The Birth of Tragedy - a reading - Part 2 - The Unity of Apolline and Dionysiac
0Nietzsche expressed in eloquent detail the distinction between Apolline and Dionysiac art, particularly in the context of Ancient Greek society. This was a means of illustrating two forms of artistic practice - two ways by which an artist may connect to the divine as they do their art.
The former is like an inward contemplative dream where in a world of chaos and suffering, the artist escapes into a world of their creation, connecting to a unitive experience through that, and yet there's something perhaps, objective about the experience. On the other hand, the Dionysiac connects the the primordial rhythms and melodies of reality in lyrical fashion, and relishing in the broad array of emotions involved.
And yet, it is when the opposites of Apolline and the Dionysiac are unified that magic really happens, so to speak. Perhaps this connects to Yin and Yang, or even the Tree of Life. Curious?
This was a reading from Friedrich Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy, by Penguin Books, 1993.