"Arts, Faculty of"@en . "Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies, Department of"@en . "DSpace"@en . "UBCV"@en . "Lee, Mark Owen"@en . "2011-12-14T18:55:18Z"@en . "1960"@en . "Doctor of Philosophy - PhD"@en . "University of British Columbia"@en . "This dissertation traces the course of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in classical and later Western literature.\r\nThree particulars about myth serve to unify the discussion: myth evolves in literature; its meaning changes through the ages; some myths evolve art-forms in which to express themselves.\r\nMyth evolves in literature: Chapter I examines the twenty-one references to or treatments of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in Greek and Roman authors, and attempts to show that the traditional story of Orpheus' backward glance and the second loss of Eurydice is a Hellenistic development of a story originally connected with Orphic mysteries. The fully developed myth is seen to combine elements of myth, legend and folklore.\r\nThe meaning of myth changes through the ages: in the classical period (Chapter II), the separate themes in the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, themes of death, music and love (stemming from the mythical, legendary and folk elements, respectively), are stated in the Culex; but Orpheus for this age is primarily a great civilizing influence, and this is the context in which Virgil places him in the Georgics. In the Middle Ages (Chapter III), the myth is allegorized in Boethius and romanticized in the Middle English poem Sir Orfeo. In the Renaissance (Chapter IV), Orpheus is once more a symbol of the civilizing force, and the descent to Hades, though often alluded to, is less important than other myths in the Orpheus-cycle. The Orpheus bequeathed to literature by the opera (Chapter V) is more human and fallible, and in the Romantic age (Chapter VI) this figure is gradually fused with the mystical Orphic poet, so that the contemporary Orpheus of Rilke and Cocteau (Chapter VII) is again a symbol, but of man in his role of artist, seeking to communicate with another world. \r\nMyth sometimes evolves art-forms in which to express itself; Politian's Orfeo, a secular subject which used music to tell its story, is seen to be the forerunner of the opera (Chapter IV); later, the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice evolved the opera, in the works of the Florentine Camerata and Monteverdi, and served as the pattern for its reform, in Gluck (Chapter V). \r\nWhile the myth has meant something different to every age, there is a uniformity in its tradition: poets have always availed themselves of one or more of its three themes - the victory of death over life, the civilizing power of music, the problem of human emotion and its control."@en . "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/39699?expand=metadata"@en . "THE MYTH OF ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE IN WESTERN LITERATURE by MARK OWEN LEE, C.S.B. B.A., U n i v e r s i t y of Toronto, 1953 M.A., U n i v e r s i t y of Toronto, 1957 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OP PHILOSOPHY i n the Department of-C l a s s i c s We accept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming to the re q u i r e d standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September, i960 In presenting t h i s t h e s i s i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t of the requirements f o r an advanced degree at the U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree t h a t the L i b r a r y s h a l l make i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e f o r reference and study. I f u r t h e r agree that permission f o r extensive copying of t h i s t h e s i s f o r s c h o l a r l y purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by h i s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . I t i s understood t h a t copying or p u b l i c a t i o n of t h i s t h e s i s f o r f i n a n c i a l g a i n s h a l l not be allowed without my w r i t t e n permission. Department of The U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia Vancouver 8 , Canada. \u00C2\u00A9he Pttttrerstt^ of ^riitsl} (Eolimtbta FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES PROGRAMME OF THE FINAL ORAL E X A M I N A T I O N FOR T H E D E G R E E OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY of MARK OWEN LEE, C.S.B. B . A . University of Toronto, 1953 M . A . University of Toronto, 1957 S.T .B. University of Toronto, 1957 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1960 AT 3:00 P.M. IN ROOM 256, BUCHANAN BUILDING COMMITTEE IN CHARGE D E A N G . M . S H R U M , Chairman M . F . M C G R E G O R G . B . R I D D E H O U G H W . L . G R A N T P. C . F . G U T H R I E C . W . J . E L I O T B . S A V E R Y G . W . M A R Q U I S A . E . B I R N E Y External Examiner: T . G . R O S E N M E Y E R University of Washington T H E M Y T H O F O R P H E U S A N D E U R Y D I C E I N W E S T E R N L I T E R A T U R E A B S T R A C T This dissertion traces the course of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in classical and later Western literature. Three particulars about myth serve to unify the discussion: myth evolves in literature; its meaning changes through the ages; some myths evolve art-forms in which to express themselves. Myth evolves in literature: Chapter I examines the twenty-one references to or treatments of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in Greek and Roman authors, and attempts to show that the tradi-tional story of Orpheus' backward glance and the second loss of Eurydice is a Hellenistic development of a story originally connected with Orphic mysteries. The fully developed myth is seen to com-bine elements of myth, legend and folklore. The meaning of myth changes through the ages: in the classical period (Chapter II), the separate themes in the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, themes of death, music and love (stemming from the mythical, legendary and folk elements, respectively), are stated in the Culex; but Orpheus for this age is primarily a great civilizing influence, and this is the context in which Virgi l places him in the Georgics. In the Middle Ages (Chapter III), the myth is allegorized in Boethius and romanticized in the Middle English poem Sir Orfeo. In the Renaissance (Chapter IV), Orpheus is once more a symbol of the civilizing force, and the descent to Hades, though often alluded to, is less important than other myths in the Orpheus-cycle. The Orpheus bequeathed to literature by the opera (Chapter V) is more human and fallible, and in the Romantic age (Chapter VI) this figure is gradually fused with the mystical Orphic poet, so that the contemporary Orpheus of Rilke and Cocteau (Chapter VII) is again a symbol, but of man in his role of artist, seeking to communicate with another world. Myth sometimes evolves art-forms in which to express itself: Politian's Orfeo, a secular subject, which used music to tell its story, is seen to be the forerunner of the opera (Chapter IV); later, the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice evolved the opera, in the works of the Florentine Camerata and Monteverdi, and served as the pattern for its reform, in Gluck (Chapter V ) . While the myth has meant something different to every age, there is a uniformity in its tradition: poets have always availed themselves of one or more of its three themes\u00E2\u0080\u0094the victory of death over life, the civilizing power of music, the problem of human emotion and its control. B I O G R A P H I C A L N O T E S Greek History Classical Archaeology Herodotus and Thucydides Greek Lyric Poetry Tacitus Aesthetics P U B L I C A T I O N The New Saint Basil Hymnal, Cincinnati, 1958 (associate editor) .. M . F. McGregor C. W . J. Eliot . M . F. McGregor G . B. Riddehough . P. C. F. Guthrie B. Savery ABSTRACT This d i s s e r t a t i o n t r a c e s the course of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice i n c l a s s i c a l and l a t e r Western l i t -e r a t u r e . Three p a r t i c u l a r s about myth serve t o u n i f y the d i s c u s s i o n : myth evolves i n l i t e r a t u r e ; i t s meaning changes through the ages; some myths evolve art-forms i n which to express themselves. Myth evolves i n l i t e r a t u r e : Chapter I examines the twenty-one references to or treatments of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice i n Greek and Roman authors, and attempts to show that the t r a d i t i o n a l s t o r y of Orpheus' backward glance and the second l o s s of Eurydice i s a H e l l e n i s t i c development of a s t o r y o r i g i n a l l y connected w i t h Orphic mysteries. The f u l l y developed myth i s seen to combine elements of myth, legend and f o l k l o r e . The meaning of myth changes through the ages: i n the c l a s s i c a l p e r i o d (Chapter I I ) , the separate themes i n the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, themes of death, music and love (stemming from the m y t h i c a l , legendary and f o l k elements, r e s p e c t i v e l y ) , are s t a t e d i n the Culex; but Orpheus f o r t h i s age i s p r i m a r i l y a great c i v i l i z i n g i n f l u e n c e , and t h i s i s the context i n which V i r g i l places him i n the Georgics. In the Middle Ages (Chapter I I I ) , the myth i s a l l e g o r i z e d i n o 1 Boethius and romanticized i n the Middle E n g l i s h poem S i r Orfeo. In the Renaissance (Chapter I V ) , Orpheus i s once more a symbol of the c i v i l i z i n g f o r c e , and the descent to Hades, though often a l l u d e d t o , i s l e s s important than other myths i n the Orpheus-cycle. The Orpheus bequeathed to l i t e r a t u r e by the opera (Chapter V) i s more human and f a l l -i b l e , and i n the Romantic age (Chapter VI) t h i s f i g u r e i s g r a d u a l l y fused w i t h the m y s t i c a l Orphic poet, so that the contemporary Orpheus of R i l k e and Cocteau (Chapter VII) i s again a symbol, but of man i n h i s r o l e of a r t i s t , seeking to communicate w i t h another world. Myth sometimes evolves art-forms i n which to express i t s e l f ; P o l i t i a n ' s Orfeo, a s e c u l a r subject which used music to t e l l i t s s t o r y , i s seen to be the forerunner of the opera (Chapter I V ) ; l a t e r , the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice evolved the opera, i n the works of the F l o r e n t i n e Camerata and Monteverdi, and served as the p a t t e r n f o r i t s reform, i n Gluck (Chapter V). While the myth has meant something d i f f e r e n t to every age, there i s a u n i f o r m i t y i n i t s t r a d i t i o n : poets have always a v a i l e d themselves of one or more of i t s three themes - the v i c t o r y of death over l i f e , the c i v i l i z i n g power of music, the problem of human emotion and i t s c o n t r o l . i i i ORPHEUS IN THE NUCLEAR AGE Why the f a s c i n a t i o n of stage, screen, r a d i o and t e l e v i s i o n w i t h the Orpheus legend? Is i t a symptom of nuclear-age psychology? This has always been among the best known of the Greek myths, but since the war i t s a t t r a c t i o n seems to have become obsessive. I t keeps cropping up i n s e t t i n g s as diverse as playwright Anouilh's French r a i l w a y j u n c t i o n and movie d i r e c t o r Marcel Camus' c a r n i v a l i n R i o . Orpheus, whose l u t e charms even the t r e e s , i s incon-s o l a b l e at the death of h i s E u r i d i c e ; he goes down i n t o Hades and, w i t h h i s music, softens the f l i n t y hearts of the i n f e r n a l powers; they allow her t o r e t u r n to e a r t h , but on the c o n d i t i o n t h a t she s h a l l walk behind him and he s h a l l not look back; he cannot r e s i s t the yearning to see the beloved face again; he turns - only to see her recede among the shades .. . . . A p o i g n a n t l y simple l i t t l e s t o r y of love and death -or something more? Is i t perhaps that i t grates on the nerve-ends of man i n the nuclear shadow? He,, l i k e Orpheus, i s d e a l i n g w i t h a v a s t , dark and malevolent power and t r y i n g to c o n t r o l i t . He, l i k e Orpheus, i s a l o n e l y i n d i v i d u a l groping h i s way through a world i v suddenly become u n f a m i l i a r and insecure. He, l i k e Orpheus, knows that the d e c i s i o n of that world can be i r r e v o c a b l e . He dare not look back. - E d i t o r i a l , The Vancouver Sun December 8, 1959. V FOREWORD At the end of h i s exhaustive a r t i c l e on Orpheus i n Pauly-Wissowa 1s Real-Encyclopadie, Konrat Z i e g l e r promised: Uber Orpheus i n der L i t e r a t u r , bildenen Kunst und Musik des M i t t e l a l t e r s , der Renaissance und der Neuzeit werde i c h i n der Antike handeln. In 1950 the study f i n a l l y appeared, but as a b r i e f entry i n the g e n e r a l l y i n a c c e s s i b l e F e s t s c h r i f t Otto Schmitt. Other than this,, there appears to be no attempt to c o l l e c t and assess the l i t e r a r y treatments of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice i n the West. The need f o r such a study was voiced by Walther Rehm: Es f e h l t der Forschung b i s l a n g noch die Dar-s t e l l u n g , die das Orpheus-Symbol durch die spatantiken, c h r i s t l i c h e n Jahrhunderte durchverf o l g t . Sie musste d i e - b a l d einsetzende A l l e g o r e s e des Symbols ausein-anderlegen... die Unwandlung des Orpheus In der m i t t e l -a l t e r l i c h e n Dichtung beleuchten und dann vor a l i e n von der eigentumlichen Neugeburt sprechen, die die G e s t a l t des Orpheus n i c h t z u f a l l i g gerade im Reich des Gesangs und der Tone,- i n der dramatisch-musikalischen Form der Oper gefunden hat. The myth, i n one form or another. Is more a l i v e today than ever before. I began to w r i t e t h i s t h e s i s i n Vancouver a t the close of i t s 1959 summer f e s t i v a l , the c e n t r a l event of which was Gluck's opera Orfeo ed E u r i d i c e ; at the same time, the r i v a l Canadian f e s t i v a l i n S t r a t f o r d , Ontario, was pre-s e n t i n g Offenbach's Orpheus i n the Underworld. E a r l y In the w r i t i n g , the f i l m s o c i e t y on the campus of t h i s u n i v e r s i t y held as i t s i n i t i a l p r e s e n t a t i o n a screening of Cocteau's v i s u r r e a l i s t i c f i l m Orphee; three more cinematic treatments of the myth, Marcel Camus' Orfeu Negro, Tennessee Williams.' The F u g i t i v e Kind, and Cocteau's Le_ Testament d' Orphee, have j u s t been r e l e a s e d . The Stravinsky-Balanchine b a l l e t Orpheus was r e c e n t l y t e l e c a s t , while Jean Anouilh's p l a y Eurydice became a cause celebre when i t was refused a showing on CBC-TV. An assessment of the l i t e r a t u r e of Orpheus and Eury-dice i n the Western world seems, then, t i m e l y as w e l l as overdue.. This d i s c u s s i o n deals l a r g e l y w i t h the c l a s s i c a l p e r i o d , w i t h opera, and w i t h E n g l i s h l i t e r a t u r e . Only a b r i e f explanation seems necessary f o r t h i s emphasis: I am a candidate f o r a degree i n C l a s s i c s ; the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice c a l l s the opera immediately to mind; I am not thoroughly acquainted w i t h the languages of France, I t a l y , Germany and Spain, and t h e i r l i t e r a t u r e s were a v a i l a b l e to me i n smaller q u a n t i t y than were the E n g l i s h w r i t e r s - but, as L . E i M a r s h a l l notes, the myth of Orpheus \"has appealed more s t r o n g l y to the E n g l i s h people than t o the other nations of modern Europe.