Orpheus and Eurydice free essay sample

The myth is about Orpheus’ going to Hades to take his wife back from Pluto the ruler of the underworld. He uses his fascinated music and charming voice to make Pluto and his wife Proserpine feel sympathy and persuade them to release Eurydice back to the living world. The most compelling scenes were Orpheus made a commitment with Pluto that Eurydice will follow him behind, and he should not look back until they reach the living world, because Pluto wants to test Orpheus for the faith he has in Eurydice. Unfortunately, Orpheus has turned back to look at Eurydice one step too early, because he does not sure if she has been following him behind. Eurydice turns back to shadow, and Orpheus will never be able to see her again. Through the mythology, we come to the issues of love, happiness, suffering, life, and death. There are many film directors, artists, and authors borrow Orpheus and Eurydice mythology to show their beliefs in the context of humanity and man’s issues. We will write a custom essay sample on Orpheus and Eurydice or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Orpheus (1)† written by Margaret Atwood, â€Å"Orpheus and Eurydice† drawn by Jean Raoux, and â€Å"Black Orpheus† directed by Marcel Camus were three different works in different areas that retell the mythology. Each person chooses a different way to show the story that best suited their time periods and cultures. The poem â€Å"Orpheus (1)† was written by Margaret Atwood in the 70s. The poem was written in the time period when Women Right movement was active in Canada. Atwood was a feminist, therefore her writing strongly showed her support for feminism. In Orpheus (1), a strong female character was demonstrated. Eurydice in this particular poem had her own voice to express how she felt. Through the poem, Atwood had a hidden message that women should have their own choice and the right to follow and do what they desire. Atwood wrote the poem based on Eurydice’s point of view, and she criticized Orpheus for his selfishness. Orpheus lost Eurydice for the second time, because he did not have faith in her and did not see her as a free will. The beginning of the poem was their journey back to the living world. Atwood described the scene of the moment when Orpheus and Eurydice almost reached the living world. Atwood used â€Å"green light† as prefer to the living world that had once killed Eurydice. The word â€Å"once† was used to describe the distance between Eurydice and the living world even though she had just left the living world not long ago. Atwood kept using passive verbs when Eurydice talked about her feeling. â€Å"I was obedient, but †¦was not my choice. † Eurydice considered herself as obedient, but she did not have any feeling or willing to follow Orpheus as described by the word â€Å"numb. † Eurydice expressed that it was not her choice to return. Everything was Orpheus’ desire. It was this hope of yours that kept me following. † Atwood addressed there was not a strong affection between Orpheus and Eurydice when she described there was something stretched between them: â€Å"Though something stretched between us, like a whisper, like a rope. † It’s showing the distance Eurydice felt between her and Orpheus. Atwoo d described Orpheus had his own leash what he called it love that made Eurydice following. Atwood kept using pronouns you and I when Eurydice mentioned her and Orpheus instead of we and us to describe they were two separated individuals that love did not make them become one. Before your eyes you held steady the image of what you wanted me to become. † In Orpheus’ eyes, Eurydice was the image of a person that he used to love on earth. He held steady the image that he created in his mind without acknowledging the change that she might have and accept it. He only wanted her to become what he thought she should be in his mind. Eurydice â€Å"could only see the outline† of Orpheus’ head and shoulders, and she could not make a clear view of him when he turned to see her. Eurydice could not make the figure of Orpheus’ face. The last time she saw him was only a black oval without any image on his face. The poem ended with the line â€Å"You could not believe I was more than your echo. † Orpheus did not have the faith in Eurydice. He did not believe that beside his echo, Eurydice was behind him all the time. Jean Raoux â€Å"Orpheus and Eurydice† painting depicted Orpheus and Eurydice leaving Hades. Raoux used Baroque style for this particular art piece. The painting was drawn in 1709. Baroque style was used to produce the emotion and drama of the painting. The expression of each character in the painting was shown clearly. The underworld demonstrated in the painting looked realistic and close to the artist’s time period. In the painting, Hades was a cave and the characters in the painting look more like real people than Gods and the dead. The characters in the painting sat close to each other like a household with many family members doing different activities. The arrangement of the painting looked like a stage with the spotlight focused on Orpheus and Eurydice in the center. The painting depicted the departure of Orpheus and Eurydice to the living world. In the painting, Orpheus happily held Eurydice’s hand and pulled her along. His hand was holding a guitar instead of the harp illustrated the common instrument was used during Baroque period. Orpheus used his music and voice to persuade Pluto and Proserpine. On the upper left corner of the picture, Pluto and Proserpine were sitting on the highest seat. They were fascinated and enchanted by Orpheus’ music. Their face expression looked satisfied and convinced. On the left side of the painting, there were three women who looked like three Fates spinning the future with frightened and dreary expression. This was a foreshadowing of Orpheus’ future that a tragedy was going to happen. The most notable scene in the painting was Eurydice turned her head back to look at Pluto and Proserpine as if they were her parents, and her face looked like she was in pain as if she was leaving her parents behind. There was a nostalgia that expressed on Eurydice’s face. This also a foreshadowing of Eurydice would turn back to the underworld. Orpheus’ head turned back slightly indicated that he would look back at Eurydice and she would turn back to the underworld. â€Å"Black Orpheus† film was directed by French director Marcel Camus and was made in Brazil. Using Brazilian’s traditional Carnival, the film retold Greek’s Orpheus and Eurydice myth. With the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, the film showed the cycle of love, life, death, and human happiness and suffering. The whole mythology was borrowed in the movie. The myth fits into the story of the film, because it demonstrated human love and human effort to regain their love. Even though the film was retelling Greek myth, the scenes were more suited with the Brazilian culture and the time period when the film was released. Orfeu and Eurydice names were directly used by the two main characters. Orfeu was a bus driver who could play charming music that could call the sun to rise, and Eurydice was an innocent and pretty girl who fled from her hometown to avoid a masked man in disguise of the death. Both Orfeu and Eurydice were experiencing love at the first sight. Orfeu asked for Eurydice name, and since then, he fell in love with her like the story in the myth. Orfeu had a fiance, but he fell in love with Eurydice. This scene showed one of human problem between love and mortal. There was a masked man who played the role of the death which foreshadowed Eurydice’s dead. Orfeu had been trying to protect Eurydice from people who hated her and the masked man, but Eurydice’s dead was unavoidable. The colorful Brazilian Carnival was a happy and lively scene which was a metaphor of Orpheus and Eurydice wedding. Orfeu and Eurydice were so enjoying the Carnival. They were happily dancing together without noticing that an inevitable death was coming to Eurydice. When Eurydice saw the masked man, she was running away to an old factory. There, she hid away from the death by holding herself on the electric cords. Orfeu went to rescue Eurydice, but it turned out that he unintentionally killed Eurydice by turning the lights in the factory on, and Eurydice was electrocuted. This scene was the most surprising and striking to the audiences, because Orfeu killed the person that he loved unintentionally. Orfeu did not believe that Eurydice was dead, so he went everywhere to look for her. In the government building, Orfeu met an old man who took him to a ceremony. Instead of going to the underworld like the myth, Orfeu in this film found Eurydice by a soul invocation ceremony. This scene showed Brazilian’s religious belief of life and death. Here, Orfeu sang to call Eurydice by using his charming voice. When Eurydice came back to living world and possessed in an old woman body behind Orpheus, she told him not to look back. Orfeu wanted to see her and did not believe that this was real, so he turned back and Eurydice disappeared. Eurydice and Orpheus mythology was retold in different ways through these art works.