Wednesday, November 2, 2016

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In his essay “Music, Masque, and Meaning in The Tempest,” David Lindley, professor of renaissance literature at Leeds University, states that “The Tempest employs more music than any other Shakespeare play” (187). As such, there is no doubt that music plays a key role in the interpretation and production of the play. According to Lindley, Shakespeare employed a common Renaissance theory that “earthly music reflected the celestial harmony of the spheres” (187). This is the philosophical concept that there is an accord between the orbital revolutions of the celestial bodies, the Moon, Sun, and planets, as their movements are proportional to a mathematical ratio that could be related to the harmonies of sound and music (“Musica universalis”). As such, earthly music was “empowered to affect and influence humankind” (Lindley 187). In The Tempest, music is used as a power and is in correlation with Prospero’s magic. Magic itself, is a mystical force that can be portrayed in a variety of ways on stage including visual effects to show the impact of the wielded power. However, the use of music helps the audience fully comprehend the magnitude of this power and its consequence through the influence it has on other characters. The extent and consequence of Ariel’s power is “fully comprehensible only in a context where an audience might readily supply this symbolic significance to the music they hear (Lindley 188). In other words, music is a tool through which power is conveyed. Music as well as sound act as " an important means by which Prospero exercises his power. . .” For instance, in many parts of the play, Caliban is controlled by merely the sound of Prospero’s voice ("The Tempest – Music & Magic").


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