\" In the vast m a j o r i t y of cases, the summaries and e v a l u a t i o n s of the various works t r e a t e d are based on f i r s t -hand i n s p e c t i o n of the best a v a i l a b l e e d i t i o n s . When t h i s was not p o s s i b l e , I have e i t h e r used a r e l i a b l e d i s c u s s i o n of the work and noted t h i s i n a footnote, or e l s e merely l i s t e d and dated the works. I am e s p e c i a l l y indebted to the researches v i i of Dr. J u l i u s Wirl,. who has examined l i t t l e - k n o w n works on Orpheus i n the B r i t i s h Museum. I should l i k e , f i n a l l y , to thank the members of the Department of C l a s s i c s of the. U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, p a r t i c u l a r l y Geoffrey B. Riddehough, Malcolm P. McGregor, W. Leonard Grant, and C.W.J. E l i o t , f o r t h e i r k i n d suggestions and a s s i s t a n c e i n the pre p a r a t i o n of t h i s t h e s i s . v i ' i i CONTENTS Page Foreword t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v L i s t of Abbrevia t i o n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i x I n t r o d u c t i o n Myth and L i t e r a t u r e . . . . . . . . 1 Chapter I The L i t e r a r y E v o l u t i o n of the Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice 6 Chapter I I The C l a s s i c a l P e r i o d .. i . . . . . . 57 Chapter I I I The Middle Ages . .. 81 Chapter IV The Renaissance . . 107 Chapter V The E v o l u t i o n of an Art-form ...... 151 Chapter ' VI The Romantic P e r i o d . . . . . . . . 175 Chapter V I I Contemporary L i t e r a t u r e . . . . . . . 207 Conclusions The Meaning of the Myth . . . . . . 232 B i b l i o g r a p h y ................... 241 Index 294 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS General: A. D. anno Domini anon. anonymous B. C. before C h r i s t \u00E2\u0080\u00A2ca. c i r c a c f . confer.; compare d. died ed. e d i t o r , e d i t e d by, e d i t i o n e. g. exempli g r a t i a esp. e s p e c i a l l y et a l . et a l i i et passim and throughout f. ., f f . the f o l l o w i n g page(s),. l i n e ( s ) f i g . , , f i g s . f i g u r e ( s ) f l . f l o r u i t f r a g . , frags.fragment(s) i b i d . ibidem i . e . i d est i n t r o d . i n t r o d u c t i o n by l o c . c i t . , l o c c . c i t t . l o c o c i t a t o ( l o c i s c i t a t i s ) MSS. manuscripts n.d.. no date (of p u b l i c a t i o n ) no., n.os. number(s) n..p.. no place (of p u b l i c a t i o n ) op. c i t . opere c i t a t o p., pp. page(s\"J pub.. p u b l i s h e d rev. r e v i s e d (by.) St. Saint st.. stanza suppl. supplement s.v. sub voce t r . t r a n s l a t e d by U. U n i v e r s i t y v o l . , vols.. ' volume(s) Books and P e r i o d i c a l s : AJA. American J o u r n a l of Archaeology AJP American J o u r n a l of P h i l o l o g y CJ C l a s s i c a l J o u r n a l CQ, C l a s s i c a l Q u a r t e r l y CR C l a s s i c a l Review CW C l a s s i c a l Weekly X JAFA .Journal of the American F o l k l o r e A s s o c i a t i o n JEGP Journal of E n g l i s h and Germanic P h i l o l o g y LCL Loeb C l a s s i c a l L i b r a r y LLI La L e t t e r a t u r a I t a l i a n a MLN Modern Language Notes MLR Modern Language Review ODGR Our Debt to Greece and Rome PL P a t r o l o g i a Cursus, S e r i e s L a t i n a , ed.. J.-P. Migne PMLA P u b l i c a t i o n s of the Modern Language A s s o c i a t i o n of America PW Real-Encyclopadie der k l a s s i s c h e n Altertumswissen-s c h a f t , ed. A. Pauly, G. Wissowa, W. K r o l l Rom. M i t t . M i t t e i l u n g e n des Deutschen Archaologische I n s t i -t u t S j R8mische' A b t e i l u n g SATF Societe des anciens t e x t e s f r a n c a i s * INTRODUCTION MYTH AND LITERATURE Myth i s many t h i n g s . I t has been seen \"as a p r i m i t i v e , fumbling e f f o r t to e x p l a i n the world of nature ( P r a z e r ) j as a production of p o e t i c a l fantasy from p r e h i s t o r i c times, misunderstood by succeeding ages ( M u l l e r ) ; as a r e p o s i t o r y of a l l e g o r i c a l i n s t r u c t i o n , t o shape the i n d i v i d u a l t o h i s group (Durkheim); as a group dream, symptomatic of arche t y p a l urges w i t h i n the depths of the human psyche (Jung); as the t r a d i t i o n a l v e h i c l e s of man's profoundest i n s i g h t s (Coomaraswamy); and as God's r e v e l a t i o n to His Chil d r e n (the Church).\" 1 2 Myth i s a l l these things and more. In a f t e r times, i t has become m a t e r i a l f o r the poet. In a sense, i t i s the \"'\"Joseph Campbell, The Hero w i t h a Thousand Faces (New York, 1949), P. 382. 2 Myth i s here and afterwards used i n i t s widest sense, as a t r a d i t i o n a l s t o r y , which may attempt to e x p l a i n n a t u r a l phenomena (myth proper), or t e l l of supposed happenings i n the past (legend) or merely e n t e r t a i n ( f o l k l o r e ) . The t h r e e f o l d d i s t i n c t i o n so often made i s more e a s i l y a p p l i e d to more p r i m i -t i v e peoples than t o the Greeks, whose myths move on a l l three l e v e l s at once. 1 2 poet who keeps myth a l i v e . He d i s c o v e r s new meanings, adds meanings, of h i s own to myth, which can be s a i d to l i v e only as i t e x i s t s i n h i s w r i t i n g s and, over and over again, i n the works of men l i k e him. Without the poet to e n f l e s h the myth, i t might be s a i d t o be only p o t e n t i a l , , e x i s t i n g nowhere except at second-hand, i n the summaries of the mythographers. The meaning of any given myth may be demonstrated i n two ways: by i n v e s t i g a t i n g i t s p o s s i b l e o r i g i n - i n nature, i n ceremony, i n the subconscious; or by r e v i e w i n g i t s l i f e as i t i s c o n s t a n t l y renewed i n the w r i t i n g s of men of genius. The former method s h i e s away from the l i t e r a r y ; i t s myths are found, summarized and cross-indexed, i n standard r e f e r e n c e -works. The l a t t e r , the method of t h i s study, f i n d s i t s evidence i n the a r t i s t i c c r e a t i o n s i n which myth, e l u s i v e and p o t e n t i a l , i s i n c a r n a t e d . For \"drama, the l y r i c and f i c t i o n l i v e s y m b i o t i c a l l y w i t h myths, nourished by them, and n o u r i s h -i n g t h e i r f l i c k e r i n g l i v e s . \" In p u r s u i n g the l a t t e r course, we note i n p a r t i c u l a r t hree f a c t s about myths. F i r s t , they evolve i n l i t e r a t u r e . A f t e r the n a t u r a l or ceremonial or p s y c h o l o g i c a l meaning which perhaps prompted the myth i s f o r g o t t e n , the myth becomes a F r a n c i s Fergusson. The Human Image In Dramatic L i t e r a t u r e (New York, 1957). p . l 6 l . 3 s t o r y , takes on features from legend and from the vast store of world f o l k l o r e . - We note how Greek myths In p a r t i c u l a r change from Homer to the A t t i c tragedians to Ovid and A p o l l o -dorus. Second, as we move through l i t e r a r y h i s t o r y , the meaning of myth changes.- A Greek myth may be one t h i n g f o r the Romans and q u i t e another f o r the Middle Ages. I t may f l o u r i s h or i t may wither and die i n the Renaissance, i n the Age of Enlightenment, i n the Romantic era. I t may be reborn w i t h an e n t i r e l y new meaning i n our own times.. In a sense, i t i s at the mercy of w r i t e r s who endeavor to Catch i t , to p i n i t down, to d i s p l a y i t i n t h e i r own c r e a t i o n s . T h i r d , some myths are so potent, so imaginative,, so b e a u t i f u l that they make demands on the genius who t r i e s t o grasp them, and, t o secure t h e i r adequate expression, they generate new forms of expression. So i t was, at some poi n t i n the dark ages of Greek h i s t o r y , that some myth, more than l i k e l y the va s t , burgeoning s t o r y of the Trojan war, demanded f o r i t s adequate expression a new a r t i s t i c form of vast scope; so myth begot the e p i c . Sometime afterwards, some myth was being sung, perhaps by Thespis h i m s e l f , which c r i e d out f o r dialogue; so the drama was born of myth. This study i s concerned w i t h one such myth. The s t o r y of Orpheus and Eurydice evolved sl o w l y i n the l i t e r a t u r e of c l a s s i c a l and p o s t - c l a s s i c a l times, and i t s e v o l u t i o n can 4 be traced w i t h some c e r t a i n t y . I t has a l s o l i v e d s y m b i o t i c a l l y f o r t wenty-five c e n t u r i e s w i t h the drama and the l y r i c , enflaming the imagination of d i f f e r e n t ages i n . d i f f e r e n t ways, and whatever meaning i t holds w i t h i n i t can be demonstrated by a review of i t s various i n c a r n a t i o n s . F i n a l l y , the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice i s one of the few myths which has created, f o r i t s adequate expression, a new art-form, and t h i s momentous event can be reconstructed, f o r i t came not i n some e a r l y dark age we know nothing of, but i n the f u l l l i g h t of the Renaissance. . This study, then,, i s p r i m a r i l y a review of the Orpheus-Eurydice theme i n Western c u l t u r e . In so f a r as i t attempts t o prove or demonstrate,, i t w i l l endeavor, f i r s t , t o t r a c e the e v o l u t i o n of the myth i n ancient l i t e r a t u r e ; second, to estimate the meaning to be found i n the sum-total of the myth's i n c a r n a t i o n s ; third , , to demonstrate how, to secure adequate expression, the Orpheus-Eurydice myth may be s a i d to have generated a new a r t form. Chapter I w i l l d e a l , then, w i t h the l i t e r a r y e v o l u t i o n . Chapters I I - I V and VI - V I I w i l l t race the myth through l i t e r a r y h i s t o r y and endeavor t o . e x t r a c t the meaning i t has held f o r successive ages. Chapter V, c h r o n o l o g i c a l l y placed, w i l l attempt to show how the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice created and continues to l i e at the heart of an art - f o r m of I t s own. A rough c h r o n o l o g i c a l order has seemed the best \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 manner of approach.. Hundreds of s l i g h t a l l u s i o n s to Orpheus 5 and Eurydice,. from authors great and s m a l l , are mentioned as i n d i c a t i v e of trends i n the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the myth.. The dozen or so s i g n i f i c a n t works are discussed at greater l e n g t h as they occur i n the c h r o n o l o g i c a l scheme.. CHAPTER I THE LITERARY EVOLUTION OP THE MYTH OP ORPHEUS AND- EURYDICE Orpheus was many things to the ancient world. Fundamentally he was a great singer and l y r e - p l a y e r , 1 and t h i s i s the general character w i t h which he i s invested i n a l l h i s appearances i n c l a s s i c a l l i t e r a t u r e . By f a r the most frequent s t o r y t o l d of him i s that he charmed a l l nature by the power of h i s song, moving the rocks,, drawing the f o r e s t s a f t e r him, changing the course of r i v e r s , enchanting 2 a l l the animal kingdom. Pindar and others dwell on the 1See P l a t o , Ion 533b-c, Laws VIII , 8 2 9 d-e; Pausanias X , 3 0 , 6 . See Simonides frag... 27 ( D i e h l ) ; Aeschylus, Agamemnon 1629-30; E u r i p i d e s , Medea 543, Iphigenia at A u l i s 1211-4, Bacchae 560-4, Cyclops 646 -8; P l a t o , Protagoras 315a; A p o l l o n i u s Rhodius 1,26-31; Diodorus IV,25,2; Pseudo-Eratosthenes, C a t a s t e r i s m i 24; Conon 45; Culex 117-8; Horace, Odes 1,12,7-12; Seneca, Hercules Oetaeus IO36-60, Hercules Fur ens 572-4; Apollodorus 1 ,3.2; Athenaeus XIV >.632c; P h i l o s t r a t u s , A p o l l o n i u s of Tyana VIII,7 , 1 6 2 ; Claudian, Carmina Minora., 18,9 . 6 p a r t he played i n the Argo-expedition. V i r g i l and Ovid t e l l how he descended to the underworld and cast h i s musical s p e l l over P l u t o and Proserpine, over the shades and the soul i n torment, and thereby won back h i s b r i d e , Eurydice, only to lose her by f a i l i n g t o observe the co n d i t i o n s imposed by the 4 5 gods of the dead. A l o s t p l a y of Aeschylus-^ told..of h i s dismemberment by the Thracian women, and l a t e r authors have adorned t h i s s t o r y w i t h f a n t a s t i c m i r a c l e s - how h i s head continued to s i n g , and h i s l y r e to p l a y , \u00C2\u00B0\" how they f l o a t e d See Pindar, Pythian Odes IV,176 w i t h s c h o l i a s t ; E u r i p i d e s , Hypsipale f r a g s . 1 and 64; A p o l l o n i u s Ehodius 1,23-31 w i t h s c h o l i a s t , et passim; Orphic Argonautica 1270-97; Seneca, Medea 348-60; Hyginus, Fabulae 14; V a l e r i u s Placcus I,186-7, 470-2, 11,426-7; Apollodorus I , 9 , l 6 and 25:. 4 Treatments of t h i s p o r t i o n of the myth w i l l be discussed i n d e t a i l . The Bassarae, mentioned i n Pseudo-Eratosthenes, l o c . c i t . See a l s o I s o c r a t e s , B u s i r i s 11,38; Gonon 45; V i r g i l , Georgics IV,520-7; Ovid, Metamorphoses XI,1-43; Pausanias IX,30,5 . For v a r y i n g d e t a i l s of the death see P l a t o , Symposium 179d, Republic, X,.620a.; Pseudo-Alcidamas, U l i x e s 24; Diogenes L a e r t i u s , Prologue 5. ^See Conon, V i r g i l , Ovid l o c c . . c i t t . ; Lucian, Against the Unlearned 109-11. 8 downstream and out to sea to the I s l e of Lesbos, and were e v e n t u a l l y g l o r i f i e d as s t a r s i n the heavens; how the Muses bu r l e d the other limbs near Mt. Olympus, where to t h i s day the n i g h t i n g a l e s s i n g more sweetly than i n any. other place 7 on e a r t h . So the s t o r i e s c l u s t e r about the legendary f i g u r e of the singer from Thrace. Orpheus becomes more than a mere musician. He has access to the secrets of a l l knowledge. Q P l a t o places him among the great culture-heroes. He i s v a r i o u s l y c r e d i t e d w i t h the i n t r o d u c t i o n of w r i t i n g and q ' \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 philosophy, of poetry and e s p e c i a l l y the d a c t y l i c hexa-10 11 12 meter, of a g r i c u l t u r e , even of homosexual l o v e . He becomes a great reformer who s p i r i t u a l i z e s the Dionysiac 'See Hyginus, Astronomica 11,7; P h i l o s t r a t u s , Heroicus V,3, A p o l l o n i u s of Tyana, I V , 1 4 ; P r o c l u s , On the Republic of P l a t o 1,174,27. 8See.Laws I I I , 6 7 7 d . ^See Pseudo-Alcidamas, l o c . c i t . 1 0 S e e M a l l i u s Theodorus, De M e t r i s I V , 1 . 1 1 S e e Horace, Ars Poetica 391-3. 12 See Phanocles, Erotes 7-10; Ovid, Metamorphoses X,83-5, Hyginus, Astronomica 11,17. 13 14 r i t e s , -1 a p r i e s t and prophet whose w r i t i n g s are care f u l l y -preserved as the ba s i s of a mysterious c u l t . There seems to have been l i t t l e doubt that Orpheus a c t u a l l y e x i s t e d , though no one was l i k e l y t o have b e l i e v e d that one man was re s p o n s i b l e f o r a l l h i s i n n o v a t i o n s . I t i s perhaps a case s i m i l a r to that of the Spartan Lycurgus: a hero of the d i s t a n t past becomes a convenient sanction f o r any i n n o v a t i o n ; or of Homer: the works of many anonymous poets become absorbed i n a great l i t e r a r y t r a d i t i o n . But whether Orpheus a c t u a l l y e x i s t e d as one man or many, whether he was the s u n , ^ the wind,\"*\"0\" or an e a r t l 17 l 8 19 d e i t y , ' a \"faded god\", the human psyche, y or a totem-13 JSee E u r i p i d e s ? , Rhesus 943-5; Aristophanes, Frogs 1032; P l a t o , Protagoras 3 l6d, Republic II , 7 , 3 6 4 e ; Diodorus V,64 ,4 et passim; Apollodorus 1,3,2; Pausanias 11,30,2, IX,30,4 X , 7 , 2 . l 4 S e e Horace, Ars Po e t i c a 391-3; Strabo V I I , frag.. 18; Clement of Al e x a n d r i a , Stromata 1,21,134.. -^According to Max M u l l e r , Comparative Mythology (London, 1909), .p-.: 160. ^ A c c o r d i n g t o Ralph Abercromby, \"The Hermes and Orpheus Myths\", Academy 24(1883), pp. 316, 399. cording to Ernst Maass, Orpheus (Munich, 1895). l 8 D i scussed by W.K.C. Guthrie, Orpheus and Greek R e l i g i o n (London, 1935), PP. 53-6. ccording t o Orphic b e l i e f s , . See R.W. Horton and V.F>. Hopper Backgrounds of European L i t e r a t u r e (New York, 1954), p. 68.. 