Karen, I started reading this play over the weekend. I read the first three lines and thought, "I'm out!" Haha ;-). I ended up reading it and understanding the gist of the Chorus. Your explanation of Marlowe's history and breakdown of the chorus illuminated the passage for me. Thanks for taking the time to do that. I settled into the language and meter, plodded through some of the play, and have enjoyed it so far. It's been a while since I exercised that muscle in my brain. It's been 19 years since I was in Romeo and Juliet; I haven't picked up a play like that since. Btw, I played Juliet's mom (hahahahaha).
This kind of reading really is like exercising a muscle. It takes work but practice does help! I’m glad you persevered, and I’m glad my guidance helped. I hope I continue to help and that the reading gets a little easier and maybe even fun! 😃
There is a 19th century opera, Faust, by the French composer Charles Gounod, with a libretto based on the German poet Goethe's play of the same name. Growing up both listening to and learning to play classical music, I early learned the basic story of Dr. Faustus. The local classical radio station frequently played this famous Waltz from the opera: https://youtu.be/kTvJbRa9alY?feature=shared
I also became familiar with the expression 'selling one's soul's for the same reason. The accusation of selling one's soul to the devil in exchange for benefits is one that has been repeatedly leveled at highly skilled musicians, from the 19th century virtuoso violinist Niccolo Paganini - it is now known that Paganini had the congenital condition of Marfan syndrome which gave him an unusually long fingers, resulting in technical displays impossible for the average violinist, myself included, to reach - to the 1930's blues musician Robert Leroy Johnson - a fictional version of Johnson appears in the Coen brothers' film 'O Brother Where Art Thou'. I have always suspected jealous rivals started the rumours to make themselves feel better as music can be a cut-throat industry (one reason I chose not to become a professional).
Interesting—I didn’t know that artists/musicians were especial target of this accusation. I have read and taught Goethe’s version but German Romanticism is a little out of my wheelhouse.
Thank you for sharing the Waltz. This story really has captured the cultural imagination!
Come to think of it, the accusations hearing Satanic voices when playing records backwards or that the music industry is controlled by the Illuminati or other sinister organization are modern continuations of the "selling one's soul" accusation. Perhaps because music occupies such a unique space with its ability to deeply move the mind and emotions through sound, musicians are often both loved as gods and feared as witches. It is a phenomenon not limited to Western culture. When I was in West Africa, the traditional musicians and entertainers were a caste called griots or gewals. Their singing and drumming were welcomed at every celebration - some nights it seemed to go on all night long. Yet tradition considered the griots the second lowest caste, just above the traditional slave caste. Tradition also said that if a griot were to be buried in the earth, the earth would be cursed, so the custom was to place their bodies in the hollow trunks of the baobab tree. As I said, both loved and feared.
I thoroughly enjoyed hearing you speak on your post . I was struck by you saying that Faustus was a doctor at Werttemberg as have been listening to another podcast saying that not only was it the place most associated with Martin Luther but also, which I had forgotten, Hamlet is a former student . Did Marlowe place Faustus there because real Dr Faustus actually was there or had Wittembetg become associated with the idea of studying and questioning perhaps too much so was almost a metaphor?
Karen, I started reading this play over the weekend. I read the first three lines and thought, "I'm out!" Haha ;-). I ended up reading it and understanding the gist of the Chorus. Your explanation of Marlowe's history and breakdown of the chorus illuminated the passage for me. Thanks for taking the time to do that. I settled into the language and meter, plodded through some of the play, and have enjoyed it so far. It's been a while since I exercised that muscle in my brain. It's been 19 years since I was in Romeo and Juliet; I haven't picked up a play like that since. Btw, I played Juliet's mom (hahahahaha).
This kind of reading really is like exercising a muscle. It takes work but practice does help! I’m glad you persevered, and I’m glad my guidance helped. I hope I continue to help and that the reading gets a little easier and maybe even fun! 😃
There is a 19th century opera, Faust, by the French composer Charles Gounod, with a libretto based on the German poet Goethe's play of the same name. Growing up both listening to and learning to play classical music, I early learned the basic story of Dr. Faustus. The local classical radio station frequently played this famous Waltz from the opera: https://youtu.be/kTvJbRa9alY?feature=shared
I also became familiar with the expression 'selling one's soul's for the same reason. The accusation of selling one's soul to the devil in exchange for benefits is one that has been repeatedly leveled at highly skilled musicians, from the 19th century virtuoso violinist Niccolo Paganini - it is now known that Paganini had the congenital condition of Marfan syndrome which gave him an unusually long fingers, resulting in technical displays impossible for the average violinist, myself included, to reach - to the 1930's blues musician Robert Leroy Johnson - a fictional version of Johnson appears in the Coen brothers' film 'O Brother Where Art Thou'. I have always suspected jealous rivals started the rumours to make themselves feel better as music can be a cut-throat industry (one reason I chose not to become a professional).
Interesting—I didn’t know that artists/musicians were especial target of this accusation. I have read and taught Goethe’s version but German Romanticism is a little out of my wheelhouse.
Thank you for sharing the Waltz. This story really has captured the cultural imagination!
Come to think of it, the accusations hearing Satanic voices when playing records backwards or that the music industry is controlled by the Illuminati or other sinister organization are modern continuations of the "selling one's soul" accusation. Perhaps because music occupies such a unique space with its ability to deeply move the mind and emotions through sound, musicians are often both loved as gods and feared as witches. It is a phenomenon not limited to Western culture. When I was in West Africa, the traditional musicians and entertainers were a caste called griots or gewals. Their singing and drumming were welcomed at every celebration - some nights it seemed to go on all night long. Yet tradition considered the griots the second lowest caste, just above the traditional slave caste. Tradition also said that if a griot were to be buried in the earth, the earth would be cursed, so the custom was to place their bodies in the hollow trunks of the baobab tree. As I said, both loved and feared.
That is an interesting insight: there really is nothing new under the sun! And I agree, music seems to be a frequent target. It is pretty powerful.
I thoroughly enjoyed hearing you speak on your post . I was struck by you saying that Faustus was a doctor at Werttemberg as have been listening to another podcast saying that not only was it the place most associated with Martin Luther but also, which I had forgotten, Hamlet is a former student . Did Marlowe place Faustus there because real Dr Faustus actually was there or had Wittembetg become associated with the idea of studying and questioning perhaps too much so was almost a metaphor?
Great question! As far as I know, this was an artistic choice by Marlowe for the metaphorical reasons. It’s obviously not a stretch!
I’m glad you enjoy the audio. It’s harder for me than it should be, haha, but hopefully I will get better at it. :)