A noun describing distorted perception, meaning the delusion of seeing things as being more beautiful than they are, or through rose-tinted glasses. This noun comes from the Ancient Greek καλοψία (kalopsía), from καλός (kalós, “good, beautiful, lovely”) and ὄψις (ópsis, “view”).
It’s something we all might experience at some point from being under love or lust’s influence to peer pressure, whether that be in viewing people, or art. It’s played on in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in which king of the fairies, Oberon seeks to punish his wife Titania. by calling on Robin "Puck" Goodfellow, his "shrewd and knavish sprite", to help him concoct a magical juice derived from a flower called "love-in-idleness", which turns from white to purple when struck by Cupid's arrow. When the concoction is applied to the eyelids of a sleeping person, that person, upon waking, falls in love with the first living thing they perceive. It leads to Titania falling in love with the character of Bottom who temporarily has a donkey’s head.
Here are a few examples song form. First up, Queens of the Stone Age:
I never lie
To myself
Tonight.
Rose, tinted eyes
Color my sorrow
A shade of 'why?
Bye bye black balloon
See you real soon
Wave bye bye
Bye bye
Why were you so sad
What have they done?
Forget those mindless baboons
They're off playing God
Copy cats in cheap suits
All playing it safe
While cannibals with their noose
Consume a parade
With the same title, check out the second song on this album by The Lewers:
Or this simple instrumental by Eugene Goh:
And finally, using some kalopsia for some rose-tinted driving optimism by soul and doo-wop vocal group The Overtones:
Are there any other examples of kalopsia in culture, or politics? Feel free to share anything more in relation to anything whether in music or wider culture, such as from film, art, or other contexts, in comments below.
You can also get in touch the contact page, and also visit us on social media: Song Bar Twitter, Song Bar Facebook. Song Bar YouTube. and Song Bar Instagram. Please subscribe, follow and share. New to comment? It is quick and easy. You just need to login to Disqus once. All is explained in About/FAQs ...
Song Bar is non-profit and is simply about sharing great music. We don’t do clickbait or advertisements. Please make any donation to help keep the Bar running: