Synaesthesia a Literal Metaphor

Those of you of a certain age will doubtlessly know the song Poetry in Motion by Johnny Tillotson. If you want a little wander down memory lane click here. If you know the song; have you ever thought about the words? If you are not familiar with the words; take a quick look here.

How can you see poetry in motion? Of course, it's a metaphor and like many metaphors in the English language the image is one that relates to our senses. Some people, however, may be able to see poetry in motion. They are synaesthetes. Seeing poetry in motion is also a very good example of synaesthesia.

Synaesthesia, says the NHS Choices website, "is a condition where a sensation in one of the senses, such as hearing, triggers a sensation in another, such as taste. 

“For example, some people with synaesthesia can taste numbers or hear colours. 

“A wide range of different synaesthetic experiences have been reported and recorded – a typical example is someone who described experiencing the colour red every time he heard the word Monday"

I have a very mild form of synaesthesia. I tend to see words in colour. Often the colour will be dictated by the first letter of the word – the word “dictated”, for example is grey for me (the letter “D” I see I my mind’s eye as grey). Seeing letters of the alphabet in colour is common amongst synaesthetes. The letter “A” is often red – it is for me also; “B” is often blue – again the same for me, although over the years I think there has increasingly been a tendency for a touch of green to appear.

When I was very young, I used to see the colours very vividly indeed. The days of the week – strangely not taking their colours from their first letters – are experienced by me as: yellow Monday; blue Tuesday; brown Wednesday; red Thursday; grey Friday, black Saturday and cream Sunday. Tuesday and Thursday are still quite vividly blue and red. The other days have become less intense – I always describe this as the colours becoming increasingly watery.

And so it is that many of the colours I experience have become watered down. This is especially the case with letters of the alphabet. The letters “C”, “D”, “I”, and “O” are now almost indistinguishable to me in terms of their colours. Once, “C” was probably a very distinct grey and “D” very white. Now, however, they are both a very watery grey (as are “I” and “O”), so watery the colour(s) appears to me as almost transparent.

Until about 10 years or so ago when I heard something on the radio about synaesthesia, I had never thought much about how I experience colours. It has always been with me and as far as I knew everyone experienced things similarly to how I experienced them. Synaesthetes often say they have never known anything different. After hearing the radio programme, I realized that I probably wasn’t in the majority. The usual reaction I get when I explain things to people is one of surprise.

Clearly, I’m not in the majority. Only, about 4% of people, it is estimated, are synaesthetes. Some experience a mixing of their senses to a much greater degree than I do. The NHS Choices website explains that synaesthesia is usually with you from childhood and only rarely does its onset occur in adulthood. The cause of synaesthesia is apparently because our brains are wired differently. There is some evidence, the NHS Choices website points out, that synaesthesia may be linked with “…enhanced memory, superior perception and being able to think more quickly.” Sadly, I have experienced none of those qualities.

Poetry in Motion was written by Paul Kaufman and Mike Anthony: I wonder if they were synaesthetes?

Garry Costain is the Managing Director of Caremark Thanet, a domiciliary care provider with offices in Margate, Kent. Caremark Thanet provides home care services throughout the Isle of Thanet. Garry can be contacted on 01843 235910 or email garry.costain@caremark.co.uk. You can also visit Caremark Thanet's website at www.caremark.co.uk/thanet.