10 fox, whether or not he introduced the Orphic mysteries and wrote the poems which bear h i s name - these do not a f f e c t our purpose. For the sciences of mythology and comparative r e l i g i o n have l i t t l e to do w i t h the c r e a t i o n s of poets and dramatists, \"to whom the simplest elements of the myth have 21 given the greatest i n s p i r a t i o n . \" In h i s d i s c u s s i o n of Orpheus and Orphism, W.K.C. Guthrie says i n t h i s regard: \"His (Orpheus') s t o r y can be severed from a l l connexion'. w i t h r e l i g i o n , and moreover the a r t i s t i s t h i n k i n g i n every case of h i s own composition, h i s poem or h i s vase, not of the 22 p r e s e r v a t i o n of a c o n s i s t e n t t r a d i t i o n . \" And the foremost American a u t h o r i t y on Orphism adds: \"Indeed, i t makes very l i t t l e d i f f e r e n c e i n the h i s t o r y of human thought whether the great and i n f l u e n t i a l p e r s o n a l i t i e s ever a c t u a l l y e x i s t e d i n human bodies. P e r s o n a l i t i e s l i k e Zeus, Odysseus, and Zoroaster, and even Hamlet and Don Quixote, have been more important i n the world than m i l l i o n s of men who have l i v e d or died. Their r e a l i t y i s the. r e a l i t y of an ide a , and the best that we can know about them i s what men have thought According to Salomon Reinach, Cu l t e s , Mythes et R e l i g i o n s I I ( P a r i s , 1909), PP. 85-122, 2 1 L i l y E.. M a r s h a l l , \"Greek Myths i n Modern E n g l i s h Poetry\", S t u d i d i F i l o l o g i a Moderna 5 (1912), p. 205. 22 Op. c i t . , p. 25. 11 about them. The r e a l i t y of Orpheus i s to be sought i n what men thought and s a i d about him.\" J As we tra c e the e v o l u t i o n of the myth i n the Greek and Roman world, our d i s c u s s i o n w i l l be determined by what Greek and Roman w r i t e r s thought and s a i d about Orpheus-, h i s bride and h i s descent i n t o Hades. Ibycus The e a r l i e s t extant reference to Orpheus i s gener-a l l y thought to be the fragment \"famous Orpheus\" ^ ^ ^ / ^ l y / o f / 0/?f$>?i/ (frag., 1 7 ) ' of Ibycus.. There may be an e a r l i e r mention i n Alcaeus. In h i s e d i t i o n of Anthologia L y r i c a Graeca, Ernest D i e h l was tempted to r e s t o r e a passage i n a. second century papyrus of Alcaeus thus: 24 but interposed an \"ausus non sum\" In h i s footnote. Ibycus' two-word fragment i s , , however, c e r t a i n , quoted by P r i s c i a n , a grammarian of the s i x t h century A.D., to show how the Dorians once used the ending f o r - .. The two words t e l l no s t o r y , but they do a t t e s t the important f a c t that 2 3 I v a n M. L i n f o r t h , The Ar t s of Orpheus (Berkeley, 194l) , pp. x i i - x i i i . 24 Anthologia L y r i c a Graeca ( L e i p z i g , 1925), f r a g . 80, l i n e 8,. p. 425. 12 Orpheus was \"famous of name\" as e a r l y as the s i x t h century B.C., f o r we know that Ibycus was court musician t o the t y r a n t P o l y c r a t e s of Samos (533-522). E a r l y Orphic w r i t i n g s The e a r l i e s t Orphic w r i t i n g s are a l s o a s c r i b e d to the s i x t h century, and we have evidence f o r at l e a s t f o u r A<*&/$Jc(r6'J &S Atcfoc; } by Prodicus of Samos, 2 5 Cecrops the 26 27 Pythagorean, Herodicus of Perinthus and Orpheus of 28 Camarina.. Of these, Prodicus at l e a s t l i v e d as e a r l y as 29 the s i x t h century. ^ But we know nothing of any of these poems other than the t i t l e s . They may or may not have been concerned w i t h the descent of Orpheus. ^See Clement of Al e x a n d r i a , Stromata 1,21,134. 2 6 C ., See i b i d i 27 See Suidas s.v. Orpheus 2^See i b i d . 2^See CM.. Bowra, \"Orpheus and Eurydice\", CQ, 46(1952), pp. 123-4.. 13 E a r l y a r c h a e o l o g i c a l monuments 30 The e a r l i e s t a r c h a e o l o g i c a l evidence f o r Orpheus -a scu l p t u r e d metope from the Sicyonian t r e a s u r y at Delphi -i s a l s o of the s i x t h century.. Although the monument i s fragmentary, the name i s c l e a r l y d i s c e r n i b l e above one of two musicians who are fl a n k e d by two mounted horsemen. As the background gives some i n d i c a t i o n of being a ship , i t may be conjectured that t h i s i s a d e p i c t i o n of the e x p e d i t i o n of the Argonauts, and that the two horsemen are Castor and P o l l u x . I t i s often thought that Orpheus' descent was the subject of the l o s t f i f t f c - c e n t u r y f r e s c o p a i n t e d at Delphi by Polygnotus and described by Pausanias: Orpheus was shown i n Hades, h o l d i n g h i s l y r e and a w i l l o w wand, w i t h P a t r o c l u s , 32 Agax, Meleager, Marsyas and Charon grouped around him. But on D The \" l y r e p l a y e r of Py l o s \" , r e c e n t l y r e s t o r e d by P i e t de Jong from the fragments found i n the throne room, may be Orpheus i n a much e a r l i e r age. See C a r l W. Blegen, \"The Palace of Nestor Excavations of 1955\", AJP 60 (1956), p. 95 and p l a t e 41, and Mabel Lang, \" P i c t u r e Puzzles from P y l o s \" , Archaeology 13 ( i960) , p. 56.. 31 There i s a photograph i n Guthrie, op. c i t . , p l a t e 2. 32 X , 3 0 , 6 . The w i l l o w i s Orpheus'- \"golden bough\", according t o James G. Fraz e r , The Golden Bough (London, 1913), v o l . I I , p. 294.. 14 there i s no Eurydice here, Indeed, nothing t o i n d i c a t e that t h i s i s anything other than a r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of Orpheus a f t e r h i s death. In f a c t , w h i l e Orpheus the musician, Argonaut and martyr becomes a f a i r l y common subject f o r a r t i s t s and vase 33 p a i n t e r s i n the f i f t h century, Eurydice. i s always conspic-uously absent . I t i s not u n t i l the end of the f i f t h century that she appears - i n a famous monument we s h a l l d i s c u s s l a t e r . In extant l i t e r a t u r e there i s no reference t o Orpheus' descent t o r e c l a i m her u n t i l E u r i p i d e s . E u r i p i d e s The A l e e s t i s t e l l s a s t o r y that i s almost the reverse of Orpheus ! |: A l c e s t i s o f f e r s to die i n the place of her husband Admetus. In the dramatic scene where Death him-s e l f comes to take her, Admetus assures h i s wife that i f he had the tongue and the song of Orpheus so as t o move Persephone and her husband he would descend to Hades - n e i t h e r Cerberus nor Charon would prevent him - and r e s t o r e her to l i f e . f \u00E2\u0080\u0094 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \" ^ /\ ' *y ^ ' \u00E2\u0080\u0094 ' ^ S e e , e.g., J.D. Beazley, A t t i c Red-Figure Vase P a i n t e r s , (Oxford, 1942), s.v. Orpheus. 15 60-/01/, \"ft\" ' /^.ufpL 4/6*71/ o<frS efusy/f-l/ (XI, 8 ) . The use of an imperfect verb and a p l u r a l object here suggest that Orpheus made a r e g u l a r p r a c t i c e of r e s t o r -i n g the dead. But on only one occasion i s Aeolus known to have sent s a i l o r s back t o sea; so we may suppose that only once d i d Orpheus b r i n g the dead back to l i f e . I s o c r a t e s i s g e n e r a l i z i n g , as encomiasts are wont t o do. But the impres-sion i s given that Orpheus was s u c c e s s f u l i n what he d i d . Op . c i t . , p. 3 1 . 26 Palaephatus (pseudo-Heraclitus) Fragments of a a s c r i b e d to a cer-t a i n Palaephatus and probably d a t i n g t o the l a t e f o u r t h century, give r a t i o n a l i z e d accounts of v a r i o u s myths, among them the descents of Heracles and Orpheus: However u n s a t i s f a c t o r y t h i s i s as an e x p l a n a t i o n , i t c l e a r l y i n d i c a t e s that the author thought of Eurydice as s u c c e s s f u l l y r e s t o r e d t o l i f e . Hermesianax We pass now t o the Alexandrians. The story.gets i t s f u l l e s t treatment thus f a r i n a fragment from the Leontlum. of Hermesianax, preserved i n the t h i r t e e n t h book of Athenaeus 1 Deipnosophistae. Hermesianax 1s work appears t o have been a catalogue of amorous s t o r i e s i n which l o v e r s e v e n t u a l l y meet w i t h punishment; \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 i t was dedicated t o the courtesan Leontium^ 58, Quoted from Konrat Z i e g l e r , .\"Orpheus\", PW 18(1939), P . 1309. 27 presumably w i t h the plea t h a t , i f the famous people i n the catalogue were smitten w i t h love's arrows, s u r e l y the w r i t e r may be f o r g i v e n h i s passion. Orpheus i s the f i r s t l o v e r discussed i n the long fragment.- His s e c t i o n may be quoted i n f u l l . /////&6V \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00C2\u00A3/?\tufgi/ c/c U /7(-i &6c< Jtfooi/> 6l/C7<* A^fcuV sS/COTji/ G/\/C\u00C2\u00A3/j(- 6/S tf/d^fai/ l/s^X^S c\")(cj/\".evtfo> t > ' /7 \ ' ? - ' 6:1/ /7i/ft ftfi/ (^favyy /~\u00C2\u00A3 Qo oo ft C i/\u00C2\u00B0 v, 61/ /7^L J' b/uju<<-) 6l/&6l/ fiAe/tfio'w ^ty/A'ouf yvc-/7e//-//\u00C2\u00A3/ j efoAftife, 7>?u cfe pfffc-fiol/>?v ^oyteA C-/7[ fp^^y^ ft /\u00C2\u00A3 XCA 6 o 7+) A?v/ens i/^/Sft/1/ \u00C2\u00A3 Z? rtc7av /Y<7fb< 77A {7~/ooo,\oyovts /vc/ysyai/ />?v /A.2f/eyt< y_ 6% /&\u00E2\u0080\u00A2<\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 ^c-7^- / * i/7j t/ /Ke7~oi/oy+*trs.c (IV, 25,4). The reference to Dionysus i s welcome t o those who see the myth 64 as an adaptation of the Dionysus-Semele s t o r y . Important f o r our purposes i s that again t h i s i s the Euripidean 65 \" s u c c e s s f u l \" v e r s i o n . Bowra D t h i n k s i t non-committal, but Diodorus, when he gets thus f a r i n t o the s t o r y , p l a i n l y considers I t f i n i s h e d : ./J^e/s J' e/re) f7\u00C2\u00A3y\ Offers Jet X^^O*ptv, per*-ft^cro^e&ot /tZAIV e/fi fbi/ /-ly^/cAe^- ( i b i d . ) . 64 r Jane H a r r i s o n , op_. c i t . , p. 603. Eor a summary of t h i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n see Gruppe, \"Eurydike\", i n Roscher, op. c i t . , v o l . 1, p. 1421. 65 ^Op. c i t . , p. 120, note 1. 31 Orphic. \"Argonautica\" I t i s impossible t o date the Argonautica a s c r i b e d to Orpheus w i t h any c e r t a i n t y , though I t seems to derive from A p o l l o n i u s Rhodius and was i n turn used by V i r g i l i n the Ae-neid. I t too seems to I n d i c a t e that Orpheus was success-f u l i n r e g a i n i n g h i s w i f e . \"Orpheus\" promises to r e v e a l the sec r e t s of the underworld, and says: \u00E2\u0080\u00A2yi/n$r\u00C2\u00A3f>) /T/7, dd tyvr* ^oyo/o ( 4 o - 4 2 ) . Thus from E u r i p i d e s to the end of the f i r s t century we have considerable evidence f o r a v e r s i o n of the s t o r y that d i d not survive Graeco-Roman times - that Orpheus was success-f u l .not only i n winning Eurydice from the powers of death, but i n r e s t o r i n g her t o l i f e as w e l l . 32 \"Lost Alexandrian poem\" A f t e r Diodorus and the Orphic \"Argonautica\", we do not read of the descent of Orpheus i n l i t e r a t u r e u n t i l the f o u r t h Georgic, of V i r g i l and the p s e u d o - V i r g i l i a n Culex. In both of these, the s t o r y has been f u r t h e r developed: on the journey to the world above, Orpheus i s unequal.to the condi-t i o n s imposed upon him by the gods of the underworld, and he lo s e s Eurydice a second time. Many s t r i k i n g s i m i l a r i t i e s between the two poems i n d i c a t e , not so much i d e n t i c a l author-ship (that i s l a r g e l y discounted on s t y l i s t i c grounds), but 66 a common source. P a r t i c u l a r l y notable i s the symmetrical 67 arrangement of both poems, more than vaguely Alexandrian i n appearance. I t i s l i k e l y t h a t , at some time i n the H e l l e n i s t i c p e r i o d , a poet t o l d the v e r s i o n of the s t o r y which i s f a m i l i a r 68 to us today.\" Bowra demonstrates how V i r g i l and Ovid, i n t e l l i n g the s t o r y , worked independently of one another,, using the same H e l l e n i s t i c poem as a model, and suggests P h i l e t a s , Nicander and Euphorion as p o s s i b l e authors. But the important f a c t i s that the famous v e r s i o n of the s t o r y , which may date back i n a r t to the f i f t h century, has at l a s t appeared i n l i t e r a t u r e . The Euripidean version,, however, gives evidence 66 See e s p e c i a l l y D.L. Drew,. Culex: Sources and t h e i r bearing on the problem of authorship, pp. 75 _ 9. 6^To be analyzed i n Chapter I I . 6^0p.. c i t . , pp..113-8 and 125-6. 33 of dying hard: i t reappears i n three more authors, each \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 separated from the other by a generation.. We s h a l l consider them as they occur i n our c h r o n o l o g i c a l sequence. The \"Culex\" In t h i s poem from the Appendix V e r g i l i a n a , the phantom gnat t e l l s of the souls he has seen i n Hades, and repeats the s t o r y he heard from E u r y d i c e 1 s l i p s . This account makes s e v e r a l c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o the t r a d i t i o n of the myth: i t i s Persephone who e f f e c t s the r e s t o r a t i o n of Eury-d i c e ; both l o v e r s are informed of the c o n d i t i o n ; Eurydice p l a y s her p a r t w e l l , keeping her eyes on the path,, not d i s -t r a c t i n g her husband by speaking to him; i t i s Orpheus who f a i l s , suddenly overcome w i t h passion, oscula cara petens (293) . A d i s c u s s i o n of the l i t e r a r y q u a l i t y and s i g n i f i -cance of the Culex must be reserved f o r the next chapter. 34 V i r g i l The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice i s b e a u t i f u l l y t o l d i n the c l o s i n g p o r t i o n of the f o u r t h Georgic of V i r g i l . More d e t a i l e d d i s c u s s i o n of t h i s famous treatment of the s t o r y w i l l a l s o be given i n the next chapter. , Here l e t i t only be s a i d that t h i s of course i s the t r a g i c v e r s i o n , that Orpheus f a i l s because he i s s e i z e d by s u b i t a dementia (488); he i s immemor and v i c t u s animi ( 4 9 1 ) ; V i r g i l ' s outstanding c o n t r i -bution t o the t r a d i t i o n i s h i s i n t r o d u c t i o n of the shepherd-god A r i s t a e u s , whose advances Eurydice was f l e e i n g when she was b i t t e n by the snake. By i n t r o d u c i n g t h i s f i g u r e , V i r g i l l o c a t e s the s t o r y i n Thrace, near Mount Rhodope. He makes other geographic c o n t r i b u t i o n s : the entrance to Hades i s at Taenarus; the e x i t , according to the best I t a l i a n t r a d i t i o n , , i s at Lake Avernus. V i r g i l a l s o gives passing mention to the descent i n the s i x t h book of the Aeneid: s i p o t u i t manis accersere coniugis Orpheus T h r e i c i a f r e t u s c i t h a r a f i d i b u s q u e canoris (VI, 1 1 9 - 2 0 ) , and Thracian Orpheus and h i s mother C a l l i o p e a are r e f e r r e d 69 t o i n the Eclogues. 111 ,46; IV,5 5 - 7 ; VI, 3 0 . 