Comparison Of Lao Tzu And Plato's Five Dialogues
The genre of a text can make an immense impact on the way one reads and interprets a novel. I will be focusing on the text Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu and Plato’s Five Dialogues. Both of these readings are written quite differently. Tao Te Ching is written as a poem and has more of a self-interpretative aspect to it. On the other hand, Plato’s Five Dialogues is written in an essay format, using dialogue. I will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these writing styles and the interpretive challenges they present.
To begin with, I will argue the strengths and weaknesses of philosophical ideas being presented in a poem. Many poems often rhyme and are the author writes it to be interpreted in a collection of ways. This can be both good and bad. …show more content…
Reading something that is evenly spaced apart can actually be quite pleasurable for the eyes. It can be dreadful reading a novel with philosophical ideas because of all the clutter of words. Poems are relaxing and enjoyable compared to reading paragraphs. Additionally, it’s easier to keep track of where you left off in a poem by marking the side of the paper. It’s more difficult to search for where you left off in a novel because of the way the paragraphs are laid out. Many people find poems to be intimidating because of the pressure of needing to focus on every word to follow the main point. Poems aren’t as straightforward as novels are and this requires a little more thinking. Although I still believe that there are a better ways to communicate philosophical ideas. The emotions packed in poems causes readers to be able to relate to the poem and get a better understanding of the …show more content…
The letters on the left and right margin were very helpful when reading because I knew exactly which spot to go to when I paused. It was useful when reading as a class because we could all go to the exact sentence by looking up the number and letter in the margins of the page. I enjoyed the dialogue parts when Socrates would ask Crito questions. It was enjoyable because it was entertaining and easy to understand. Reading questions and answers keeps you more engaged because it’s difficult to get distracted or feel the need to skim through. The way dialogues are spaced apart are much more pleasant to read than clumped together in paragraphs.
When comparing Plato’s Five Dialogues to Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, I most definitely preferred reading Tao Te Ching. I like the meaning behind the poem and the way it makes you really think about what water and a virtuous person have in common. I came up with my own explanations and compared it to the one we came up with as a class and they were both mostly similar. Not only did I enjoy this poem because of the meaning it had behind it, but I also liked the fact that the sentences were short and to the point. Even though it requires thought, the sentences were short enough to easily
To begin with, I will argue the strengths and weaknesses of philosophical ideas being presented in a poem. Many poems often rhyme and are the author writes it to be interpreted in a collection of ways. This can be both good and bad. …show more content…
Reading something that is evenly spaced apart can actually be quite pleasurable for the eyes. It can be dreadful reading a novel with philosophical ideas because of all the clutter of words. Poems are relaxing and enjoyable compared to reading paragraphs. Additionally, it’s easier to keep track of where you left off in a poem by marking the side of the paper. It’s more difficult to search for where you left off in a novel because of the way the paragraphs are laid out. Many people find poems to be intimidating because of the pressure of needing to focus on every word to follow the main point. Poems aren’t as straightforward as novels are and this requires a little more thinking. Although I still believe that there are a better ways to communicate philosophical ideas. The emotions packed in poems causes readers to be able to relate to the poem and get a better understanding of the …show more content…
The letters on the left and right margin were very helpful when reading because I knew exactly which spot to go to when I paused. It was useful when reading as a class because we could all go to the exact sentence by looking up the number and letter in the margins of the page. I enjoyed the dialogue parts when Socrates would ask Crito questions. It was enjoyable because it was entertaining and easy to understand. Reading questions and answers keeps you more engaged because it’s difficult to get distracted or feel the need to skim through. The way dialogues are spaced apart are much more pleasant to read than clumped together in paragraphs.
When comparing Plato’s Five Dialogues to Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, I most definitely preferred reading Tao Te Ching. I like the meaning behind the poem and the way it makes you really think about what water and a virtuous person have in common. I came up with my own explanations and compared it to the one we came up with as a class and they were both mostly similar. Not only did I enjoy this poem because of the meaning it had behind it, but I also liked the fact that the sentences were short and to the point. Even though it requires thought, the sentences were short enough to easily