So this week we talked about poetry by Keats. Ode to a Nightingale stuck out to me the most. In this poem the speaker is in a state of utter numbness. He refers to this numbness as if he has taken some sort of drug. Much like us today, we get lost in our own suffering. Now I can be totally off, but I believe that the nightingale represents our "coming out of the cave". It is like we live in a world where we know nothing of its reality. As we learn about the truth of reality, we begin to wish we could dwell in the state of nothingness due to our own pain. Things that once made us happy then become of no value to us. The nightingale sings a beautiful song. As the speaker hears this song, it sparks a desire of our before happiness! The speaker is somewhat jealous of the happiness of the nightingale. The nightingale is too happy. Just as the speaker envies the nightingale's happiness, he then seeks to leave the world unseen. I believe we have all or will all reach this point of the truth about reality and therefore we are similar to the speaker and desire to leave this place.
ps. i commented on Meghan's post
I agree that we have all or will all reach the truth. Unfortunately, I don't think that we even realize it fully when we're in life and blinded by all the distractions we've invented. Maybe importance of the cave analogy is not merely a teaching of truth to the ignorant. It also seems like a guiding of the ones who are outside wandering around in the light, but it burns their eyes so badly that they can't truly see.
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