IRONIA IN PLATO’S PHAEDRUS

Abstract

The subject of the article is an interpretation of the Plato’s dialogue Phaedrus in terms of irony. Irony is understood as a definite relation to the dialogue subject from knowledge of the true state of things. Some existing interpretations of this dialogue and the difficulties that it causes for researchers are briefly outlined. The author of the article points to the coexistence of several dimensions of the narrative in the text. Firstly, the content of the speeches (love and seduction) finds a congruence in the setting (secluded place outside the city walls, two interlocutors, a semblance of a love date). The dialogue describes the seduction of Phaedrus by Socrates, but true love, striving to the world of Forms. A reader follows the same path as the personage of Phaedrus. Secondly, the theme of rhetoric also unfolds in several dimensions: rhetoric as an abduction of the soul by words turns out to be a parallel to love, love and rhetoric open up as different projections of the existence of the soul. Thirdly, dialogue can be seen as a projection of Plato’s perception of Socrates: the first phase is acquaintance, the second phase is aðo admiration (the Great Speech), the third phase is the comprehension of the past (recollection). The dialogue is constituted by the principle of the counterpoint, like the musical symphonies of the classical period were built, several themes sound in it, sometimes connecting, sometimes diverging, occasionally merging into a single sound. The irony of the author is present in the work at the level of compositional organization of the text. The themes of love, rhetoric, the soul of man, the world of ideas, the body, and Forms forms a complex unity. Dialogue can be considered as Plato’s understanding of his life and Socrates’ place in it.