Analysis of Imagination in History

“It is a recreation of the past in such a manner as to provide not only the bones, but also the flesh and blood of those moments which once were here but are now only memories.”

This quote highlights the significance of the role that historical claims play, as well as how the bones serve as the structure/foundation to future historical endeavors in a broad spectrum of endless possibilities. Despite history being depicted accurately in its early stages, time has withered its structure. As centuries pass, there is a high probability that the authentic information has been filtered and altered, rendering it inaccurate and only being able to serve as the backbone in current historical pursuance. Now, regardless of its role being the structural foundation for succeeding historical achievements, the information in and of itself is lackluster and mundane. Taking this into account, historians are responsible for implementing humanity and character to history. The flesh and blood of a historical body is attained by way of their imaginative process, supported by factual evidence. 

Despite the past being supported by partially factual evidence, it is no longer fulfilling due to the amount of fabricated information garnered throughout the centuries. The filtered documentation and evidence withdraw the sheer authenticity and personality of history. Historical articles and elements no longer capture imagination nor piques interest due to the lack of humanity and character. “When laid bare with a mental scalpel the view is exposed to be nothing more than a gross misunderstanding of the nature of history as a written testament of past ages.” (Agoncillo 2001, p.1) Diving headfirst into history without any preparation or knowledge renders it bare and uninspiring. Imaginative process is a quintessential factor to appreciate history to a higher extent. 

“The ordeal of the historian begins not with its scientific aspects -- the spade work and the cataloguing of what may be termed facts -- but with its artistic aspect.” (Agoncillo 2001, p.1) Through one’s ingenuity and supported by facts, it allows us to relive moments in history. Derived from something that was once lackluster, to something shaped into an inspiring commodity. Regardless of adding our own essence, we are following its integrity and authenticity to avoid historical errors and confusion. Furthermore, history is never accurate, it entails a grueling amount of work in order to create a precise understanding of what occured during a certain time and moment in history  (Agoncillo 2001, p. 2-3). It is up to one’s creativity and passion to simulate an accurate comprehension of history, instead of dreading through a near infinite amount of sources, we must use our imagination to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

The reading aided my outlook in terms of how I believe history should be perceived, it has been constantly fabricated to the point wherein it takes away our capability to grasp precisely what occurred. Despite using our own imagination, we must stray away from creating a one-sided opinion or view of certain characters and events due to the possibility of a claim being false. In addition to this, our capability to imagine is heavily influenced by our way of thinking resulting in divided opinions. On a more personal note, it helped me understand that despite history being filled with evidence, the aspects of humanity and character are absent, posing a difficult challenge in terms of creating imagery and understanding of a certain character or event. In conclusion, it is only in our own imagination that we can create an idea that bridges the gap between the past and present.