Plato's Socrates..what was he thinking?

Why is it that Plato chose to depict Socrates' speech as a dialogue rather than a single voice giving praise to love? Socrates himself was famous for his verbal discussions with other individuals. I believe that this was an important factor in Plato's decision to write using this particular literary form. Plato may have also used dialogue in order to set Socrates apart from his fellow party goers. Of all the speeches given in the Symposium I found Socrates' to be the most memorable solely for the fact that the structure of the speech was so different from all the others.

Plato may have also been trying to slip his own views into Socrates' speech. Socrates speaks of the woman known as Diotima. This woman is not only intelligent, but also succeeds in persuading Socrates into believing her own view of love. This is a tremendous feat for anyone, let alone a woman, to accomplish. There is also evidence to support the idea that the woman known as Diotima did not actually exist. Why would Plato decide to add this fictional character into the Symposium? I believe that Plato himself is trying to suggest that women are capable of deep philosophical thought as well. It is quite possible that Plato was ahead of his time with regard to his view of women.

I would finally like to comment on why Plato does not simply write a discourse on love. Why does he choose to write a story about a party that occurred years ago? I believe that Plato is not only a fantastic philosopher, but is also a master storyteller. He knows that in order to communicate a message, he must present the information in an interesting fashion. In this particular case, Plato creates a plot that is full of tragedy as well as comedy. It draws the reader in and forces him/her to analyse each of the speakers' views in order to determine who has given the best speech.