Javed Hira Professor Prasanta Chakraborty English M.A (final) 4th Sem. April 13, 2014 Amadeus: An Enlightening Approach Abstract: Forman’s tormented, iconoclastic subjects are often pitted against iconic or impersonal antagonists, but Amadeus conflict remains rivetingly intimate, inspite of its sumptuous, larger –than life settings Tasha Robinson, AV club.(line 1) The “Man”, The “Muse”, The”Madness”,”The”Murder” (?), The “Motion Picture”---.So goes the tagline.... but we can add some more....the “Miracle”, Aditya Gokhale, User review.(line 2) These above mentioned statements from the reviewer’s side penetrate our heart much deeper and reminds of a movie that can be lyrical as well as vulgar, ambitious as well as playful, brilliant as well as down and dirty-just like Amadeus himself. From the very beginning, fiction, poetry, and plays provided natural vehicles for the expression of the Enlightenment ideas. Uncountable works have presented uncountable themes of the age like, In Montesquieu Persian Letters, the lethal dangers of the pursuit of knowledge and freedom is shown in the form of the stark parable alike in Voltaire’s philosophical novella Candid –an air of caustic satire on the “optimism” of philosophical rationalism is witnessed. So in a similar gesture, Mozart’s operas convey infinite sunnier Enlightenment ideas-from the thread of social and gender egalitarianism. The movie Amadeus, which was directed by Milos Forman in 1984, is set between the late eighteenth and
The storyline of Amadeus, which is based on the original play of the same title written by Peter Shaffer, mainly revolves around the entire life of Mozart and his music. Basically, the movie’s plot is based on the rumor that Salieri poisoned Mozart because of his jealousy to Mozart’s musical talent. Even if the rumor, which had spread over Vienna in the 1820s, clearly turned out not to be true through several historical research, still, the movie Amadeus depicts the fictional life of Mozart and Salieri’s plan to murder him in a realistic way by delicately displacing Mozart’s great works to show Salieri’s intense inferiority to Mozart and his music. The movie’s plot – the story of Mozart’s life in Vienna and his early death – is mainly unfolded with the confession of aged Salieri after his suicide attempt feeling severe guilty conscience that he murders Mozart. Salieri reveals during his confession that he wants to murder Mozart because of his inferiority to the genius of Mozart. With Salieri’s feeling of jealousy to Mozart, the movie develops its storyline based on the musical rivalry and conflict between Mozart and Salieri. Considering the underlying reason of the rivalry – their musical talent – between two characters, Mozart’s music works as an essential role to move forward the plot of the film. By arranging Mozart’s music at the episodes that cause Salieri to feel
Critic Roland Barthes has said, “Literature is the question minus the answer.” Choose a novel or play and, or considering Barthes’ observation, write an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises and the extent to which it offers any answers. Explain how the author’s treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole.
Though extremely different in many ways, Amadeus was successfully translated from stage to film not as an adaptation but a parallel work. Peter Shaffer’s stage version is highly theatrical and unfortunately does not literally translate well to film, for multiple reasons. Shaffer and Milos Forman adapted Amadeus in a way that appealed to cinema audiences through cutting characters, expanding upon characters, altering language and narration, set and costume design, plot changes and taking full advantage of the dramatic powers of the camera. Milos Forman said “The fact that Amadeus was so stylized, so theatrical—well, so un-cinematic, was actually a blessing—it meant we wouldn’t be tempted to merely translate the play to screen, but would be forced to demolish the original, then totally reimagine it as a film.” One of the largest differences between play and film that make the film Amadeus its own piece of art, are the changes in narration. Though called Amadeus, it is really Salieri that occupies the center of the stage and “conducts” the action of the play. In the film, Mozart’s role is enhanced from the beginning.
Voltaire’s Candide is a lively satirical work wrought with black humor and caricature-like characters. Apart from being a humorous and entertaining masterpiece, Candide explores the metaphysical conflict humanity faces in attempting to make sense of the world and its struggles. In his work, Voltaire uses his characters to serve as caricatures or parodies of various contrasting philosophies which each in their own way attempt to confront and remedy this existential conflict. He frames these characters’ worldviews in such a way as to create a philosophical spectrum with optimism and pessimism being at opposite extremes amongst other worldviews, such as meliorism and quietism, within the spectrum.
