Derrida & Deconstruction (Part - 1)

TOPIC OF THE BLOG:- 

This blog is a part of a thinking activity given by Dilip Barad Sir from The English Department, MKBU, Bhavnagar. Check out Dilip Barad sir's Blog Site (Click Here) for more information and knowledge about Derrida & Deconstruction and other works and writers. In this blog I am going to give my ideas on what I understand about Deconstruction and also try to  deconstruct a Poem. 

JACQUES DERRIDA:-

Jacques Derrida, was born on July 15, 1930 in El Biar, Algeria and died on October 8, 2004 in Paris, France. He was a famous French thinker who questioned Western philosophy and talked about language, writing, and meaning. Many people disagreed with him, but he had a big impact on the world of ideas in the late 20th century. He was mostly famous for Philosophy, Deconstruction and Metaphysical thoughts. 

In 1967, Jacques Derrida wrote three books - "Writing and Difference," "Of Grammatology," and "Speech and Phenomena." These books discussed how influential thinkers like Husserl, Rousseau, and Freud treated writing. In 1972, he published more books analyzing writing and representation in the works of philosophers like Plato and Hegel. Another book called "Glas" (1974) was an experimental work with two columns, discussing Hegel's philosophy and the writer Jean Genet. Derrida always had a keen interest in the power of words, and in "Glas," he explored how language can provoke thoughts by playing with different ideas. (Britannia)

WHAT IS DERRIDA & DECONSTRUCTION?

If we see the history of how it's started, so, after French philosopher Jacques Derrida presented his essay titled "Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of Human Sciences" at a gathering in John Hopkins University in October 1966, the American reception of Deconstruction and the influential idea of "Poststructuralism" became widely accepted and established in English-speaking academia. 

In "Structure, Sign and Play" Derrida questions the STRUCTURALITY OF STRUCTURE and NOTION OF CENTRE. Derrida explored the idea of 'decentering' concerning Lévi-Strauss's views. He believed Lévi-Strauss wanted to uncover a single truth or origin that goes beyond the complexities of language and symbols. Instead, Derrida suggested embracing new ways of understanding human experiences and perspectives.

Derrida, influenced by Nietzsche and Heidegger and befriended by Levinas, questioned the traditional idea of the individual in humanist thinking. He aimed to create a science of writing that goes beyond the concept of a fixed 'man' with complete consciousness. Some people who oppose Nietzsche's ideas have misinterpreted Derrida's work, claiming that he completely erased the notion of the individual, leading to a potential danger to democracy and personal agency. (Peters)

For more information here is the video of Derrida & Deconstruction available on YouTube:-

LOVE'S PHILOSOPHY BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLY':-

Image taken from the 'Gallary Thane'

This Poem written by Percy Bysshe Shelley and published 22nd December, 1819. Let's see a little bit about the poem first.

The poem begins with a series of images of natural elements merging together. The fountains mingle with the river, the rivers with the ocean, and the winds of heaven mix for ever. These images suggest that all things in the world are interconnected and that there is a fundamental unity to the universe.

The speaker then asks a rhetorical question: "Why not I with thine?" This question suggests that the speaker believes that the same principle of interconnection that applies to the natural world should also apply to human relationships. In other words, the speaker believes that they should be able to merge with their beloved just as the fountains mingle with the river and the rivers with the ocean.

However, the poem ends with a sense of doubt. The speaker asks, "What is all this sweet work worth if thou kiss not me?" This question suggests that the speaker is not sure if their beloved will reciprocate their feelings. The poem ends with an unanswered question, leaving the reader to ponder the possibility that love is not always reciprocated and that the natural world does not always provide a model for human relationships.

'DECONSTRUCTIVE READING OF LOVE'S PHILOSOPHY BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLY':-

The fountains mingle with the river

   And the rivers with the ocean,

The winds of heaven mix for ever

   With a sweet emotion;

Nothing in the world is single;

   All things by a law divine

In one spirit meet and mingle.

   Why not I with thine?—

• In the first stanza, Shelley presents a vision of interconnection in nature, where various elements mix and mingle. However, this interconnectedness becomes paradox when the speaker questions why they cannot unite with their beloved. With the point of view of Derrida's Deconstruction one can point out the tension between the notion of unity in nature and the separation between the speaker and their beloved, revealing the poem's untold contradictions.

See the mountains kiss high heaven

   And the waves clasp one another;

No sister-flower would be forgiven

   If it disdained its brother;

And the sunlight clasps the earth

   And the moonbeams kiss the sea:

What is all this sweet work worth

   If thou kiss not me?

• The second stanza continues this exploration by comparing natural elements, such as mountains and waves, flowers, sunlight, and moonbeams, engaging in balanced interactions. Yet, the poem highlights the absence of unity between the speaker and the beloved, which becomes a source of desire.
• The poem begins by asserting that all things in the world are interconnected, but the ending suggests that this is not always the case. The poem also ends with a question, which leaves the reader to ponder the possibility that the speaker's beloved will not reciprocate their feelings. This questioning of the poem's own premises is a key element of deconstruction. 
• Poem also follow the free play of words in changes the centre of the poem. In first some lines when can assume that, the centre of the poem is nature, poet try to connect that all the natural elements are connected with each other but as we read the poem we get confused that the centre of the poem in reality is beloved. 
• Poet try to connect nature and his beloved with each other but it seems like you also fail somewhere to connect it cause he also describe that mountain kiss the heaven which we know that it is not possible, one can only imagine something like that. So, Poet imagine something which can't be possible. 

NOTE:- If you have any suggestion or wants to say something please comment below or contact me on my social media.

• For reading second part of Derrida & Deconstruction click here.

WORKS CITED:-

• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Jacques Derrida". Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Jul. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jacques-Derrida.Accessed 5 August 2023.
• PETERS, MICHAEL A. “Chapter 3: DERRIDA, NIETZSCHE, AND THE RETURN TO THE SUBJECT.” Counterpoints, vol. 323, 2009, pp. 59–79. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/42980423. Accessed 5 Aug. 2023.