35 Horace V i r g i l ' s contemporary Horace never t e l l s the s t o r y of Orpheus and Eurydice i n d e t a i l , but i n one of the Odes he addresses the l y r e that charmed Charon, Cerberus and the tormented souls i n Hades: c e s s i t immanis t i b i b l a n d i e n t i i a n i t o r aulae l u r i d a e , quamvis f u r i a l e centum muniunt angues caput aestuatque s p i r i t u s t a e t e r saniesque manat ore t r i l i n g u i . quin et I x i o n Tityosque v o l t u r i s i t i n v i t o , s t e t i t urna paulum s i c c a , dum grato Danai p u e l l a s carmine mulces ( I I I , 1 1 , 1 5 - 2 4 ) . Horace then goes on to t e l l , , not of Eurydice, but of Hyper-mnestra. In another Ode, when Horace laments that no musical power can b r i n g Q u i n t i l i u s Varus back to l i f e , , he h i n t s at the s t o r y of the descent; quid? s i T h r e i c i o blandius Orpheo auditam moderere arboribus fidem, num vanae redeat sanguis i m a g i n i , quam v i r g a semel h o r r i d a non l e n i s precibus f a t a r ecludere n i g r o compulerit Mercurius gregi? ( 1 , 2 4 , 1 3-8). In n e i t h e r poem are we t o l d that Orpheus l o s t Eurydice a f t e r winning her by the power of h i s song, but the f a c t that V i r g i l ' s Georgic was already p u b l i s h e d , as w e l l as the sentiment of the 36 second passage here quoted, seems t o place Horace i n the 70 t r a g i c t r a d i t i o n . preserved i n Photius, probably should come next, as he de d i -cated h i s work to Archelaus Philopater,. who r u l e d over Cappadocia from 36 to 17 B.C.. Most of Conon's account of Orpheus i s concerned w i t h the hero's death, but he devotes a concise sentence t o the s t o r y of the descent: f^rt&jcc; cfc- C/O^CL. u^i &/r 'Arcfou /(<jr y(/t////(o$ rfu/duj J^^^(/if7fS ty/ft o0eo lSi ^f^k 6l/ (1,3,2). For other references to Orpheus i n S t a t i u s , see S i l v a e II, 7 , 4 0 ; V,l , 2 3 - 8 ; 3 , l 6 - 8 ; 5,53-5; Thebaid V,343-5. 42 Apollodorus f o l l o w s Ovid i n h i s explanation of the t r a g i c s t o r y : Orpheus i s at/7t o~ fu; v . Our l a s t group of authors are not l i t e r a r y Romans but t r a v e l e d and s o p h i s t i c a t e d Greeks. In one way of another, they c o n t r a d i c t V i r g i l ' s t r a g i c s t o r y . Pseudo-Plutarch In one of the works a s c r i b e d to P l u t a r c h , De Sera Numinis V i n d i c t a , the author mentions only that Orpheus went seeking h i s w i f e : In another, the Amatorius, he notes that Hades was vanquished by love i n the three cases of A l c e s t i s , P r o t e s i l a u s and Eurydice: Inasmuch as A l c e s t i s was r e s t o r e d l i v i n g t o Admetus, and P r o t e s i l a u s and Laodamia were u n i t e d f i r s t In l i f e and then i n death, we may conclude that the pseudo-Plutarch r e f e r s t o some form of the s t o r y i n which Eurydice i s r e s t o r e d to Orpheus, and love triumphs over death. This seems to f a l l i n w i t h the Euripidean r a t h e r than the f^i/ nyuyvji/ />/ yot/oi/zcac, yeryt/ \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 (22,566c). 43 V i r g i l i a n t r a d i t i o n , though from the b r i e f a l l u s i o n i t i s impossible to be c e r t a i n . Pausanias Pausanias r a t i o n a l i z e s the myth: among the untruths that the Greeks b e l i e v e about Orpheus i s the s t o r y 6 \ @6t\/ / c^u/ud/'/c>j c, i/c/fv ^(fsL <7yty-Tj /AOU AX/cyicrr/u- (XXIII,2). Lucian seems t o regard the Orpheus-story as a s u c c e s s f u l one.. I t i s true that P r o t e s i l a u s was given only three hours w i t h Laodamia, but i n h i s p l e a he a s s o c i a t e s \u00E2\u0080\u00A2Eurydice w i t h A l c e s t i s > who was f u l l y r e s t o r e d . Again, i t i s impossible to be sure. But i t seems that t h i s l a s t reference to the s t o r y r e v e r t s to the very f i r s t we have, and bears witness t o the continuance of the Euripidean t r a d i t i o n of a \" s u c c e s s f u l \" Orpheus. The account In Hyginus (Pabulae 164) was a c t u a l l y w r i t t e n by P u l g e n t i u s i n the s i x t h century, and included i n the e d i t i o n of Hyginus pu b l i s h e d at Basel i n 1535. See the edi t i o n , of H.J. Rose (Leyden,. 1934), p.115. 4 5 In t r a c i n g the e v o l u t i o n of the myth i n ancient times, we note that the f a m i l i a r \" t r a g i c \" form of the s t o r y of Orpheus and Eurydice may date back as f a r as the f i f t h -century A t t i c r e l i e f , but that i n extant l i t e r a t u r e i t does not appear u n t i l the f i r s t century B.C., w i t h V i r g i l and the Culex. Then i t becomes the standard v e r s i o n , and appears i n Conon, Ovid, Seneca>. Lucan, S t a t i u s and Apollodorus, while Pausanias, .in attempting to e x p l a i n away the s t o r y , t e s t i f i e s to i t s prominence i n h i s day. We note' that there i s a \"comic\" or \" s u c c e s s f u l \" form as w e l l , one which was the standard v e r s i o n i n f i f t h and f o u r t h century Greece, but which y i e l d e d to the other t r a d i t i o n i n H e l l e n i s t i c and Roman times. We may place E u r i p i d e s , I s o c r a t e s , Palaephatus, Hermesianax> Moschus, Diodorus and the Orphic Argonautica i n t h i s t r a d i t i o n . In l a t e r times, i t i s found, p o s s i b l y , i n M a n i l i u s , and then not again u n t i l the pseudo-Plutarch and Lucian. F i n a l l y , there i s a separate v e r s i o n found only i n P l a t o ' s Symposium. A c h r o n o l o g i c a l l i s t i n g of the evidence, grouped according to the t r a d i t i o n s , , presents a r a t h e r strange appearance: 46 \"Tragic\" form 5th B.C. ( A t t i c r e l i e f ) 4th B.C. 3rd B..C. 2nd B.C. 1st B.C. 1st A.D. 2nd A . D . Culex \" V i r g i l Horace Conon Gvid Seneca Lucan S t a t i u s Apollodorus Pausanias \"Comic\" form E u r i p i d e s I s o c r a t e s Palaephatus Hermesianax Moschus Diodorus Argonautica Other forms M a n i l i u s Pseudo-Plutarch Lucian P l a t o The curious appearance presented by t h i s scheme -w i t h P l a t o t r a d i t i o n l e s s , the A t t i c r e l i e f separated by cen-t u r i e s from the Culex, and the \" t r a g i c \" form succeeding and a l l but r e p l a c i n g the \"comic\" - immediately suggests that the accepted theory of two s i m u l t a n e o u s l y . e x i s t i n g t r a d i t i o n s f o r t h i s myth of Orpheus and Eurydice i s i t s e l f a myth, and prompts us to re-examine P l a t o and the r e l i e f i n the l i g h t not of l a t e r but of e a r l i e r evidence. 47 The f i r s t references to. Orpheus mention only the great singe r w i t h strange powers over nature. But t h i s idea was soon extended. We noted that s t o r i e s of a descent t o Hades may date back as f a r as the s i x t h century. C e r t a i n l y i n the f i f t h i t was g e n e r a l l y h eld that Orpheus had descended to Hades to p l a y f o r the dead and t h e i r gods. Polygnotus 1 f r e s c o t e l l s us t h i s much, and such a s t o r y i s often t o l d of the founder of a r e l i g i o u s c u l t which claims knowledge of the a f t e r l i f e ; i t s secrets are then sanctioned as having come from the . l i p s of the founder h i m s e l f , returned from the dead to r e v e a l them. But i n the f i f t h century there i s as yet no conjugal motive f o r Orpheus' descent. Jane Harrison observes \" I t may be taken as an axiom i n Greek mythology 82 that passionate l o v e r s are always l a t e \" , and indeed i t i s not t i l l Euripides> or even P l a t o , that Orpheus the l o v e r appears, while we wait f o u r more c e n t u r i e s before he becomes a t r a g i c l o v e r . By the l a t e f i f t h century, when we are f a i r l y c e r t a i n the A t t i c r e l i e f was executed, there were s e v e r a l current t a l e s of descents t o and rescues from Hades. Some of these are complete v i c t o r i e s over Hades: Dionysus braves the wrath of Death to take h i s mother Semele to Op. c i t . , p. 603. 48 heaven; Heracles rescues A l c e s t i s ' - 3 and c a r r i e s off. 84 Cerberus. In other, i n most cases older,, s t o r i e s , some concession i s given to the r i g h t s of Hades over the dead: -Heracles i s able to r e c l a i m Theseus, but P i r i t h o u s must remain below; Persephone, Polydeuces and Adonis spend h a l f the year i n Hades; P r o t e s i l a u s i s allowed only three hours above, and Odysseus does not descend, but only commands a view of the underworld as he i n t e r v i e w s some of i t s i n h a b i t -ants. The only underworld-story comparable t o the \" t r a g i c \" form of the Orpheus myth, w i t h a r e v e r s a l due to human f r a i l t y and, i n f a c t , the same c u r i o s i t y often asso-c i a t e d w i t h Orpheus, i s the episode i n the s t o r y of Cupid and Psyche where Venus gives the heroine a box and sends her o f f to the world of the dead to b r i n g back some of Proserpine's beauty; on the r e t u r n journey, Psyche can not r e s i s t t a k i n g a f u r t i v e look at the charm and i s over-come w i t h l e t h a l sleep. This s t o r y i s of course q u i t e l a t e , found only i n Apu l e i u s . This c l a s s i f i c a t i o n . of descent-myths i n t o the e a r l y success-story, the s t i l l e a r l i e r compromise-solution and the O o In e a r l y v e r s i o n s (Phrynicus and E u r i p i d e s ) he merely w a i t s at the tomb to f i g h t w i t h Death: l a t e r (Apollodorus) he descends.. 84 A complete v i c t o r y , as i t i s Eurystheus, not Hades, who asks that Cerberus be r e s t o r e d . 49 l a t e romantic tragedy suggests that one myth, the most famous of them a l l , r e c u r r i n g as i t does from the f i f t h century through the l a t e Roman empire, may have evolved according to t h i s p a t t e r n - from a myth i n which Hades only compromises,. to a s t o r y of triumphant success, to a romantic t a l e of t r a g i c f a i l u r e p i v o t i n g on human weakness.. For man's e a r l y myths attempt to e x p l a i n nature and the mystery of. l i f e and death; l a t e r he gains confidence i n hims e l f ; s t i l l l a t e r he 85 ro m a n t i c i z e s , and, we might add, as h i s c u l t u r e d i e s , he r a t i o n a l i z e s and lampoons. With the Orpheus-myth we have the e a r l y triumphal v e r s i o n ( E u r i p i d e s ) , the r o m a n t i c - t r a g i c v e r s i o n ( V i r g i l ) , , the l a t e r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n (Pausanias), and the lampoon ( L u c i a n ) . What we have f a i l e d to look f o r i s the f i r s t stage, where some compromise i s made w i t h Hades. The most common compromise-story i s the explanation of the pageant of the year, i n which Hades allows the dead to r e t u r n to ea r t h f o r a time and the world i s given both summer and wi n t e r months. I t i s p o s s i b l e to imagine that there e x i s t e d a v e r s i o n of the Orpheus-myth wherein the hero was allowed to take h i s wife t o the upper world f o r a s p e c i f i e d time, at the end of 86 which he was to r e l i n q u i s h her. Bowra had attempted to show that the A t t i c r e l i e f can be i n t e r p r e t e d i n p r e c i s e l y t h i s way.. He c i t e s the s t o r y of P r o t e s i l a u s as a p a r a l l e l , 85 ^Thus the d i v i s i o n , made by Frazer and others, of myth i n t o myth proper, legend, and f o l k l o r e . 8 6 0 p . c i t . , . pp. .121-2. 50 reminding us that P l u t a r c h a s s o c i a t e s the two s t o r i e s . ' 88 But he p r e f e r s to i n s e r t t h i s compromise-story between the \"comic\" and \" t r a g i c \" t r a d i t i o n s where there i s no room f o r i t c h r o n o l o g i c a l l y . I t i s e a s i e r t o imagine a compromise Orpheus-s t o r y somewhat along the l i n e s of Odyssey XI. Both.Odysseus and Orpheus t r a d i t i o n a l l y descended t o Hades to dis c o v e r i t s s e c r e t s . Odysseus used magic to fo r c e Hades to h i s w i l l , and he was granted a v i s i o n and an opportunity t o speak t o the great men who l i v e d below, e s p e c i a l l y to T i r e s i a s , who knew h i s f u t u r e . Orpheus overcame the underworld by v i r t u e of h i s music, which was magic of a s o r t , and Orphic l i t e r a t u r e assures us he was granted a v i s i o n . Why not, then a s t o r y which gives him a v i s i o n - and only a v i s i o n - of h i s wife? She i s not given him to take back; she i s only shown to him. We r e c a l l now that the o r i g i n a l name of Orpheus' w i f e was, i n a p o s s i b l e rendering, Af\u00C2\u00B0\"V - \"she of the gleaming face\". We r e c a l l too that P l a t o ' s phantom does not r e t u r n to the world j she i s shown ( cfe'%p< r/df) to Orpheus, and he i s sent back c^/eA^i . This i s p r e c i s e l y the scene we have But i n e x p l i c a b l y not mentioning Lucian. And i f Eury-dice was the o r i g i n a l name f o r the queen of the underworld, as Robert Graves suggests, In The Greek Myths (Harmondsworth, 1955), v o l . 1, p. 128, her ascent w i t h Orpheus may be a var-i a n t of the myth of Persephone. 00 In The Greek Experience (New York, 1959). PP. 132-3. 51 In the A t t i c r e l i e f . Orpheus has f i n i s h e d s i n g i n g ; he drops h i s l y r e and turns t o look i n t o the face of Eurydice, who i s brought to him by Hermes. I t i s only a momentary con-ces s i o n , and the psychopompos has a f i r m hold on Eurydice, now the br i d e of death. The hero t e n d e r l y brushes aside the v e i l and she gives him a sorrowful g r e e t i n g . Thus d i d the great Orpheus l e a r n the secrets of the a f t e r - l i f e . Unless some e a r l y fragment of Orphic l i t e r a t u r e turns up to confirm t h i s , i t i s at best a very t e n t a t i v e suggestion. But l e t us r e c a l l the only e x i s t i n g Orphic t e x t that mentions the s t o r y : c*-\\c<- cfi- (Tot. /ing To here a l e s i n g of p i moupe: So, S i r , as je seyd noupe What i c h wold a s k i haue y schold., & nedes pou most p i word hold.' (463-8). When the e v i l k i n g succumbs to a p o i n t of honor the mount-ing sense of e v i l i s d i s s i p a t e d , and the r e s t of the s t o r y i s played i n Winchester again i n an aura of goodness triumphant: though the court does not recognize Orfeo they r e c e i v e him as a harper i n memory of the long l o s t . k i n g ; i n a r e c o g n i -tion-scene the f a i t h f u l n e s s of the steward i s t e s t e d and borne out; Orfeo rewards them a l l . a n d l i v e s h a p p i l y ever a f t e r w i t h h i s queen. S i r Orfeo may be regarded .as a true h e i r of the Orpheus-poems of a n t i q u i t y , f o r i t s theme i s a f t e r a l l the power of true love and music over the for c e s of e v i l . But i t owes much more to the r i c h sources of medieval romance: what i s u n i v e r s a l l y admired i n the poem i s the charming naivete which i n v e s t s the c l a s s i c a l s t o r y w i t h medieval towers, Gothic dress, C e l t i c f a i r i e s and o l d E n g l i s h customs. I t s greatest debt, however, i s t o the c l e a r d i s t i n c t i o n the Middle Ages made between good and e v i l . For i t i s the a r t f u l suggestion of these two opposing worlds, w i t h the th r e a t of e v i l mounting to' a climax, then being f o r e v e r d i s -persed, that i n d i c a t e s that the author was touched w i t h genius. His thoroughly medieval Weltanschauung enabled him to t e l l h i s s t o r y w i t h c o n v i c t i o n and l o v i n g a t t e n t i o n . I f i t forbade h i s r e p r e s e n t i n g the second l o s s of Eurydice,. so much the b e t t e r ; S i r Orfeo has r e v i v i f i e d , even recreated-, 97 the myth i n new terms, and that i s the important f a c t . -The t r a g i c ending of the myth i s unthinkable i n romantic \u00E2\u0080\u00A2Christendom; Orpheus' s t o r y must be a happy-ever-after triumph of good over e v i l . There may w e l l have been an I t a l i a n S i r Orfeo, judging from the I t a l i a n form of the name i n the E n g l i s h poem, and from the l i k e l i h o o d that a famous French l a y would migrate t o I t a l y as w e l l as to England. We may be sure that medieval I t a l y knew Orpheus i n one form or another. V i r g i l ' s Georgic was c e r t a i n l y w e l l known, though the immense p r e s t -ige of the \"maestro e autore\" r e s t e d more on h i s a v a i l a b i l i t y as a textbook of grammar 'and r h e t o r i c , on the romantic Aeneid and the \"Messianic\" Eclogue than on h i s Orpheus-s t o r y . And although a c e l e b r a t e d c r i t i c can describe Dante as \"more fo r t u n a t e than Orpheus\" f o r he \"released out of the s t r u g g l i n g n i g h t of impulses an i d e a l shape, the heavenly 21 B e a t r i c e \" , i t i s the learned Orpheus, not the Orpheus who l o s t Eurydice, that we meet i n the Limbo of the Inferno. For the age knew no Greek and w i t h i t s strong and v i b r a n t f a i t h i n C h r i s t i a n i t y had no need f o r Greek myth. In the I t a l y of the t w e l f t h and t h i r t e e n t h c e n t u r i e s - the times of the great F l o r e n t i n e , St. F r a n c i s and St. Thomas Aquinas, K a r l V o s s l e r , Medieval Culture (New York, 1929), Vol.. 1, p. 318. 