For Wednesday read to p. 39 (through the Speech of Agathon)
What is the narrative situation? Why is it so complex? Can it be said to be "dramatic"?
What is a symposium- the drinking part after a banquet? Why a banquet at all? P. 4 reference to homer- guest-host relationship
What is the purpose of this particular party? (agathon's victory) why is this an important part of the dialogue?
Who is the narrator? The narrative voice? Whose narration? Whose story?
"I" = Apollodorus but is it his story? Or to what extent is it his story?
Who is the narratee? ( person to whom a story is told)? Or narratees? What difference does it make?
1. Briefly state how the first three speeches (by Phaedrus, Pausanias and Eryximachus) define love. What do the three speeches and/or definitions have in common? In what way(s) do these speeches rely on a concept of virtue? In what way(s) is each speech founded on self-interest? Be specific - how does each speaker use his definition of love and manipulate his story to advance his own position?
* For further discussion: Does Socrates build on these three speeches, refute them, or do both? How is his speech similar/different from theirs? Does Socrates' speech reveal any self-interest?
2. Why did Plato go to such pains to disrupt the order of the speeches through Aristophanes' hiccups? What are the effects of this reordering? How is such a disruption in keeping with Aristophanes' character? How does Aristophanes define love? Why is his view of desire so important? What is comic about his speech? Is there anything tragic about it? Does Aristophanes' view resonate with any modern views of love?
* For further discussion: Does Socrates take anything from Aristophanes' speech?
3. On pp. 30-31, Agathon and Socrates engage in a conversation that echoes their first exchange on pp. 5-6. How do these two conversations set up the symposium as a contest between these two? What is the real subject of their contest -- is it love, or something else? How could you contrast Agathon and Socrates through their different definitions of love? What do Agathon's speech and the comments on p. 31 reveal to be his primary concern?
* For further discussion: Did any earlier speech reflect the concern expressed by Agathon? How is Agathon's speech similar/dissimilar to the earlier speeches?
4. On pp. 40-47, we have two series of questions: first Socrates questions Agathon, then Diotima questions Socrates. In what specific ways does Socrates take apart Agathon's logic? What is the function of this questioning structure? What effects does it have on the reader? How do the two questioning sessions establish a link between Socrates and Agathon? What principles and/or definitions are established in these two sessions of questions?
* For further discussion: Does this layering, or indirect method of revelation remind you of anything else in the Symposium? What is the effect of indirection? What does this say about the nature of truth?
5. On p. 48, Diotima tells Socrates the story of the birth of Love. Briefly recount this story. What is its significance? How does Love's parentage characterize him? Whom does this Love remind you of and why? (be specific) How does Diotima characterize Love as an intermediary force? How might we see Socrates also as an intermediary force? How is he paradoxical? (Alcibiades' descriptions of him might help here).
* For further discussion: Does Alcibiades do or say anything that would assimilate Socrates to Love?
6. Socrates reveals his theory of love through Diotima, a (fictional) priestess. On pp. 57-59, Diotima describes a kind of "ladder of love". Outline the steps of this process of ascent. How does Diotima/Socrates define love? What does Diotima assert as the ultimate goal of love? Briefly explain the Platonic theory of forms -- is there any contradiction between this theory of absolutes and Diotima's depiction of process?
* For further discussion: In this work that revolves around relations between men, and in this culture that devalues women, is it significant that Socrates/Plato puts the knowledge of the mysteries of Love in the mind of a woman? How is this subversive, and how does subversiveness suit Socrates? How might this be a strategic invention?
7. What effect does Alcibiades' entrance have on the symposium (especially as a juxtaposition to Socrates' speech)? How is he described when he enters - what is the significance of his appearance? Is it important that Alcibiades doesn't see Socrates at first? What kind of knowledge does Socrates try to open people up to? Has Socrates really rejected him or is it rather that Alcibiades has not understood love or Socrates? In light of what we know about tragedy, (recognitions and reversals) how might we read Alcibiades' story as a tragedy?
* For further discussion: In the Apology, Socrates makes the following statement: "I do not think that I know what I do not know." How is his consciousness of his own ignorance a form of knowledge? a paradox? what distinguishes him from all of the other speakers at the symposium?