I need the summary of the Orpheus written by William Shakespeare
Answers
Answered by
1
Orpheus, by William Shakespeare, is about the power of Orpheus’ music. He was able to able to bend nature and create “a lasting spring” with his singing. He brought shame to all that heard him through the elegance of his melodies. Even the uproar of the "billows of the sea" was allayed by the lute's dulcet tones. He was even able to heal troubled hearts through his talent. The beauty of his songs puts to rest the troubles of his listeners, and even “kill” some strifes altogether.
As the title of this poem suggests, this poem is about the famous Greek musician, Orpheus. While he is most famous for the grief he invoked in others through his lute playing after his wife’s death, he is also generally known for performing music that transmitted his own soul unto all that listened, even, according to this poem, a non-human audience. Another important part of understanding this poem is by recognizing its context. As this is by Shakespeare, it is in fact an excerpt from one of his plays, Henry VIII. This poem is performed by the wife of Henry VIII, Queen Katherine of Aragon, to ask one of her servants to sing to her with a lute, so that she may hear the art of sweet music. When the song ends, Cardinals enter the stage and force her to return to the “grief of heart” that she clearly wanted to forget about through music.
As this is a poem is a about the affects of music, Shakespeare uses various illustrative literary devices to create a mirage of a sweet melody. Overall, it seems that the poem has a looser structure, different from his usual literature, to allow for a more musical effect, but still following some kind of poetic regulation. This can mainly be seen in the syllables per line, seven or eight in an irregular order (in place of the usual iambic pentameter) and the abnormal, but distinct, rhyming scheme of AABCCB. The indentation of this poem is further confusing because it does not seem to follow any particular rule. This poem demonstrates personification when the trees and mountains bow to Orpheus’ music and everything, including the billowing sea, “hang their heads and then lay by”. There is a play on words with “spring” and “sprung” as well as an ominous ending of the poem with the word “die” to bring Queen Katherine back to her troubles on hand.
As the title of this poem suggests, this poem is about the famous Greek musician, Orpheus. While he is most famous for the grief he invoked in others through his lute playing after his wife’s death, he is also generally known for performing music that transmitted his own soul unto all that listened, even, according to this poem, a non-human audience. Another important part of understanding this poem is by recognizing its context. As this is by Shakespeare, it is in fact an excerpt from one of his plays, Henry VIII. This poem is performed by the wife of Henry VIII, Queen Katherine of Aragon, to ask one of her servants to sing to her with a lute, so that she may hear the art of sweet music. When the song ends, Cardinals enter the stage and force her to return to the “grief of heart” that she clearly wanted to forget about through music.
As this is a poem is a about the affects of music, Shakespeare uses various illustrative literary devices to create a mirage of a sweet melody. Overall, it seems that the poem has a looser structure, different from his usual literature, to allow for a more musical effect, but still following some kind of poetic regulation. This can mainly be seen in the syllables per line, seven or eight in an irregular order (in place of the usual iambic pentameter) and the abnormal, but distinct, rhyming scheme of AABCCB. The indentation of this poem is further confusing because it does not seem to follow any particular rule. This poem demonstrates personification when the trees and mountains bow to Orpheus’ music and everything, including the billowing sea, “hang their heads and then lay by”. There is a play on words with “spring” and “sprung” as well as an ominous ending of the poem with the word “die” to bring Queen Katherine back to her troubles on hand.
Similar questions