Plato's use of speakers

Love is complicated. This is something I am sure you will all agree with me on and something Plato would also agree with. There are many different layers to love and these layers tend to be subjective to the lover. There are, however, consistencies in both types of love and lovers. Plato was well aware of how complicated love is, and it is because of this that Symposium, his text devoted to love, is also complicated. Plato does not tell the story directly, but rather as recalled by Apollodorus, who was not at the Symposium. Aristodemus, who was in attendance, told the story to Apollodorus. Plato wrote Symposium in this way because it allowed him some leeway with accuracy and it also gave him the ability to give his own views. Symposium is in no way diluted due to it being told on Aristodemus’ account, as Alcibiades points out in his story that even a poor account of philosophy, or the word of Socrates has the ability to possess the attention of the listener.

Plato presents love in several layers. He does this through the speakers; had he only included Socrates dialogue with Diotima, Socrates view would not have been as powerful and it would have been missed by many readers. Plato uses Phaedrus to establish that love leads one to their best behavior. Plato follows this point with Pausanias, who in his speech shows that there are two types of love, common love-that of lust, and heavenly love-that which is pursued for virtue. Plato uses Aristophanes to explain an origin of love, which establishes that we are all searching for another half, and thus the nature of desire. The speech of Agathon is where Plato sets up Socrates’ argument for love by starting the argument of desire and it’s purpose; Agathon says that love is good and resides in those that are good and virtuous. This is where things get interesting. Socrates refutes Agathon and proves that desire is the pursuit of that which one lacks and that love is the desire for beauty and good. In Socrates’ speech, he recalls a dialogue he had with Diotima where she teaches him the meaning of love. This is appropriate for Socrates, as he prefers dialogue to preaching one’s view. Socrates goes on to show that love manifests in two ways - love of body and physical things and love of wisdom. Being a philosopher, he argues that love of wisdom is more virtuous and I agree with his argument. After Socrates’ Alcibiades, a Greek aristocrat known for his beauty shows up and proceeds to give a biting praise of Socrates. In his praise, Alcibiades tells of his love of Socrates and Socrates rejection of him. His portrayal of Socrates shows Socrates’ almost inhuman rejection of bodily love for the love of wisdom.

Plato uses the speakers and format to present a very thorough view of love, which covers every aspect of it. Plato is able to show conflicting views and build up his point through the use of speakers and also allows the reader to come to their own conclusion through Alcibiades, whose portrayal leaves the reader to question if it is human to reject bodily love in the way that Socrates does.