98 G i o t t o and the countless anonymous w r i t e r s and a r t i s t s - \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 when the - slow process of c i v i l i z a t i o n was suddenly a c c e l e r a t e d and the knowledge o f L a t i n and other d i s c i p l i n e s deepened and expanded, the d r i v i n g f o r c e was not a d e s i r e to emulate a n t i q u i t y - that was to come soon enough - but to penetrate to the u n i v e r s a l s , the t r u e , good and b e a u t i f u l , i n l i f e and b e l i e f . When t h i s i d e a l was turned on c l a s s i c myth, the i n e v i t a b l e r e s u l t was a l l e g o r y . Always a popular l i t e r a r y form i n the C h r i s t i a n era, a l l e g o r y became i n the t w e l f t h and t h i r t e e n t h c e n t u r i e s \"the u n i v e r s a l v e h i c l e of pious 22 expression\", \"the bone, muscle, and nerves of serious 2^ medieval l i t e r a t u r e \" , J and one of i t s great source-books 24 was Ovid. Of the many a l l e g o r i e s derived from h i s account of the s t o r y of Orpheus and Eurydice, those i n the Ovide M o r a l i s e , probably w r i t t e n by Chretien Legouais Saint-Maure, should be o u t l i n e d as being p a r t i c u l a r l y r e p r e s e n t a t i v e and i n f l u e n t i a l . Henry Osborn Taylor, The Medieval Mind (Cambridge, Mass., 1959), vol.. 2, p. 395. 2S Douglas Bush, Mythology and the Renaissance T r a d i t i o n i n E n g l i s h Poetry (New York, 1957), p. 15. 24 V i r g i l was accepted e a r l y as a C h r i s t i a n prophet; Ovid appeared b e l a t e d l y as a s a i n t and martyr who wrote poetry f o r a moral purpose: a Vie de Saint. Ovide Martyr was w r i t t e n i n P a r i s i n 1667. 99 In the account of the myth i t s e l f , Ovide Moralise f o l l o w s Ovid i n almost a l l i t s d e t a i l s , but diverges notably i n i n t r o d u c i n g A r i s t a e u s ( l i n e s 1-195)- Then i s given (196-219) the \" h i s t o r i c a l sens\" of the s t o r y : Orpheus, a f t e r l o s i n g Eurydice, turned to unnatural l o v e , thus l o s i n g both body and s o u l . Two separate a l l e g o r i e s f o l l o w * The f i r s t (220-443), very d e t a i l e d and elaborate, begins: Par Orpheus puis droitement Noter regnable entendement, Et par E u r i d i c e sa fame La s e n s u a l i t e de 1' ame. Ces deus choses par mariage Sont j o i n t e s en 1 'umain lignage (220-5)* While Orpheus and Eurydice thus s i g n i f y two p a r t s of the s o u l , A r i s t a e u s Is \"noter v e r t u de bien v i v r e \" (228) and the serpent \"mortel v i c e \" (242). S e n s u a l i t y , having f o o l i s h l y separated h e r s e l f from reason, runs barefoot through the grass of w o r l d l y d e l i g h t s , r e s i s t i n g the advances of v i r t u e , u n t i l , f a l l i n g i n t o mortal s i n , she brings the soul down i n t o darkness. The r i v e r s and the tormented f i g u r e s of Hades are then given a l l e g o r i c a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s . At l a s t the r a t i o n a l p a r t of the soul attempts to turn s e n s u a l i t y from i t s s i n f u l path, and the sound of i t s harp i s a movement of grace. S e n s u a l i t y i s moved and begins to f o l l o w , but when reason gives way and looks back upon s e n s u a l i t y the soul i s l o s t f o r e v e r : Et p i r e est l ' e r r e u r desreniere Que l a premeraine ne f u (435-6). 100 The t h i r d a l l e g o r y (444-577) makes no attempt to f o l l o w the o u t l i n e s of the myth, but views i t as i l l u s t r a -t i v e , i n various d e t a i l s , of c r e a t i o n , the f a l l , the Incarna-tion-, the Redemption and the f i n a l damnation of the obstinate s o u l . Ovide Moralise was n e i t h e r the f i r s t nor the l a s t of the a l l e g o r i c a l treatments of the Metamorphoses, and the very names of the authors of some other v e r s i o n s - Arnoul d'Orleans (fl_..ca;i. 1175), John of Garland (ca_. 1234), Alfonso e l Sabio (ca_. 1270), Peter B e r c u i r e (ca_.; 1342), Giovanni d e l V i r g i l i o , Robert Holkot and Thomas Wal.eys(l4th century) -show how widespread the p r a c t i c e was. Thus Ovid's Orpheus crossed and re-crossed Europe, i n t e r p r e t e d anew f o r p h i l o s -ophers, doctors, preachers, nuns, tradesmen and sch o o l -boys. Dante uses Orpheus to i l l u s t r a t e the very notion of 25 a l l e g o r y : i n a c l a s s i c passage i n the Convivio, he demon-s t r a t e s v a r i o u s a l l e g o r i c a l p r a c t i c e s by t r a c i n g d i f f e r e n t meanings i n Ovid's account of Orpheus taming the beasts. And the dean of fo u r t e e n t h century l e t t e r s , Guillaume de Machaut, r a i s e d the Orpheus-Eurydice a l l e g o r y to true l i t e r a r y r e s p e c t a b i l i t y when he r e t o l d and i n t e r p r e t e d the myth i n Trattato. Secondo, 1,2. 101 26 h i s Confort d'ami, addressed to Charles of Navarre. Another i n f l u e n t i a l French v e r s i o n of the myth i s i n L e p i s t r e Othea a_ Hector, by C h r i s t i n e de Pi s a n . Here i t i s one of a hundred h i s t o r i e s , each of which i s t o l d i n .a qu a t r a i n , then used t o i l l u s t r a t e some c h i v a l r i c v i r t u e , and f i n a l l y a l l e g o r i z e d . The v i r t u e a knight may l e a r n from Orpheus' descent i s the v i r t u e of prudence, to seek not the impossible; the moral t o be drawn i s that man ought not presumptuously to ask God f o r e x t r a o r d i n a r y f a v o r s , f o r 27 these may be harmful to h i s s o u l . I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g to note that while the r i s i n g c u l t u r e of the West was a l l e g o r i z i n g the Orpheus-myth, the Byzantine polymath Joanne Tzetzes was r a t i o n a l i z i n g i t . In the C h i l i a d e s we read that Eurydice was not r e a l l y dead, but only i n a sor t of trance from which Orpheus awakened her by 28 h i s s i n g i n g . 26 Lines 2277-2674-. . Machaut a l s o uses the myth i n h i s Prologue 135-46, and i n the P i t de l a Harpe. 27 'LXX: Texte 1-7, Glose and A l l e g o r i e . In i t s E n g l i s h t r a n s l a t i o n the E p i s t r e was c a l l e d A L y t i l B i b e l l of Knyghthod. 28 11,54,847, summarized i n Konrat Z i e g l e r , \"Orpheus\", PW I8 ( l939) , . p. 1310. Tzetzes a l s o r e f e r s t o Orpheus i n 1,12,305-16. 102 Unmoralized Ovid found a kindred s p i r i t i n England i n Geoffrey Chaucer, and deeply i n f l u e n c e d much of h i s work. The references t o Orpheus i n Chaucer are few-, however, and most of these - i n The Book of the Duchess (568), The House of Fame ( i l l , 1 1 3 ) and The Merchant's Tale (1716) - are only b r i e f a l l u s i o n s to Orpheus the s k i l l e d musician-. But the heroine^ of T r o i l u s and Criseyde evokes the pathos of the Eurydice s t o r y : For though i n erthe ytwyned be we tweyne, Yet i n the f e l d of p i t e , out of peyne, That highte E l i s o s , s h a l we ben yfeere, As Orpheus w i t h Erudice, h i s fer e ( I V , 7 8 8 - 9 1 ) . As we expect, the s t o r y i s r e t o l d i n Chaucer's Boece, a t r a n s l a t i o n of the Consolation of Philosophy, but i n l i t e r a l and u n d i s t i n g u i s h e d prose. Chaucer a l s o knows S i r Orfeo, f o r the poem leaves i t s imprint on the opening l i n e s of The Wyfe of Bath's Tale, w i t h i t s warning to women to beware the f a i r i e s i n the morning hours, e s p e c i a l l y under t r e e s , and The F r a n k l i n ' s Tale bears many resemblances; i t purports to be a Breton l a y ; i t s heroine i s approached i n a garden by an unwelcome l o v e r ; i t s hero wins the lady back by i n s i s t -i n g on a point\" of honor. Chaucer's d i s c i p l e John Lydgate,. the \"monk of Bury\", t e l l s the Orpheus-Eurydice s t o r y i n some seventy-six l i n e s i n h i s enormous F a l l of P r i n c e s . His v e r s i o n leans h e a v i l y on -Ovid f o r t h i s as f o r countless other myths. I t i s not without charm,, e s p e c i a l l y i n the c e l i b a t e author's humorous remarks on marriage: 103 Y i f f summe husbondis hadde stonden In the cas Ta l o s t her wyves f o r a look sodeyne, The! wolde (ha(ve) s u f f r e d and nat s e i d a l i a s , But p a c i e n t l i endured a l ther peyne, And thanked God, that broken was the cheyne Which hath, so longe hem i n prisoun bounde, That t h e i be grace han such a fredam founde ' (1,5804-10). In f i v e \"other works - Temple of Glass (1308-9), Troybook (Prologue 47-53), Assembly of Gods (400 - 1 ) , Reson and Sensu a l l y t e ('5604) and Albon and Amphabel \u00E2\u0080\u0094 the voluminous Lydgate t e l l s of the marvelous prowess of Orpheus the musi-c i a n , and i n the Testament he invokes h i s Lord Iesu as Our Orpheus that from c a p t i u y t e Fe t t e Erudice to h i s c e l e s t i a l l tour (158-9). B o e t h i u s 1 Consolation was t r a n s l a t e d e n t i r e l y i n t o E n g l i s h verse by Lydgate's contemporary John Walton (Johannes Capellanus), w i t h even l e s s success than Chaucer's a l l prose t r a n s l a t i o n achieved, although i t s stanzas on Orpheus are on the' whole f e l i c i t o u s . Meanwhile S i r Orfeo had passed i n t o o r a l t r a d i t i o n and was r e v i v e d as\" the Shetland b a l l a d of King Orfeo, s u r v i v i n g nineteenth-century fragments of which suggest that i t h a r d l y stood on the same l e v e l as i t s source. Eurydice becomes the Lady I s a b e l i n the two-line stanzas, which s t r e s s the musicianship of Orpheus, twice n a r r a t i n g how f i r s t he played da notes o noy an dan he played da notes o joy. An dan he played da g6d gabber r e e l Dat meicht ha made a s i c k hert h a l e . 2 9 Quoted i n B l i s s , op. c i t . , p p . . l - l l . S i r Orfeo i s b e l i e v e d to be the only medieval romance that has survived i n popular b a l l a d form. An otherwise unknown Orpheus, kyng of P o r t i n g a l i s l i s t e d among the popular s t o r i e s i n The Complaynt of Scot-30 land 1549.. Concurrent w i t h t h i s i s the work of the S c o t t i s h Bishop Gavin Douglas, who mentions Orpheus the harper i n h i s P a l i c e of Honour ( l i n e 398), while i n the pious prologue to h i s famed t r a n s l a t i o n of the Aeneid he c a l l s C h r i s t \"that hevenlie Orpheus\" ( l i n e 9)\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 The l a s t l a r g e - s c a l e treatment of the s t o r y of Orpheus and Eurydice i n the Middle Ages i s a l s o from Scotland,, and a f a i r index t o the use and i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the myth from the s i x t h to the s i x t e e n t h century: the Orpheus and Eurydice of\"the S c o t t i s h Chaucer, Robert Henryson, mixes c l a s s i c a l w i t h f a i r y - t a l e elements and concludes w i t h an appropriate a l l e g o r y derived from a t h i r t e e n t h century monk. I t i s Henryson's longest and most elaborate work, but not h i s best, f o r the complex mythico-moral s t r u c t u r e almost defeats the g r a c e f u l music of h i s seven-lined rhymed stanzas. The s t o r y f o l l o w s V i r g i l and Ovid, but has many o r i g i n a l d e t a i l s : i t takes Orpheus i n h i s search f o r Eurydice through 30 ^ Recorded by David Laing, S e l e c t Remains of the Ancient Popular and Romance Poetry of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1885), p. 117. 105 the spheres, where he le a r n s the secrets of medieval music,, though Henryson himself confesses \"In my l y f e I cowth n e v i r s i n g a n o i t \" ( l i n e 242); i t informs us that Orpheus' song before t h e i r majesties of the underworld had a bass l i n e i n the Hypodorian, a descant i n the Hypolydian mode. The most memorable p o r t i o n s of the poem are Orpheus' lament f o r Eurydice,. w i t h i t s r e c u r r i n g r e f r a i n : quhair a r t thow gone, my luve ewridicess? ( l 4 3 ) . and the Dantesque v i s i o n of a h e l l peopled w i t h the v i l l a i n s of a n t i q u i t y - cesar, herod, nero and p i l o t and mony palp and c a r d y n a l l (338). Henryson's poem,, blending as i t does the c l a s s i c a l form of the s t o r y w i t h the medieval atmosphere of S i r Orfeo, marks the end of the Orpheus-romances of the Middle Ages: the 2 4 0-line m o r a l i t a s appended might be dismissed as an u n f o r t -unate afte r t h o u g h t , d i d we not know that t h i s , f o r the medieval man,, i s the r a i s o n d'etre of the poem, and i n Henryson I:s case may be thought to climax the cen t u r i e s of a l l e g o r i z i n g to which Orpheus and Eurydice were subjected. As an a l l e g o r y i t i s no b e t t e r , no worse than many others: Orpheus i s reason, Eurydice a f f e c t i o n , A r i s t a e u s v i r t u e , the serpent s i n , three-headed Cerberus death i n childhood, middle and o l d age; i t i s a l l a s t o r y of man's a f f e c t i o n f l e e i n g v i r t u e , f a l l i n g i n t o s i n , but almost redeemed by reason, which proves too weak f o r the task. I t seems a v a r i a n t of the a l l e g o r y i n Ovide M o r a l i s e , but Henryson 106 s t a t e s (414-24) that he found i t i n the commentaries on the Consolation of Philosophy w r i t t e n by the p a i n s t a k i n g and v e r s a t i l e Dominican N i c o l a s T r i v e t . So does the long shadow of Boethius cover the Orpheus-tradition of the Middle Ages. Half romance, w i t h - V i r g i l and Ovid r e c r e a t e d i n medieval terms,, h a l f a l l e g o r y , i n an attempt to penetrate to the meaning of the s t o r y ,as Boethius: once had done,. Henryson's poem marks the close of an era' of Orpheus romanticized and a l l e g o r i z e d . CHAPTER IV THE RENAISSANCE Orpheus reborn w i t h the Renaissance i s a new .symbol. He i s no longer the romantic f i g u r e who braved the supernatural to rescue h i s beloved from death; f o r such an Orpheus the. new era had l i t t l e sympathy. The Renaissance Orpheus i s r a t h e r the embodiment of human wisdom, the symbol of a great c i v i l i z i n g f o r c e , w i t h power to bend a l l the harsh, c o n t r a d i c t o r y elements of the universe to the humaniz-i n g s p e l l of h i s art.. The f i g u r e of Orpheus taming the savage beasts i s thus in v e s t e d w i t h some of i t s o r i g i n a l meaning. 1 His death at the hands of the Bacchantes and the new l i f e of h i s harp and s i n g i n g head are seen as the p e r i o d i c a t t a c k s made on human wisdom by barbarism, and the p r o v i d e n t i a l conservation of i t s elements i n more a p p r e c i a t i v e 2 surroundings. Orpheus the author of the Orphic w r i t i n g s See N a t a l i s Comes, Mythologiae VII,14; Erasmus, Adversus Barbaros 89-96; George Chapman, The Shadow of Night 140-4; the masques of Ben Jonson and Thomas Campion, and e s p e c i a l l y the Orfeo of Angel.o P o l i z i a n o . 2 See Bacon, l o c . c i t . , John M i l t o n , Lycidas 56-63.. 