“Things cannot be otherwise than as they are; for all being created for an end, all is necessarily for the best end.” (p. 1) Of all the great things to come out of the enlightenment era Candide by Voltaire is perhaps the most interesting and entertaining in my opinion. In fact it so happens that it is one of the most popular and read classics of the time, one my say that is serves to enlighten the reader on the issues that were most prevalent at the time. Voltaire uses Candide as a clever devise to voice his views on the world, be it political, religious, or Social by using satire and comedy and achieving the desired result perfectly. Voltaire begins by introducing us to Candide a young and rather naïve man who is taught by Dr. Pangloss a philosopher of sorts that the world he lives in is “the best of all possible worlds.” (p.1) However shortly after this introduction he gets vanished for stealing a kiss from the beautiful Cunegonde, and so begins the long journey of our hero. It is in this journey that through many trials and hardship that include, War, famine, beatings, deaths, romantic betrayals and even the mythical city of El Dorado Candide questions his own and others views on the world. Sometimes losing all hope and arriving at the conclusion that the world is nothing but suffering; while other times reinforcing the teachings of
The choice of the “Three women of Don Giovanni” can give a good understanding of the type of music which was used to create an opera in the 18th century Italy. The opera buffa was a comic opera with a funny story line and light music. Mozart wrote at different levels.
William Shakespeare, is the most famous playwright of the English language as he successfully conveys many universal themes, in his 16th century tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, appealing to the audience during the time which it was produced. Hence it raises the question of how effective would Baz Luhrmann's 1996 film be as appealing to a 20th century audience? Luhrmann’s form of displaying the original play as a film, is a significant modern appropriation, as the audience can physically see the play unfolding, identifying the film's effectiveness. By drawing on the original themes of violence and love, and introducing numerous film techniques, Luhrmann's modern adaptation of the play will prove itself highly effective.
"Amadeus" is not just about as much fun as you're probably going to have with a motion picture, it additionally is exasperatingly valid. Reality enters
This paper will take a look into the movie Amadeus, to see if the film accurately
Voltaire's Candide is a short satirical novel based on the life, adventures, and ultimate enlightenment of the title character Candide. The novel was subtitled ironically, The Optimist, in reference to a type of philosophy prevalent in Voltaire's day, which the author found repellant. Candide is his answer to optimism as a philosophy. Likewise, Samuel Johnson's Rasselas presents a worldview (according to the philosopher Imlac) that at times appears to be somewhat stilted. Not as cynical or satirical as Candide, however, the hero Rasselas learns lessons about life that to a certain extent elude Voltaire's hero. This paper will show how Johnson's Rasselas learns to be satisfied with pursuing his vocation as prince and "administer [of] justice" (Johnson 197), while Voltaire's Candide learns that man is essentially doomed to suffer from his own folly and ignorance in the ironically dubbed "best of all possible worlds" (Voltaire 14).
movie had some flaws, it did closely represent the feelings of the era that was depicted. This paper intends to analyze and give
The context of both composers helps to demonstrate how fate and free will is contrasted with political struggles and the influence of power on individuals. Niccolo Machiavelli, in a time of intense political
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: A Concise Biography. Films On Demand. Films Media Group, 2007. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was probably the greatest genius in Western musical history. He was born in Salzberg, Austria on January 27, 1756. The son of Leopold Mozart and his wife Anna Maria Pertl. Leopold was a successful composer and violinist and assistant concertmaster at the Salzberg court.
The presentation explored how Voltaire satirized the idea of determinism and optimism- Enlightenment philosophies that were prevalent during his time. Determinism establishes that God sets a path for each person to follow regardless of their decisions and optimism establishes that all is for the best. Several events during Voltaire’s time lead to his disbelief of the philosophy such as the Lisbon Earthquake and the Seven Years War. Voltaire challenged these beliefs by attempting to show death and destruction throughout “Candide” and consequently showing philosophers such as Pangloss attempting to justify the events. The theme of determinism/ optimism is carried out throughoutthe novella in a satirical manner in order to show the public the absurdity of the