Kierkegaard’s Metaphors
Jamie Lorentzen
Public perception of Danish author Soren Kierkegaard (1813—1855) is often skewed by the difficulties posed by his formidable philosophical thought—a perception that is not unjustified. But Kierkegaard himself attempts to “translate” his ideas into images so that any individual can appreciate them. Kierkegaard’s Metaphors offers an explanation of a more accessible way to understand Kierkegaard by analyzing his persistent use of metaphors.
Kierkegaard’s Metaphors is a comprehensive discussion of how metaphor is informed by and befits Kierkegaard’s entire authorship. It surveys contemporary Kierkegaardian literature that either directly or tangentially addresses Kierkegaard’s metaphorical style, and literature by literary scholars, poets, and writers who address esthetic, philosophical, ethical, and religious implications of metaphor that are on par with Kierkegaard’s treatment of metaphor.
Academic and public discussions about metaphor and narrative studies have been on the rise since the mid–80’s, so most dialogue about narrative construction has at its point of departure a focus upon metaphor. Therefore, Kierkegaard’s Metaphors is relevant to philosophy, English, and humanities students and scholars; lovers of literature and philosophy; amateur and scholarly readers of existentialism in general and Kierkegaard in particular; Christian/religious psychologists; and narrative theologians, psychologists, and ministers.
“Richard Rorty reminds us how dependent philosophy is upon the use of metaphor. Lorentzen takes this message to heart and through close readings shows that the meaning of Kierkegaard’s writing is fixed as much by metaphors as it is by argumentation. [Lorentzen] has unique success in bringing Kierkegaard into dialogue with other literary artists such as Melville, Ibsen, Eliot, Hardy, and others.”
—Gordon Marino
Hong Kierkegaard Library, St. Olaf’s College
Jamie Lorentzen earned a BA in Philosophy at St. Olaf’s College and an MA in English from the Bread Loaf School of English. He chairs the Friends of the Howard and Edna Hong Kierkegaard Library, St. Olaf College. He currently is working on a comparative study of Kierkegaard’s Concluding Unscientific Postscript and Melville’s Moby-Dick.
Title of interest
The Toils of Understanding: An Essay on Kierkegaard’s The Present Age
Kierkegaard’s Socratic Art
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