107 108 gains i n importance,, and i s held as a prophet of the true God, while m y s t i c a l w r i t e r s continue to a s s o c i a t e him w i t h C h r i s t , the \"new Orpheus\". The E u r y d i c e - s t o r y was too romantic, too p e r s o n a l l y t r a g i c to support the weight of t h i s symbolism. In Renaissance England, where we s h a l l begin our d i s c u s s i o n ^ i t d i d not t h r i v e as i t had i n the Middle Ages. This i s true despite the tremendous l i t e r a r y production of the age; w r i t e r s were simply out of sympathy w i t h i t . When i t i s used by a great w r i t e r who i s convinced of the new 'Orphean symbolism -Chapman or M i l t o n - i t comes to l i f e w i t h s t r i k i n g beauty. But too often i t i s used as a mere l i t e r a r y adornment, w i t h l i t t l e o r i g i n a l i t y and s t i l l l e s s t a s t e , at the caprice of men who a v a i l e d themselves of a wealth of m y t h o l o g i c a l l o r e , but could no longer a l l e g o r i z e or romanticize and lacked the a b i l i t y to manipulate symbols. The i n e v i t a b l e r e s u l t i s the accumulation of symbols, most of them c l a s s i c a l \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a s i n 4 one of Thomas Watson's sonnets, which a l l u d e s not only to JSee Walter R a l e i g h , H i s t o r y of the World I ; Michael Drayton, notes to P o l y o l b i o n , song 1; G i l e s F l e t c h e r , C h r i s t ' s V i c t o r i e and Triumph 5 9,7 , 6 - 8 ; - Calderon de l a Barca,. E l D i v i n o Orfeo. 4 Sonnet 3 0 , esp. l i n e s 13-14-. 109 Orpheus and Eurydice and Cerberus, but t o Hero and Leander, Pyramus and Thisbe, Haemon and Antigone as w e l l . When Watson r e f e r s t o Orpheus i n Amintas, f o r h i s P h y l l i s (31-2), the hero i s s i n g i n g \"neere the E l i z i a n s p r i n g s \" , but the emphasis i s on the ready symbol of the s i n g i n g , not on the t r a g i c s t o r y of the underworld. - Orpheus' harp and song should be e x c e l -l e n t symbols of the power of human wisdom, but w i t h Drummond 5 6 7 of Hawthornden, Barnabe Barnes, Richard B a r n e f i e l d and o John Davies they are at most a r t i f i c i a l tags, though Davies' gusty humour redeems him i n h i s In Philonem,where an E n g l i s h Orpheus \"to the vulgar sings an Ale-house s t o r y \" ( l i n e 8) and draws a P o r t e r , an Oyster-wife, a Cut-purse, a Countrey c l y e n t , a Constable and a whore to l i s t e n t o him. But t h e r e i s no Eurydice i n t h i s underworld, W i l l i a m Bark-stead p r e f e r s , i n t r e a t i n g the Orpheus of Ovid, to t e l l the s t o r y of Myrrha, expanding Ovid's 220 l i n e s to almost 900. In John Skelton's- Garland of L a u r e l l Orpheus, the Traciene, herped. meledyously (272), and the references i n Michael Drayton 9 and S i r P h i l i p ^Sonnet to W i l l i a m Alexander, i n Commendatory Verses, 13-14. ^Parthenophil and Parthenophe, Sonnet 52,1-12. 7The P r a i s e of Lady Pecunia, 217-9. o Orchestra 80,1, ^Sonnets 45,12-4; Shepheards Garland; Eclogue 4,69; Ode t o Himself and h i s Harp. 110 Sidney 1*\" 1 are l i k e w i s e concerned w i t h Orpheus' musical s k i l l , though the E u r y d i c e - s t o r y i s b r i e f l y a l l u d e d to i n Thomas Nashe's preface t o the f i r s t e d i t i o n of Astrophel and S t e l l a . Orpheus was understandably a s s o c i a t e d w i t h the great musicians of the day. P u r c e l l ' s songs were c o l l e c t e d under the t i t l e Orpheus B r l t t a n l c u s , and W i l l i a m Byrd's \"Come woeful Orpheus w i t h thy charming l y r e \" c a l l e d f o r t h from the compiler the d e l i g h t f u l comment that t h i s Orpheus \"not only moved inanimate nature, but even played so w e l l , that he moved Old N i c k \" . 1 1 Words of wisdom were given to the a s p i r i n g musician i n Roger Rawlins' t r a n s l a t i o n Cassius 12 of Parma, h i s Orpheus, by Antonius T h y l e s s i u s (1587). 1^ Three other curious v e r s i o n s of the myth ^ belong to the same p e r i o d : A Womans Woorth,. defended against a l l the men In the world ( 1 5 9 9 ) , a t r a n s l a t i o n by Anthony Gibson from the French of the Ch e v a l i e r de l ' E s c a l e ; Of Loves complaint; w i t h the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice (anon.., 1597), and Orpheus h i s journey to h e l l and h i s music to the ghosts' ('1595), signed R.B-. This l a s t poem f o l l o w s Ovid and t e l l s the 1 0 S o n n e t s ; Defense of Poesy; T h i r d Song 1-2; Two P a s t o r e l s 12-3. 1 1Quoted i n J u l i u s W i r l , \"Orpheus i n der Englischen L i t e r a -t u r e \" , Wiener B e i t r a g e zur Englischen P h i l o l o g i e 4 o ( l 9 l 4 ) , p. 48. 12 L i s t e d i n Bush, op, c i t . , p. 307. 1 3 L i s t e d i b i d . , p p . 309, 311, 312. I l l s t o r y w i t h a minimum of ornament: Orpheus' homely complaint before the monarchs of Hades i s : For my Eurydice was dead ^ Before I could enjoy her bed.. Somewhat s i m i l a r treatment i s given the myth i n W i l l i a m .Warner1 s Albion's England, but Warner has the s t o r y wrong: Orpheus i s the husband of Proserpine, whom he wins from P l u t o because h i s music makes her laughj i t i s Cerberus who detects the backward glance and shuts Orpheus out of 15 Hades once f o r a l l . To come t o the great w r i t e r s , Thomas More, a l l u d e s to the myth i n a L a t i n epigram.. A d v i s i n g Candidus to choose a w i f e who Is s k i l l e d i n the a r t s of conversation, he says: Talem o l i m ego putem Et v a t i s Orphei Fuisse coniugem. Nec unquam ab i n f e r i s Curasset improbo Lahore foeminam Referre rustlcam (Epigram 125,74-80). Edmund Spenser's best c o n t r i b u t i o n to the l i t e r -ature of Orpheus and Eurydice i s an e f f e c t i v e couplet i n Quoted i n W i r l , op_. c i t . , p. 63. Charles Crawford, \"Greenes F u n e r a l l s , 159 ,^ and Nicholas Breton\", Studies i n P h i l o l o g y , e x t r a s e r i e s (May, 1929)., p. 26, gives N i c h o l a s Breton c r e d i t f o r t h i s poem. 1 5I,6,35-85. 112 An Hymne of Love which should o b l i t e r a t e f o r e v e r the memory of P l a t o ' s weakling Orpheus: Orpheus dar i n g to prouoke the yre Of damned f i e n d s , to get h i s love r e t y r e (234-5). Another f i n e reference to the myth i s i n The Ruines of Time: And they, f o r p i t y of the sad wayement, Which Orpheus f o r Eurydice d i d make, Her back againe to l i f e sent f o r h i s sake (390-2). Elsewhere, Spenser i s d i s a p p o i n t i n g . The only a l l u s i o n to the recovery of Eurydice i n The.Faerie Queene i s a b r i e f 16 quote from The Shepheardes Calender. The reference t o Eurydice i n the Daphnaida (464) i n e x p l i c a b l y connects her w i t h Demeter. Then there i s Spenser's i n d i f f e r e n t t r a n s l a t i o n of the Culex.. The 4l4 L a t i n l i n e s are expanded to 688; Dan Orpheus and Ladie Eurydice have l o s t t h e i r p e r s o n a l -i t i e s ; the themes of lo v e , death and music so memorably sketched i n the L a t i n poem are submerged i n the rhymed stanzas of a busy E l i z a b e t h a n poet who e n t i r e l y omits the c r u c i a l l i n e : Non e r a t f i n vitam d i v a e t e x o r a b i l e mortis -, 7 (Culex 288). L l While Spenser concentrates on the Culex> Robert Burton quote.s two l i n e s from V i r g i l ' s f o u r t h Georgic i n \"^Compare The Fae r i e Queene IV,10,58,4 and October 28-31. 17 For Orpheus the Argonaut and musician i n Spenser, see the F a e r i e Queene 111,2,1; Amoretti 44,1-4; Epitha1amion 16; Ruines of Rome 25,1; Ruines of Time 333,607.. 113 The Anatomy of Melancholy. F r a n c i s Bacon sees the myth as a l l e g o r y , but a Renaissance a l l e g o r y of human wisdom: Sententia fabulae ea v i d e t u r esse. Duplex est Orphei Cantio: a l t e r a ad placandos Manes; a l t e r a ad trahendas f e r a s et s y l v a s . P r i o r ad natural-em philosophiam, p o s t e r i o r ad moralem et c i v i l e m aptlssime r e f e r t u r . But Bacon's attempt to i n t e r p r e t Orpheus' quest f o r Eurydice as the i n q u i r y of n a t u r a l i s p h i l o s o p h i a seems for c e d and out of touch w i t h the s p i r i t of the myth: Opus...naturalis philosophiae longe n o b i l -issimum est i p s a r e s t i t u t i o et i n s t a u r a t i o rerum c o r r u p t i b i l i u m , et (hujusce r e i tanquam gradus minores) corporum i n s t a t u suo conser-vation et d i s s o l u t i o n i s et p u t r e d i n i s r e t a r d a t i o . Hoc s i omriino f i e r i detur, certe non a l i t e r e f f i c i potest quam per debita et e x q u i s i t a na-turae temperamenta, tamquam per harmoniam l y r a e , et modos accuratos. Et tamen cum . s i t res omnium maxime ardua, e f f e c t u plerunque f r u s t r a t u r ; idque (ut v e r i s i m i l e est) non magis ali a m ob causam, quam per curiosam et intempestivam sedu l i t a t e m et impatientiam (De S a p i e n t i a Yeterum, X I ) . The sense of mystery i s l o s t here; Eurydice i s no longer the soul to be r e s t o r e d t o the l i f e of grace; she i s only the body to be r e s t o r e d to h e a l t h by s c i e n t i f i c knowledge. Much more s u c c e s s f u l i s Bacon's i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of Orpheus' l a t e r l i f e as the v i c t o r y of p h i l o s o p h i a moralis et c i v i l i s , and of h i s death as the p e r i o d i c d e s t r u c t i o n of the f r u i t s of human wisdom by barbarism. This second part of the a l l e g o r y became standard i n the Renaissance; the f i r s t d i d 'Lines 4 5 5 - 6 are quoted i n Anatomy of Melancholy 1 1 1 , 2 , 3 . 114 not. George Chapman, f o r example, uses Bacon's second a l l e g o r y . When Orpheus charms the rocks, f o r e s t s , f l o o d s and winds, i t bewrayes the f o r c e His wisedome had, t o draw men growne so rude To c i u i l l loue of A r t , and F o r t i t u d e (The Shadow of Night 1 4 2 - 4 ) . But i n e x p l a i n i n g the E u r y d i c e - s t o r y , he reaches past Bacon to the Middle Ages: And that i n calming the i n f e r n a l l e kinde, To w i t , the p e r t u r b a t i o n s of h i s minde, And b r i n g i n g h i s Eurydice from h e l l , (Which I u s t i c e s i g n i f i e s ) i s proued w e l l . But i f i n r i g h t s obseruance any man Looke backe, w i t h boldnesse l e s s e then Orphean, Soone f a l l s he to the h e l l from whence he r o i s e ( i b i d . 1 4 9 - 5 5 ) . The c l o s i n g l i n e s of t h i s passage echo Boethius, and the burden of the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n comes from the m y t h o l o g i c a l handbook of Renaissance w r i t e r s , the Mythologiae of N a t a l i s 19 Comes. ^ Two other authors, a generation l a t e r , use Comes and Boethius. The f i r s t of these i s Thomas Heywood, who a l l u d e s t o the myth i n h i s Dialogue of E a r t h and Age: 19r i LOrpheusJ i g i t u r p l a c a t i s i n f e r i s , animo p e r t u r b a t i o n i b u s s c i l i c e t , Eurydicen i n lucem adducere conatus e s t , quae, ut nomen ipsum s i g n i f i c a t , n i h i l a l i u d est quam i u s t i t i a et e q u i t a s . F u i t rursus ad i n f e r o s i l i a r e t r a c t a ob nimium Orphei amorem, quia neque i u s t i t i a e quidem opus est nimis esse cupidum, cum p e r t u r b a t i o n e s animi p l a c a r e n t u r r a t i o n e (Mythologiae V I I , 4 ) . 115 What sorrow, m u s i c a l l Orpheus, d i d s t thou f e e l e , When thy E u r i d i c e , stung i n the heele, And dying, home unto t h ' i n f e r n a l l e shade, Thou w i t h thy harp through h e l l f r e e passage made? (1533-6). Heywood's annotation to t h i s passage gives an a l l e g o r y N a t a l i s Comes attached t o the myth: Eurydice s i g n i f i e t h the soule of man, and Orpheus the body t o which the soule i s married... according to Natal.. Comes (Annotations 9720-31) . 2 0 The second author, Phineas F l e t c h e r , includes i n h i s works t h i r t e e n t r a n s l a t i o n s from Boethius' Consolation, no l e s s than f o u r of which are renderings i n verse of the Orpheus - Eurydice s t o r y w i t h i t s moral: A Father's Testa-ment (22), The Purple I s l a n d (V, stanzas 6 l - 8 ) , P o e t i c a l l M i s c e l l a n i e s (A_ T r a n s l a t i o n of Boet h i u s ) , and the chorus to Act IV. of S i c e l i d e s . I t i s safe to say tha t Boethius' moral i s one of h i s maj;or themes. But F l e t c h e r ' s work i s always an odd mixture of the sensuous and the s a i n t l y , and i n the S i c e l i d e s the sensuous p r e v a i l s , as F l e t c h e r i s induced by the p a s t o r a l atmosphere of h i s subject to m i s t r a n s l a t e h i s f a v o r i t e m editation: Heywood uses Comes' second a l l e g o r y , which i s a c t u a l l y that of Ovide Moralise', Orpheus a l s o f i g u r e s i n the e a r l y The S i l v e r Age, and i n a pageant Heywood composed i n I638. See W i r l , op., c i t . , pp. 56-7. US Thus since love hath wonne the f i e l d , Heaven and H e l l , to Ea r t h must ye e l d , B l e s t soule that dyest i n loves sweete sound, That l o s t i n love i n love a r t found (35-8). Phineas' younger brother, G i l e s , s t i l l more m y s t i -c a l l y i n c l i n e d , sees the Orpheus-myth as an obscure pagan type of C h r i s t ' s v i c t o r y : h i s sensuously devout, often beau-t i f u l poem C h r i s t ' s V i c t o r i e , and Triumph i s a c h a r a c t e r i s -t i c a l l y Renaissance product, i t s C h r i s t i a n i t y resplendent w i t h C l a s s i c a l f i g u r e s . Another F l e t c h e r w i l l serve to introduce us to the somewhat scant, s u p e r f i c i a l t r a c e s of the Orpheus-myth 21 i n E l i z a b e t h a n drama. Ope of the characters i n The Mad Lover of Beaumont and F l e t c h e r dresses as Orpheus i n a masque introduced i n t o the p l a y , and persuades the l o v e r not t o attempt death u n t i l he has ta s t e d of love: Orpheus I am, come from the deeps below, To thee fond man the plagues of love to show (IV,1,27-8). The masque a l s o includes a dialogue w i t h Charon and a song to tame the beasts. 22 F l e t c h e r may a l s o be r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the l o v e l y and j u s t l y famous song sung by Queen Katherine's maid i n Before the El i z a b e t h a n age there i s only an anonymous The Story of Orpheus (1547) l i s t e d i n A l f r e d Herbage's Annals of E n g l i s h Drama 975-1700 ( P h i l a d e l p h i a , 1940). 22 The authorship of King Henry V I I I was questioned by James Spedding and Samuel Hlckson i n 1850. See The London 117 Shakespeare's King Henry V I I I : Orpheus w i t h h i s l u t e made t r e e s , And the mountain tops that freeze . Bow themselves when he d i d s i n g . To h i s music p l a n t s and flowers Ever sprung, as sun and showers There had made a l a s t i n g s p r i n g . Everything that heard him p l a y , Even the b i l l o w s of the sea, Hung t h e i r heads and then l a y by. In sweet music i s such.art, K i l l i n g care and g r i e f of heart F a l l asleep, or hearing die (III,1,3~l4). This p i c t u r e of p l a n t s and flowers s p r i n g i n g up under Orpheus' i n f l u e n c e may suggest M u l l e r ' s t h e o r i e s t o mytho-l o g i c a l s c i e n t i s t s . U n f o r t u n a t e l y, t h i s i s as much s i g n i -f i c a n c e as one i s l i k e l y t o f i n d i n any of Shakespeare's other a l l u s i o n s to Orpheus. The Thracian musician i s only -a p a r t of h i s ''classical s t o c k - i n - t r a d e , though no mention of him i s without i t s beauty: In Two Gentlemen Of Verona we hear of the power of h i s music: For Orpheus 1 l u t e was strung w i t h poets' sinews; Whose golden touch .could soften s t e e l and stones, Make t i g e r s tame, and huge l e v i a t h a n s Forsake unsounded deeps to dance on sands (111,2,78-81). A s i m i l a r reference i n The Merchant of Venice i s part of the c l a s s i c t r i b u t e to music i n the E n g l i s h language: Shakespeare (New York, 1957), v o l . 