Wednesday, March 10, 2010
On Lightness
On lightness takes an interesting philosophic approach to themes within writing, extolling the virtue of ‘lightness’. I found his argument interesting, but, rather like the quality she was describing, ephemeral. The world around Italo Cavoli seems heavy and stone like because it is heavy and stone like. Light things do not last. The morning dew is quickly dissolved by the sun, the delicate spider’s web trampled by a passing horse, and the wisp of smoke dissolved by the wind. Much as beauty is often the most difficult to attain attribute (which is to say that that the attributes considered most beautiful are those most difficult to obtain or have), it could be this very attribute which makes lightness so attractive. In a way, Lightness, or perhaps even the desire for lightness, can take on even more meaning. It can represent the escapist desire within literature. Only in the purely abstract world of writing can something as delicate as lightness last on forever and the desire to escape the heavy reality of the world is what drives us to leap into books, and live in the realm where lightness is possible.
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I feel like, especially in writing, weight is often held as more important or more influential. Its often thought that the more amount of meaning or description you can pack into something, the better it is. The author presents a good case against that idea
ReplyDeleteCan see how the "lightness" in writing can be used to refer to the gravity of a piece and also the contrast between light and dark ideas. "Lightness" is also a fleeting qualtiy that one is can not grasp.
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