but instead of the emotions and similarities shared with most cases pertaining to it. Poets speak not in “truth” but in literary devices because they heighten emotions and are understood by a vast majority. When explaining a situation to someone who has never experienced it, a simile or metaphor is the only way to convey how you felt at the time. Instead of struggling to find words to convey the love and adoration you felt, compare your love for him to the lightness of the summer breeze, and how it lifts your soul. The truth is simply an illusion that has been used so long that it seems to no longer be one. Nietzsche once said “Truths are illusions which we have forgotten are illusions; they are metaphors that have become worn out and have been drained of sensuous force, coins which have lost their embossing and are now considered as metal and no longer coins”. Man is so enamored with the construct of truth that he will cling to it to hold up the illusions that truth is real. Spoken poets understand the fragility of truth and the delicacy they must handle it with. Writers acknowledge that our language cannot fully support itself, and needs others to build onto the foundation to built. Human minds are powerful, but this is not always enough, metaphors are as close to the truth that humans can manage. Similar to Icarus, we can only fly so close to the truth before it burns us. Poets understand the complexity and the timidity we must use when we fly close to the sun. The truth, along with lies and concepts, is a chimera created in order to express thoughts and feelings. We use subjective terms to create concepts that we use to communicate. Our fears, lies, and language do not exist in the natural world; it is simply man-made, created to communicate with others. When words fail us we use a language-based concept to affiliate the fictional connections between an emotion or time, and a physical thing that most people can associate with. Our language and concepts and similar do not exist in nature, but instead in our minds and society. Poets have an ability to connect the concepts with emotions and previous experiences, while managing to touch the soul of anyone listening.
To Nietzsche, there is no such thing as the truth. It is a human construct made of subjective terms. Our entire language, our way of communicating between life, does not exist outside of our humanity; nature cares not for truth or lies. To Nietzsche, metaphors are as close to the truth that man can reach because every language-based concept is simply our association between a symbolic representation of our experience and the physical thing. To him, concepts are metaphors that do not correspond to reality. We use metaphors and other literary devices to convey our feelings when words fail us. An example would be saying “she was drowning in a sea of grief,” as she is not literally drowning, but she is stricken with grief. Spoken word poetry is not meant to remind us of the experience we are speaking of, but instead of the emotions and similarities shared with most cases pertaining to it. Poets speak not in “truth” but in literary devices because they heighten emotions and are understood by a vast majority. When explaining a situation to someone who has never experienced it, a simile or metaphor is the only way to convey how you felt at the time. Instead of struggling to find words to convey the love and adoration you felt, compare your love for him to the lightness of the summer breeze, and how it lifts your soul. The truth is simply an illusion that has been used so long that it seems to no longer be one. Nietzsche once said “Truths are illusions which we have forgotten are illusions; they are metaphors that have become worn out and have been drained of sensuous force, coins which have lost their embossing and are now considered as metal and no longer coins”. Man is so enamored with the construct of truth that he will cling to it to hold up the illusions that truth is real. Spoken poets understand the fragility of truth and the delicacy they must handle it with. Writers acknowledge that our language cannot fully support itself, and needs others to build onto the foundation to built. Human minds are powerful, but this is not always enough, metaphors are as close to the truth that humans can manage. Similar to Icarus, we can only fly so close to the truth before it burns us. Poets understand the complexity and the timidity we must use when we fly close to the sun. The truth, along with lies and concepts, is a chimera created in order to express thoughts and feelings. We use subjective terms to create concepts that we use to communicate. Our fears, lies, and language do not exist in the natural world; it is simply man-made, created to communicate with others. When words fail us we use a language-based concept to affiliate the fictional connections between an emotion or time, and a physical thing that most people can associate with. Our language and concepts and similar do not exist in nature, but instead in our minds and society. Poets have an ability to connect the concepts with emotions and previous experiences, while managing to touch the soul of anyone listening.