Friday, November 16, 2012

What is the mood of the story of Orpheus?

The mood of the the story of Orpheus and Eurydice is certainly sad (as the above post stated), but I would say that the mood is more ominous. Even before the story, Hymen, who came to the the wedding of Orpheus and Eurydice, gave a prophecy that stated that their marriage would not last. Starting from this point the tone is ominous. We can say that the reader is on alert for something bad to happen.


As the story progresses, Eurydice is in the fields wandering. When Aristaeus, a shepherd, sees her beauty, he chases her. She escapes but is bitten by a snake and immediately dies. 


When Orpheus finds out about it, he weeps in song. These songs are so powerful that they even melt the hard heart of Hades, who allows Orpheus to fetch Eurydice from the underworld. The one condition is that he must not look back at her during the assent. 


The reader remembering the prophecy of Hymen knows and feels that the story will not end well, and the story does not end well, as Orpheus looks back and loses his love forever. 

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