4, p. 1145. Hickson assigned 111,1 to F l e t c h e r , and indeed a passage i n The Captain of Beaumont and F l e t c h e r ( I I I , 1 , 3 3 ~ 9 ) i s s i m i l a r to the Orpheus-song. 118 Therefore the poet Did f e i g n that Orpheus drew t r e e s , stones and f l o o d s ; Since nought so s t o c k i s h , hard and f u l l of rage, But music f o r the time doth change h i s nature (V,79-82). A l l these are i n the Renaissance t r a d i t i o n of Orpheus as .a c i v i l i z e r . The E u r y d i c e - s t o r y i s p o s s i b l y a l l u d e d to i n T r o i l u s and Cressida (V,2,151-3) and i n the scene from T i t u s Andronicus where the maddened T i t u s enjoins h i s kinsmen to descend t o h e l l and wrest J u s t i c e from P l u t o ' s region (IV,9,34). There i s a much more d i r e c t reference e a r l i e r i n T i t u s Andronicus: Or- had he heard the heavenly harmony Which that sweet tongue hath made, He would have dropp 1d h i s k n i f e , and f e l l asleep, As Cerberus at the Thracian poet's f e e t (11,4,48-51),-and i n The Rape of Lucrece> where moody P l u t o winks while Orpheus plays (553). Akin to Shakespeare's maddened T i t u s i s the g r i e f -s t r i c k e n Hieronimo of Thomas Kyd's A Spanish Tragedy, who r e s o l v e s on a s i m i l a r l y . Orphean descent (III;, 13,114-22) . But the s t o r y i s only h a l f - h e a r t e d l y a l l u d e d t o , and In Massinger (The C i t y Madam V, 3,50)> Ford (The Sun's D a r l i n g I I , l ) and Dekker (Old Fortunatus 11,1,55-9) i t i s p r a c t i -c a l l y reduced to a catch-phrase - \"to f e t c h E u r i d i c e from h e l l \" . However, Massinger introduces a mime i n t o h i s p l a y , i n which Orpheus, Charon and Cerberus act out the s t o r y i n dance and gesture. 119 Many of the playw r i g h t s turn to the myth i n moments of l e i s u r e , Dekker gives a d e l i g h t f u l prose burlesque of the t a l e : A s s i s t mee, t h e r e f o r e , thou Genius of that ventrous but jealous Musicion of Thrace ( E u r i d i c e ' s husband), who, being besotted on h i s w i f e , (of which s i n none but cockoldes should be g u i l t i e ) went a l i u e ( w i t h h i s f i d d l e a t 1 s backe) to see i f hee could b a i l her out of that Adamantine p r i s o n ; the fees he was to pay f o r her were j i g s and country daunces: he p a i d them: the f o r f e i t s , i f he put ~.on yellow stockings and l o o k ' t back vpon her, was her e u e r l a s t i n g l y i n g there without bayle or mayne-prize: the l o u i n g coxcomb could not choose but looke backe, and so l o s t her, (perhaps hee d i d i t , because he would be r i d of her.) The m o r a l l of which i s , that i f a man leaue h i s owne busines and haue an eye to h i s wiues dooings, sheele giue him the s l i p though she runn.e to the D i u e l l f o r her labour \u00E2\u0080\u009E~ (A Knight's Conjuring). ^ John Marston, another dramatist who neglects 24 Orpheus i n h i s p l a y s , does w e l l by the Orpheus-Eurydice s t o r y i n a r a t h e r Juvenalian s a t i r e : But l e t some Cerberus Keep back the wife of sweet-tongued Orpheus, Gnato applauds the hound ( S a t i r e s V,91-3). L a t e r , i n defiance of the s p i r i t of h i s day, he claims that i t was a \"bouzing Bacchus\" who sent the Bacchantes t o t e a r Orpheus limb from limb, and merely because the musician f o r g o t to mention one of the gods i n h i s s.ongs ( i b i d . 111-20) 23 -^Early E n g l i s h F.oetry, B a l l a d s and Popular L i t e r a t u r e of the Middle Ages (London: The Percy S o c i e t y , l84l), p. 24, 24 There i s a humorous reference i n What You W i l l 1,1,94-9, 120 Ben Jons on,, too, makes only the most u n i n s p i r e d references to Orpheus i n h i s plays and masques, c o n s t a n t l y 25 grouping him w i t h Linus, but i n a minor work, On the Famous Voyage, he i s f r e e to give a h i l a r i o u s i f overworked contem-porary p a r a l l e l of the Orphean descent. I t i s much the same case w i t h Thomas Campion. I t i s true that the Renaissance Orpheus i s an important f i g u r e i n The Lord's Masque: he conjures up Mania and her f u r i e s , charms them w i t h h i s music, then r e l e a s e s Entheus so as to give the wedding c e l e b r a t i o n s some breath of p o e t i c i n s p i r a t i o n . But Campion uses the s t o r y of Eurydice i n a L a t i n poem of h i s l e i s u r e moments; i n the Ad_ Thame s i n , (205-10), the leaders of the Spanish Armada are e n t e r t a i n e d i n Hades by D i s , and among the performers i s Orpheus, who sings the song he once poured f o r t h on Rhodope, when he l o s t h i s Eurydice. F i n a l l y , Robert Greene, who put F r i a r Bacon and F r i a r Bungay on the stage, presents the Orpheus s t o r y s e r i o u s l y as a l y r i c i n h i s novel Orpharion. In h i s v e r s i o n , Eurydice i s i n love w i t h P l u t o and though Orpheus, aided ^Bartholomew F a i r 11,59; Masque of Beauty 139; Masque of Augurs 286; The Fortunate I s l e s 526; The Poetaster IV,1, 447; V,1,502; Underwoods; E p i s t l e to E l i z a b e t h Rutland. 121 by Theseus(J), wins her w i t h h i s song, on the r e t u r n journey 26 She s l i p t aside backe to her l a t e s t loue (19). Generally speaking we must say that the El i z a b e t h a n dramatists found the subject of Orpheus' descent uncongen-i a l ; i t might serve f o r more l e i s u r e l y e f f o r t s , but other-wise i t was only a standard l i t e r a r y motif:. The myth fa r e d b e t t e r at the hands of the l y r i c w r i t e r s of the next generation.. In When Orpheus Sweetly Did Complain, W i l l i a m Strode adds nothing to the t r a d i t i o n , but at l e a s t he gives us a se r i o u s poem about Orpheus w i t h some genuine f e e l i n g , u n c l u t t e r e d by stock phrases. 27 Abraham Cowley makes a g r a c e f u l reference in\u00E2\u0080\u00A2The M i s t r e s s . Richard Lovelace has. Orpheus lament the l o s s of Eurydice i n two b r i e f and melodious p i e c e s , Orpheus to Beasts and 28 Orpheus t o Woods. Robert H e r r i c k ' s Orpheus t e l l s the s t o r y w i t h such admirable b r e v i t y that i t may be quoted i n f u l l : 26 An idea which.was t o occur to Offenbach's l i b r e t t i s t s and, i n a qu i t e d i f f e r e n t way, to Rainer Maria R i l k e . 2 7 S e e The Spring, 4,1-8. 28 Lovelace's poems are p r a i s e d as worthy of Orpheus by John Pinchbake, John Needier and S, Ognell: see W i r l , op. c i t . , p. 66. 122 Orpheus he went (as Poets t e l l ) To f e t c h E u r i d i c e from H e l l ; And had her; but i t was upon This short but s t r i c t c o n d i t i o n : Backward he should not l.ooke while he Led her through H e l l s o b s c u r i t i e ; But ah.' i t hapned as he made His passage through that d r e a d f u l l shade: Revolve he d i d h i s l o v i n g eye; (For gentle f e a r e , or j e l o u s i e ) And l o o k i n g back, that look d i d sever Him and E u r i d i c e f o r ever. John M i l t o n sums up the Orphean t r a d i t i o n of the E n g l i s h Renaissance: f o r him the s i g n i f i c a n t p o r t i o n of 29 the myth was not the E u r y d i c e - s t o r y ^ but the hero's dismemberment.. The p i c t u r e of a great c i v i l i z i n g prophet, who harmonizes a l l the c o n f l i c t i n g elements of nature through the power of h i s a r t , the poet without honor t o r n apart by the u n a p p r e c i a t i v e s o c i e t y he had helped to form - t h i s was r i c h i n meaning f o r Milton.. This theme appears most notably 30 i n L y c i d a s , where i t i s the f o c a l p o i n t of the e n t i r e poem, and i n the opening to Book V I I of Paradise L o s t . Orpheus becomes f o r M i l t o n a symbol of h i s own t u r b u l e n t a r t i s t i c l i f e - i n Ad Patrem (52), S i x t h Elegy (70) and the S i x t h and 2Q ^In Sonnet 23, A l c e s t i s , not Eurydice, i s the l o s t v i s i o n from the world beyond. 30 According to the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of C a r o l i n e W. Mayerson \"The Orpheus Image i n 'Lycidas'\", PMLA 64(1949), pp. 189-207. Seventh P r o l u s i o n s . M i l t o n a l s o knew and quoted the Orphic 31 poems and recommended t h e i r study. But M i l t o n r e f e r s t o the E u r y d i c e - s t o r y as w e l l , and i n the c l a s s i c phrases: That Orpheus s e l f may heave h i s head Prom golden slumber on a bed Of heapt E l y s i a n f l o w r e s , and hear Such s t r e i n s as would have won the ear Of P l u t o , to have q u i t e s e t f r e e His h a l f r e g a i n ' d E u r y d i c e . ( L ' A l l e g r o 1 4 5 - 5 0 ) . I f the myth has been given any more famous treatment i n E n g l i s h l e t t e r s , then i t can only be: Or b i d the s o u l of Orpheus s i n g Such notes as warbled to the s t r i n g , Drew Iron t e a r s down P l u t o ' s cheek, . And made H e l l grant what Love d i d seek ( l l Penseroso 1 0 5 - 8 ) . There are two other a l l u s i o n s : i n the L a t i n Ad_ Patrem M i l t o n claims Orpheus brought t e a r s t o the departed shades not by the music of h i s l y r e but by h i s poetry, and i n the opening l i n e s of Book I I I of P a r a d i s e L o s t a mention of \" t h ' Orphean L y r e \" prompts an i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of M i l t o n ' s p o e t i c journey w i t h Orpheus, Taught by the heav'nly Muse t o venture down The dark descent, and up t o reascend, Though hard and r a r e ( 1 9 - 2 1 ) . ^ P i r s t P r o l u s i o n ; Sonnets 11,10; E l e g y V,11; Of' Edu-c a t i o n . 124 M i l t o n ' s a r t i s t i c mission i s thus e x e m p l i f i e d by Orpheus descending as w e l l as by Orpheus r e j e c t e d and martyred. I f the ancient musician d i d not f a r e w e l l at the hands of Renaissance Englishmen, i n M i l t o n he was clothed at l a s t i n g l o r i o u s language and Invested w i t h symbolic s i g n i -f i c a n c e . The sources f o r c l a s s i c a l mythology were of course much more numerous and much more a c c e s s i b l e In the Renaissance, and though the best v e r s i o n s of Orpheus' descent - V i r g i l , Ovid and Boethius - had been a v a i l a b l e a l l through the Middle Ages, Renaissance w r i t e r s a l s o used the new mytho-l o g i c a l handbooks. We have noted how Chapman and Heywood use N a t a l i s Comes' Mythologiae (1551), as Henryson had used Nicholas T r i v e t (ca_. 1350) . Other popular source-books w i t h moral overtones were the voluminous books of Lydgate and the E p i s t r e s of C h r i s t i n e de P i s a n , both of which, as we have seen, d e a l t w i t h Orpheus and Eurydice. The f i r s t new t r a n s -l a t i o n s of the Metamorphoses - by W i l l i a m Caxton ( l480) and the house of Colard Mansion (l484) - a c t u a l l y contained b i t s of a l l e g o r i z e d Ovid i n the t e x t s . And V i r g i l ' s Orpheus, too, came complete w i t h sermon i n the f i r s t French t r a n s l a t i o n of the Georgies, by Michel Guillaume de Tours (1519). But l a t e r t r a n s l a t i o n s , and i n p a r t i c u l a r the i n f l u e n t i a l Meta-morphoses of Boner i n German (1534), Habert i n French (1557), Bustamante (ca_. 1546) and Viana (1589) i n Spanish, Golding (1567) and Sandys (1632) i n E n g l i s h , l e f t the reader to draw h i s own. moral. In time the Renaissance began to produce i t s own handbooks, Robert Stephanus' Thesaurus Linguae Latlnae (1531) i n f l u e n c e d the Orpheus of Ben Jonson's masques; Charles Stephanus' D i c t i o n a r i u m H i s t o r i c u m ac poeticum (1553) made N a t a l i s Comes' Orpheus a c c e s s i b l e to Thomas Heywood and fathered the Orpheus i n Mystagogus Foeticus (1647) of another compiler, Alexander Ross. In England the most i n f l u e n t i a l of a l l was the Thesaurus Linguae Romanae et B r i t t a n i c a e (1565) of Thomas Cooper, from which Spenser and the Eliza b e t h a n s derived t h e i r Orpheuses and other m y t h o l o g i c a l f i g u r e s . The giant of the Spanish Renaissance, Miguel de Cervantes, i s , i n h i s approach to mythology, not u n l i k e the l i t e r a r y men of Renaissance England. He uses the Orpheus -myth i n a perfu n c t o r y way. One of the l y r i c s i n Don Quixote w i l l serve as an example: cantare su b e l l e z a y su desgracia, con mejor p l e c t r o que e l cantor de Tra c i a .(11,69). Cervantes indulges i n c l a s s i c a l a l l u s i o n s to the 32 minimum extent expected of a w r i t e r of the p e r i o d . Other f i g u r e s of the S i g l o do Pro, l e s s u n i v e r s a l i n scope and more d i r e c t l y concerned w i t h mythological subjects, use the Orpheus-myth and use i t very w e l l . E a r l i e s t of these i s G a r c i l a s o de l a Vega, who \"when he touches a c l a s s i c theme.-., i s of the great age: he stands f o r the best of the f u l l y \u00E2\u0080\u00A2DO developed Renascence.\"- 3 0 S t r o n g l y i n f l u e n c e d by the I t a l i a n s , and e s p e c i a l l y by P o l i t i a n and Sannazaro, both of whom de a l t w i t h Orpheus, G a r c i l a s o attempted to t r a n s f e r t h e i r d e l i c a t e musical s t y l e t o h i s own language. His sonnet on Orpheus i s among h i s most r e p r e s e n t a t i v e work: ^ For a l l u s i o n s to Orpheus, see E l Celoso Extremeno (p. 908), La Casa de l o s C-elos (p. 259), La Galatea (pp. 613, 624, 7^7), i n Obras ed. A.V. Prat (Madrid, 1956). 33 Rudolph S c h e v i l l , Ovid and the Renascence i n Spain (Berkeley, 1913), p. 226. 1 2 7 S i quexas y lamentos pueden tanto, Que enfreneron e l curso de l o s rios,. Y en l o s desiertos. montes y sombrios Los arboles movieron con su canto: S i c o n v i r t i e r o n a escuchar su l l a n t o Los f i e r o s t i g r e s , i penascos frios;>. S i en f i n con menos casos, que l o s mios Baxaron a l o s r e i n o s d e l espanto; i Porque no ablandara mi traba j o s a V i d a , en m i s e r i a , i lagrymas passada, Un coracon conmigo endurecido? Co mas piedad d e v r i a ser escuchada La voz d e l que se l l o r a por perdido Que l a d e l que pe r d i o , i l l o r a o t r a cosa. 0>. ( 4 , 5 , 1 - 1 4 ) . . 3 4 Another p o e t i c treatment of the myth, much more sympathetic than anything to be found i n Renaissance England, i s the c l o s i n g p o r t i o n of the elegy \" S i no puede razon,\" by Diego Hurtado de Mendoza. A f t e r t e l l i n g the s t o r y of the descent, Mendoza addresses the sorrowing Orpheus: Tu vas ahora por Tr a c i a desterrado, Hinchendo t i e r r a y c i e l o s con t u queja, Y suspiros mezclando con cuidado. E l l a , y u e l t a en e s p i r i t u , se a l e j a Por extendido campo o yerba verde, Aunque no s i n dolor porque te dejaj' Pero no que torna a t i se acuerde:>;. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Porque e l que pasa e l agua d e l o l v i d o , En vano l o desea quien l o pierde ( 2 0 8 - 1 6 ) . \u00E2\u0080\u00A2Orpheus i s a l s o the subject of four sonnets by Juan de 35 A r g u i j o . 3 4 Herrera's commentary on G a r c i l a s o a p p l i e s to t h i s sonnet the Orpheus-allegory from Ovide m o r a l i s e . Another reference \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 to Orpheus i n G a r c i l a s o i s i n Cancion 5 , 1 - 1 0 . ^Sonnets 2 4 and 2 5 , . and, d e a l i n g w i t h the descent, sonnets 48 and 49. 