Lazzarini 1

Megan Lazzarini

Fitzgerald

Pre-Med English 1A

20 September 2020

Uncovering the Human Experience

What is the meaning of life? Love? It’s human nature to contemplate our purpose on this

earth, but without fail people are left frustrated and confused. Kahlil Gibran’s writing of The

Prophet in 1923 brings light to the deep curiosity of the human experience and suggests answers

to some of the world’s most convoluted inquiries. In writing the poems: “On Love” and “On

Self-Knowledge” Gibran uses a descriptive writing style, relying on metaphoric imagery and

strategic repetition so readers can be influenced by the speaker, who encourages curiosity and

seeking information beyond traditional knowledge in effort to expose the complexities of truth

behind individual reality.

In “On Love” Gibran uses metaphoric imagery when the speaker, Almitra, recommends

“When love beckons to you, follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep” (Gibran 4-5).

Describing love’s ways as hard and steep is a powerful metaphor that makes the reader

understand that following this path will not be easy and predictable, and allows them to imagine

the feeling of uncertainty and fear. Despite this, Almitra still encourages the reader to embark

upon this dangerous journey because it will expose beauty behind love and knowledge that isn’t

easily seen or understood. The speaker’s itch for curiosity displayed in this image represents
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Gibran’s mission of seeking a path less traveled and finding the answers to complex questions

about the human experience.

Also in “On Love”, Gibran uses strategic repetition to further emphasize the challenges

that come with exposing hard-to-get knowledge and stepping away from traditional perceptions

of love. He writes “He threshes you to make you naked. He sifts you to free you from your

husks. He grinds you to whiteness. He kneads you until you are pliant” to describe the constant

stress that comes with love, and that with the positive sides of love comes pain and submitting to

things out of your control (Gibran 13-16). With the intentional repetition of sentence structure,

including words that suggest violence and exhaustion, the speaker unmasked the deep realities of

taking such a leap towards love. This stanza plays a big role in the development of Almitra’s

influence on the reader because he uncovers the aspects of love people don’t want to see, to

eventually get closer to the end goal of encouraging trust and acceptance to a complete and

whole love.

In his poem “On Self-Knowledge” Gibran continues to persuade the reader to exercise

the curiosity needed to discover inner truth and find awareness of one’s core identity. The

speaker in this poem wants the reader to “touch with [their] fingers the naked body of [their]

dreams” and embrace the rawness of self-discovery (Gibran 6). With this metaphor, Gibran

continues his descriptive writing style to allow the reader to imagine how vulnerable and

exposed it can feel to completely open oneself enough to learn their true identity. The phrases

“naked” and “dreams” allude to complete individuality and seeing these aspects of oneself that

nobody else can see. Gibran uses these literary tools so that every reader can feel connected to

his words and be compelled to apply his messages to seek complex knowledge and discover
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truth. In today’s world, psychologists support Gibran’s ideas with scientific evidence, showing

how his perspective on the human experience is accurate. Clinical psychologist, Margarita

Tartakovsky explains in “5 Ways to Get to Know Yourself Better” that people more likely to

build a meaningful life if they know and understand themselves, and that to get to that point

individuals have to go through some changes in mindset and overcome challenges in the process.

These ideas given by Gibran still give insight into what it means to look past preconceived ideas

about oneself and find reality.

Overall, it may be said that Gibran uses a descriptive writing style, with plentiful

metaphoric imagery and strategic repetition so create a persuasive speaker, so readers will be

curious about the human experience, and seek complex truth about themself and everything

around them. In the poem “On Love” the speaker convinces the reader to take paths that may

seem difficult to find a beautiful outcome that is love by using metaphors and repetition. These

strategies continue to be present in Gibran’s poem “On Self-Knowledge” where the speaker

encourages the reader to dig deeper into uncomfortable feelings in order to fully understand

oneself and discover inner truth. Gibran’s descriptive style is fully effective, still relevant to

human nature and psychology, and makes one contemplate what truths about themselves and

love are complete, and which truths need to be sought out in a deeper and non traditional manner.
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Works Cited

Gibran, Khalil. “THE PROPHET.” The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran,

www.gutenberg.org/files/58585/58585-h/58585-h.htm.Doe, R. John.

Tartakovsky, Margarita. “5 Ways to Get to Know Yourself Better.” World of Psychology, 8

July 2018, psychcentral.com/blog/5-ways-to-get-to-know-yourself-better-2/.