Poets and Silence
School children looking into the courtyard after a fellow student disappeared and the entire village hovered in silence about his where abouts.
Fear of silence can be experienced vividly in the imagination, once man finds himself completely alone in the universe. That is similar to walking in the dark through a forest and being startled by the smallest noise. The imagination overshoots literally the sound itself as if there is a huge monster when in reality it is but a squirrel making the noise. That fear of silence dominates as well when man finds himself alone, isolated, trapped in the four walls of his home. It is once of the motives which can make man flee into the noise of the street as this is taken to be a sign of life. Noise is needed quasi as proof of being aliWhen Katerina Anghelaki Rooke received a scholarship for residency, she was wondering often due to the silence around her, whether she was alive or dead. No one knew that better than the Ancient Greeks who would argue, bargain, shout and play in the street theatre if only to trick his fellow men to thinking this drama is real, that noise is an integral part of life. Still today any visitor to Greece can easily mistake such shouting match as a serious fight and draw the wrong conclusions. Others modify their perception and ask simply do they have to speak that loud. Certainly it makes Athens one of the loudest cities with everything from loud motor scooters to people talking lively in their favorite place, the street cafes as loudly as they can to demonstrate to each other that they are indeed alive.
HF
« Das philosophische Gedicht - Beispiel Katerina Anghelaki Rooke | Elytis and silence »