
I think it is possible that Leonard Cohen likes to convey the idea that there is an unknown, an in-between, a whole world to explore outside dichotomous thinking. In a sense, he is at one with the post-structuralist view that cultures and minds which are constructed out of binary oppositions are limiting, and that there is a whole new dimension involved in destabilizing meaning through language. The idea is often referred to as "decentering", i.e. stepping back from our habitual ways of thinking, our old binary concepts, and operating a slight shift which will allow us to find interstices, and thus perceive or grasp the world differently. Deleuze and Guattari called these "lines of flight", i.e. slight cracks in the systems that govern our minds and social organisations, and which free us by allowing us to escape, to flee, the shackles of the empire of dichotomy. I often think of that in relation to Leonard's much celebrated lines: "There is a crack in everything / That's how the light gets in". Clearly, I am not suggesting for a second that Leonard's imagery is influenced by post-structuralist thinkers, but I think that he may have been inspired by similar motives, and that he may be regarded as a post-structuralist writer.
Thanks for the well-researched list of oppositions B4Real; I had not realised how many there were, and I find this is giving me yet more insights into Leonard Cohen's creative mind.
