UVa Essay: What is your favorite word?
"Now, whilst your purpled hands do reek and smoke, fulfill your pleasure."
I'll never forget this line from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar; not because it's a beautiful line in a wonderful play, or because my tenth grade English teacher made me memorize the passage it came from, or because I connect with the sentiment in a creepy, masochistic way. I'll never forget this line because it is the quintessential example of my favorite word, cacophony.
Just like ethereal, nefarious, and zephyr, the sound of the word cacophony amalgamates (another great word) with its meaning to create an unforgettable whole. Cacophony is the place where form meets function. It is a beautiful, happy, wonderful place. I imagine it as a giant carnival with pretty music where everything is free.
While my enthusiasm for this word might be ridiculous, it is rooted in a more solid (though slightly pretentious) idea. Cacophony is the secret to art. See, it isn't just about the sound of a word matching its meaning; it's about the sound of someone's message matching their idea.
Use discordant sounds to convey an acrimonious idea. Use dark colors to shed light on a dark scene. Let the good be beautiful. Or, create something horrible, and call it wonderful, and watch the world learn from their own cognitive dissonance. This is the place where the look and the feel and the taste is also the whole and the meaning. Cacophony is in this place; this place is art.
Too pretentious? Maybe. And they idea kind of bores me now. *sigh* In fact I didn't even like it that much when I wrote it. But I have to write something.
Thanks for reading!
"Now, whilst your purpled hands do reek and smoke, fulfill your pleasure."
I'll never forget this line from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar; not because it's a beautiful line in a wonderful play, or because my tenth grade English teacher made me memorize the passage it came from, or because I connect with the sentiment in a creepy, masochistic way. I'll never forget this line because it is the quintessential example of my favorite word, cacophony.
Just like ethereal, nefarious, and zephyr, the sound of the word cacophony amalgamates (another great word) with its meaning to create an unforgettable whole. Cacophony is the place where form meets function. It is a beautiful, happy, wonderful place. I imagine it as a giant carnival with pretty music where everything is free.
While my enthusiasm for this word might be ridiculous, it is rooted in a more solid (though slightly pretentious) idea. Cacophony is the secret to art. See, it isn't just about the sound of a word matching its meaning; it's about the sound of someone's message matching their idea.
Use discordant sounds to convey an acrimonious idea. Use dark colors to shed light on a dark scene. Let the good be beautiful. Or, create something horrible, and call it wonderful, and watch the world learn from their own cognitive dissonance. This is the place where the look and the feel and the taste is also the whole and the meaning. Cacophony is in this place; this place is art.
Too pretentious? Maybe. And they idea kind of bores me now. *sigh* In fact I didn't even like it that much when I wrote it. But I have to write something.
Thanks for reading!