Allegory of the Cave
Allegory of the Cave Analysis
Written as a dialogue between Glaucon (Plato’s brother) and Socrates (his mentor), The Allegory of he Cave is a poem composed in approximately 1509. The source of this poem is from series on Plato called “The School of Athens” by Raphael. Socrates had a specialized teaching method (now referred to as the Socratic method) which was characterized by asking and answering questions in order to stimulate critical thinking (EH 72). The structure of this piece reflects this method because Socrates is using dialect and a series of questions to teach the lesson/metaphor. An allegory can be defined as a story, picture, or poem that, when interpreted, has a hidden meaning/lesson. This allegory has to do with a cave in which prisoners are being held captive. They are chained to the floor with their heads only facing one wall, therefore they are unable to see what is behind them. Though this is an allegory because the cave represents life and the puppeteers behind he prisoners making shadows represents reality. The hidden meaning of the allegory stems from the idea that the prisoners have a misinterpreted idea of reality. They only see the shadows and reflections that the puppeteers are making therefore they believe that is life. Once they turn around and it is revealed that those were puppeteers the whole time, they are extremely shocked. It shows us that our perception of reality and what we see around us is false. Our imperfect interpretations of reality may not always be what they seem, sometimes we are viewing what we want to view, seeing what our mind want’s us to see, rather that seeing the true reality. The theme explored in this allegory has connections tied back to the cultural themes of the Hellenic Age and ancient Classical Greek Philosophy. People viewed the enlightenment as a new coming of age in which new teachings were applied. This poem represents the teaching of morality in a time where philosophers were striving to
Written as a dialogue between Glaucon (Plato’s brother) and Socrates (his mentor), The Allegory of he Cave is a poem composed in approximately 1509. The source of this poem is from series on Plato called “The School of Athens” by Raphael. Socrates had a specialized teaching method (now referred to as the Socratic method) which was characterized by asking and answering questions in order to stimulate critical thinking (EH 72). The structure of this piece reflects this method because Socrates is using dialect and a series of questions to teach the lesson/metaphor. An allegory can be defined as a story, picture, or poem that, when interpreted, has a hidden meaning/lesson. This allegory has to do with a cave in which prisoners are being held captive. They are chained to the floor with their heads only facing one wall, therefore they are unable to see what is behind them. Though this is an allegory because the cave represents life and the puppeteers behind he prisoners making shadows represents reality. The hidden meaning of the allegory stems from the idea that the prisoners have a misinterpreted idea of reality. They only see the shadows and reflections that the puppeteers are making therefore they believe that is life. Once they turn around and it is revealed that those were puppeteers the whole time, they are extremely shocked. It shows us that our perception of reality and what we see around us is false. Our imperfect interpretations of reality may not always be what they seem, sometimes we are viewing what we want to view, seeing what our mind want’s us to see, rather that seeing the true reality. The theme explored in this allegory has connections tied back to the cultural themes of the Hellenic Age and ancient Classical Greek Philosophy. People viewed the enlightenment as a new coming of age in which new teachings were applied. This poem represents the teaching of morality in a time where philosophers were striving to