128 In 1624 there appeared two n a r r a t i v e poems on the myth of the descent, one a long,, a r t i f i c i a l Orfeo by Juan / . . . . . . . . de Jauregui, the other, E l Orfeo en lengua c a s t e l l a n a , of approximately the same leng t h and i n the same meter, a t t r i -buted t o Juan Perez de Montalban. These two poems mark the famous d i v i s i o n of seventeenth century Spanish poetry i n t o culteranismo and conceptismo, \"the greatest storm ever known 36 i n the h i s t o r y of Spanish l i t e r a t u r e . . ' The s t i r was i n i t i a t e d by L u i s de Gongora, whose c u l t o s t y l e e f f e c t e d by a r t i f i c i a l p h rasing and unusual word order a new p o e t i c language.. Though Jauregui b i t t e r l y resented Gongora'1 s inn o v a t i o n s , h i s Orfeo i s a c t u a l l y an attempt to r i v a l Gongora's Polifemeu T y p i c a l i s the passage i n which Orfeo and E u r i d i c e are beset by sad forebodings on t h e i r wedding n i g h t : Cautelar pudo a l a d v e r t l d o esposo (mas e l amor l a p r o v i d e n c i a i m p l i c a ) de azares e l ocurso temeroso, que ya en sus bodas breve l l a n t o i n d i c a : no a s i s t e Iuno; no loquaz I a i r o s o e l Dios n u p c i a l su' ceremonia e s p l i c a ; de oscura antorcha, con desorden ciego, arde en su mano reluchando e l fuego. \"3 Gerald Brenan, The L i t e r a t u r e of the Spanish People (Cambridge, 1935), p. 224.. Despues quando^la dulce, prevenida ora noturna. a l talamo l o s llama; 1 a o c u l t o s r e g o z i j o s encendida l u z grata admiten e l amante, y dama; de causa procedido no a d v e r t i d a s u b i t o incurso arrebato l a llama: n i e l d i s c u r r i r contra e l anuncio f i e r o h a l l o evasion a desmentir su aguero (i,5 7 - 7 2 ) , This i s not only r e p r e s e n t a t i v e culteranismo; i t i s a l s o a t y p i c a l l y Spanish extension of a c l a s s i c idea.. Ovid's e v i l omens become agueros - f a t a l f o r c e s which many Spanish 37 authors a f t e r Jauregui use to motivate the s t o r y . The opponents of culteranismo used c l e a r , i d i o m a t i c Spanish and sought t h e i r e f f e c t s i n more or l e s s t y p i c a l l y Renaissance c o n c e i t s - hence t h e i r name conceptismo, and the en lengua c a s t e l l a n a p o i n t e d l y attached to t h e i r Orfeo. 38 Menendez y Pelayo notes that t h e i r s i s a h a s t i l y composed work, a mere tour de f o r c e h u r r i e d i n t o p u b l i c a t i o n to r i v a l y ' 39 Jauregui. But we need not c r e d i t the statement that i t was a c t u a l l y w r i t t e n by Lope de Vega, and i n f o u r days. Thus Renaissance Spain produced more f u l l - s c a l e treatments of the myth than England, and at l e a s t as many 37 'Pablo Cabanas, i n El_ Mi to de Orfeo en l a L i t e r a t u r a Esparlola (Madrid, 19^8) t r a c e s t h i s theme through the Spanish treatments of Orpheus and E u r y d i c e , See pp. 5 3 - 6 l . In Estudios Sobre e l Teatro de Lope de Vega, ed.. E.S.. Reyes (Madrid, 19^9), v o l , 2, p. 241. 39 ^Found by La Barrera i n a copy of the f i r s t e d i t i o n of the poem. 130 hundreds of references t o the \"Orphean l y r e \" and \"Orpheus' song\". To d e t a i l these i s to l i s t almost a l l the names of 40 an amazing p e r i o d i n l i t e r a r y p r o d u c t i v i t y . . From, a l i t e r a r y c l i c h e , Orpheus became a subject of s a t i r e - i n Gongora's c l e v e r r e p l i e s to Jauregui and ' 4 l ' Montalban, and i n two p l a y s , Bernaldo de Q u i r e s 1 Marido hasta e l i n f i e r n o and Can celt?'s V a i l e f amoso de l a f abula de 42 Orfeo. I t seems that the h e l l - b r a v i n g constancy of Orpheus could e a s i l y be made r i d i c u l o u s to a people who s e r i o u s l y c u l t i v a t e d a sense of honor.. Lope's p l a y about Orpheus and Eurydice,. e n t i t l e d KL Marido Mas F i r me, i s s e r i o u s , as b e f i t s the comedia m i t o l o g i c a , and does not stand out i n the vast corpus of i t s author's work. More \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \"noteworthy i s the comedy Erudice y_ Orfeo by Antonio de Soils., 43 which t r e a t s the myth \"as a cloak and dagger comedy\": as the l o v e r s reach the upper world, Eurydice i s c a r r i e d o f f again by A r i s t a e u s , w h i l e Orpheus, mindful of P l u t o ' s i n j u n c t i o n , does not turn h i s head. One of the most s u c c e s s f u l b u r l e s -ques of the myth i n any language i s the poem C a l i f i c a a_ Orfeo para idea de maridos dichosas, by F r a n c i s c o de Quevedo, which begins: ^ S e e Cabanas, op. c i t . , pp. 87-114. ^ S o n n e t s 8 l and 82... 42 Discussed i n Cabanas, op_. c i t . , pp. 139-44. ho Como una comedia de capa y espada.\" Mene'ndez y Pelayo, op-, c i t . , p . 24l. Orfeo por su mujer cuentan que bajo a l I n f i e r n o ; y por su mujer no pudo bajar a .otra parte Orfeo (1-4)... This s a t i r e i s the source of La_ Descente d' Orphee, by the precieuse poetess H e n r i e t t e de Coligny; the Orphee of Antoine Beauderon de Senece (1717); the Orpheus of Lady Monck (1716); the anonymous \"Pond Orpheus -went as poets t e l l \" (1724)j Robert Dodsley's \"When Orpheus went down\"; Brookes' \"Urn seine Frau von neuen zu erlangen\" (1725) and J . Wiederich G r i e s ' \"Orpheus s t i e g zum Hollenschlunden\" (1824).^ But despite the p o p u l a r i t y of t h i s s a t i r e , Que-vedo's best c o n t r i b u t i o n to the l i t e r a t u r e o:f Orpheus i s the madrigal Contraposicion Amorosa: S i fueras t u mi E u r i d i c e , oh senora, ya que soy yo e l Orfeo que t e adora., tanto e l poder mi r a r t e en mx pudiera, que so l o por m i r a r t e te perdiera.: pues s i p e r d i e r a l a ocasion de v e r t e , perderte fuera asx, por no perderte (1-6). We are not s u r p r i s e d to f i n d s e v e r a l deeply 45 r e l i g i o u s treatments of the myth i n Spain: ^ B a l t a s a r Gracian, i n Arte de ingenio, c a l l s C h r i s t \" e l verdadero Orfeo\", drawing a l l things to Himself as He hangs w i t h arms 44 n l ! See La Bajada de Orfeo a l o s I n f i e r n o s , Obras Completas de Quevedo, ed.. L.A.. Marin (Madrid, 1952), v o l . 2, pp. 1467-78.. 45 \"\For f u l l treatment of the works mentioned i n t h i s para-graph,, see Cabanas, op. c i t . , pp. 153-76 and 239-87. 132 o u t s t r e t c h e d on the l y r e of the Cross; there i s a s i m i l a r reference i n Lope's Corona. Tragica; Sebastian de Cordoba \" c h r i s t i a n i z e s \" two m y t h o l o g i c a l poets i n a work whose t i t l e speaks best f o r i t s e l f - Obras de. Bos can y_ G a r c i l a s o transladadas en materias c r i s t i a n a s y_ r e l i g i o s a s ; John the B a p t i s t i s compared to Orpheus i n the Versos Sacros of Bocangel. Pre-eminent among those who t r e a t Orpheus i n t h i s mystic l i g h t i s the f i g u r e who marks the end of Spain's great l i t e r a r y era, Pedro Calderon de l a Barca.. In E l auto d e l D i v l n o Jason, the c l a s s i c a l f i g u r e s aboard the Argo f o r e -shadow New Testament personages: Jason i s C h r i s t ; Hercules, S t . P e ter; Theseus, St. Andrew, and Orpheus, again, i s John the B a p t i s t . Orpheus and Eurydice are the subject of another auto - El_ d i v i n o Orfeo. Here the serpent symbolizes s i n ; Orpheus' t a k i n g up h i s l y r e and descending t o h e l l s i g n i -f i e s man t a k i n g up h i s cross and dying t o s i n ; the r e t u r n of Eurydice s i g n i f i e s redemption. A second E l d i v i n o Orfeo i d e n t i f i e s Orpheus w i t h C h r i s t and P l u t o w i t h the d e v i l and ends w i t h an apotheosis of the Eucharist-. In these e x t r a -o r d i n a r y p l a y s of Calderon the a l l e g o r i z e d myth reaches i t s l i t e r a r y apex. Orpheus and Eurydice are among the many c l a s s i c a l f i g u r e s who f i n d t h e i r way i n t o the n a t i o n a l epic of P o r t u g a l , the Lusiads of Camoens: 133 Qual se ajutaua em Rodope o aruoredo So por ouulr o amante da d o n z e l l a E u r i d i c e , tocando a l i r a de ouro, Tal a gente se ajunta a . ouuir o Mouro (Vl-l , 2 9 , 5 - 8 ) - . . 4 6 In Germany the s p i r i t of the Renaissance expressed i t s e l f more i n r e l i g i o u s r e v o l t than i n a r t i s t i c creation.; Orpheus w i l l not loom lar g e i n German l e t t e r s f o r c e n t u r i e s s t i l l . But the Meistersanger revered h i s name: one of the tones they p r a c t i s e d was an \"Orphei sehnliche Klagweis\". In the Lowlands, Erasmus and Cornelius Gerard exchange references t o the myth i n the dialogue Adversos Barharos (89-96; 97-120), Here again Orpheus plays h i s Renaissance r o l e : he i s the poet whose song c i v i l i z e s a l l 47 the elements both above and below the e a r t h . 4 6 S e e a l s o I I I , s t . 1 - 2 ; X,st . 5 - 6 , 4 7 -^'Erasmus a l s o compares John Skelton t o Orpheus i n the Carmen extemporale, 14-20; there i s a b r i e f r e f e r e n c e . i n the Encomium Morias, 26. 134 France y i e l d e d to I t a l y the l i t e r a r y and c u l t u r a l r u l e i t had held over Europe when, at the beginning of the fou r t e e n t h century, Dante, P e t r a r c h and Boccaccio emerged i n s w i f t succession. France was slow to a s s i m i l a t e the new s p i r i t . F r ancois V i l l o n , w r i t i n g a f u l l century a f t e r the three great I t a l i a n s , i s s t i l l very much a poet of the Middle Ages. His Orpheus i s almost a f i g u r e from a troubador l a y : Orpheus, l e doux menestrier, Jouant de f l e u s t e s et musetes, En f u t en dangier de m u r t r i e r Chiefr Cerberus a quatre t e s t e s (Testament 633-6). R a b e l a i s b e s t r i d e s the two ages. His references to Orpheus are more learned, but d e l i b e r a t e l y confused: Rantagruel, aboard Gaster's ship i n the G l a c i a l Sea, suggests a search 48 f o r the head and l y r e of Orpheus; i n another passage, he t e l l s Panurge how Eurydice learned of her impending death i n 49 a dream, and c i t e s Ennius as h i s a u t h o r i t y . F i n a l l y , i n the generation of Ronsard, the s p i r i t of the I t a l i a n Renaissance reached France. In Guillaume C r e t i n (d. 1525) Orpheus i s c a l l e d upon t o supply a rondeau 5 0 of lamentation, and does so i n true Renaissance s t y l e . The great P i n d a r i c l y r i c i s t himself a l l u d e s to Orpheus a 4 8 P a n t a g r u e l IV,56. 4 9 I b i d . I l l , 1 4 . ~^Deploration Dudit C r e t i n 149-63. See a l s o poems 32,41,46 f o r b r i e f a l l u s i o n s . 135 score of times, often w i t h the same Renaissance thoughtless-ness we marked i n E n g l i s h poetry, but many times too w i t h l o v i n g a t t e n t i o n : Orpheus the musician i s g e n e r a l l y given 51 52 only passing n o t i c e ; Orpheus aboard the Argo^ and 53 Orpheus dismembered are t r e a t e d at greater l e n g t h . The journey a f t e r Eurydice i s a p p r o p r i a t e l y used i n the Epitaphes, t r e a t e d s e r i o u s l y f o r \"Claude de 1 1Aubespine\", and humorously i n the i n s c r i p t i o n f o r \" A l b e r t , l o u e r de l u t h du Roy\", as a p r i e s t and a passer-by engage i n conversation before the tomb. Ronsard's longest treatment of the Orpheus \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Eurydice s t o r y i s i n epic s t y l e , very serious and very beautiful,. I t leans h e a v i l y on Ovid, borrowing the songs of both Chiron and Orpheus from the Metamorphoses, as w e l l as the f o l l o w i n g passage, perhaps the high p o i n t of the poem: Un s e n t i e r est la. bas. tout obscur et tout sombre, Entremesle de peur e t ; d e f r a y e u r -et d' ombre: Par ce chemin i e sors, et j a presque i 'auois Passe l e port d'Enfer, l e s r i v e s et l e s b o i s , Quand, l a s i veincu d'amour i e regarde en a r r i e r e , Et mal-caut i e i e t t a y sur e l l e ma lumiere, Fautte assez pardonnable en amour, s i Pluton Scauoit h e l a s l que c'est que de f a i r e pardon (L.1 Orphee 285-92) ^Seconde L i v r e des Amours, \" E l e g i e \" ; Odes I,10,V,5; Hymnes \"de L ' E t e r n i t e \" , \"de Calays\"; Poems 2; Epitaphes \"Marguerite de France\", Hugues Sabel\"; Response aux i n j u r e s ; A sa g u i t e r r e ; A son l u t ; Sonnet \"Quel l u t h \" ; Preface au Roy Charles IX; De L'Art Poetique F r a n c a i s . 5 2Poems I, \"L'Hylas\". -^Amours Diverses \" E l e g i e l \" . 136 Other poets of the P l e i a d e mention Orpheus, but 54 the references are n e g l i g i b l e . The t r a d i t i o n was r e v i v e d a generation l a t e r i n Malherbe, whose elegy A.M. C o l l e t e t , 55 sur l a mort de sa soeur contains a g r a c e f u l reference to the myth, reminiscent of Moschus 1 lament f o r Bion. Less seriou s treatment was given Orpheus by the pre'cieux poet Benserade, i n h i s Metamorphose Si - d' Ovide en Rondeaux,. and by H e n r i e t t e de Collgny i n her t r a n s l a t i o n of Quevedo's s a t i r e Whatever p e r s o n a l i t y the Renaissance i n Prance sought to give Orphee was, however, l o s t when I t a l y ' s Orfeo began h i s conquest of Europe. The f i r s t signs of t h i s are evident i n the Orphee' of T r i s t a n L'Hermite (l639), p l a i n l y 57 i n f l u e n c e d by the gay, f r i v o l o u s Orfeo of Marino, ' Then the Orfeo of I t a l i a n opera was imported i n t o Prance, u n f o r t u n a t e l y amid such over-elaborate spectacle that e v e n t u a l l y Orphee became a stock f a r c i c a l character. The success of the P a r i s premiere of Rossi's opera on Orpheus prompted the l a v i s h , (and s i m i l a r l y constructed) Andromede et 54 / D E , g . d'Aubigne, Sonnet 4-5J Les Tragiques I I I , 3 l 4 . 5 5 F o e s i e s 110,4-8., 5 6 S e e Quevedo, Oibras, p.. .1470. D See C e c i l i a Rizza,- \"L 1Orphee d i T r i s t a n e L'Orfeo d e l C a v a l i e r Marino\", Convivium 26(1954), pp. 429-39, 137 Persee of C o r n e i l l e , and Racine i s s a i d to have of f e r e d t o / 59 wr i t e an Orphee to mark the marriage of Louis XIV. ^ But we gather that n e i t h e r dramatist found the s t o r y , i n i t s I t a l i a n v e r s i o n , c h a l l e n g i n g m a t e r i a l , and La Fontaine appears to have been r e v o l t e d by it.^\u00C2\u00B0 We might suppose t h a t , i f Monteverdi's Orfeo_, r a t h e r than R o s s i ' s , had been imported, Orpheus might have found h i s way on to the French c l a s s i c a l stage. As i t happened, he joi n e d company w i t h Mezzetin, A r l e q u i n and 5o ' ^ Orphee appears as a character i n C o r n e i l l e ' s La Toison D' Or, and i s mentioned by the heroine i n Me dee (ll , 2.,440). In Poesies_ Diverses 26, the soul of Orphee i s s a i d to be rein c a r n a t e d i n the French, poet. 59 / -^See Henry Carrington Lancaster-, French Tragedy (Baltimore, 1950), Vol.. 1, p. 163, note '35. For other references to Orpheus i n Racine, see La_ Re nominee aux Muses 81\u00E2\u0080\u00942; Le_ Banquet de P l a t o n . ^ I n Poe^sies Diversea 12, \"Sur L'Opera\". For other r e f -erences to Orpheus i n La Fontaine, see Poesies 21, 57-70; L e t t r e s 23) Le Songe de Vaux IV; Contes 111,13,194. I t i s perhaps s i g n i f i c a n t that i n a l l her l e t t e r s Mme. de Sevigne a l l u d e s only once to Orpheus, and then to the dismemberment: 774 \"A Madame de Grignan\" (according to the index i n the e d i t i o n of M. Monmerque', P a r i s , 1862) . 138 6l ' Columbine f o r a romp through Hades. A serious Orphee by La Grange-Chancel (pub. 1727), w r i t t e n f o r the marriage of Louis XV, never saw a s i n g l e performance; Orphe'e was, a f t e r a l l , a clown. We may now turn from Orphee to the flamboyant Renaissance Orfeo. The Renaissance was born i n I t a l y , and I t a l i a n l i t e r a t u r e i s the key to understanding i t . A d i s c u s s i o n of the p e r i o d should begin w i t h P e t r a r c h and Boccaccio, but I t a l y has been reserved f o r the end of t h i s chapter because i t s Orpheus has had the greatest i n f l u e n c e on l a t e r ages.. The e x c i t i n g d i s c o v e r i e s of Poggio B r a c c i o l i n i and other manuscript-finders unearthed no r e a l l y new Orphean l i t e r a t u r e ; we have seen that the c l a s s i c treatments of the myth were a c c e s s i b l e to the Middle Ages. The I t a l i a n Orfeo i s the hero of V i r g i l and Ovid clothed i n the new robes of 6 l E.g_., i n Regnard's La_ Descente de Mezzetin aux Enfers (1689), i n which Mezzetin seeks Columbine i n Hades; Orpheus i s present and speaks i n I t a l i a n . See Lancaster, A' H i s t o r y of French Dramatic L i t e r a t u r e , p a r t 4, (Baltimore, i960), pp. 65O-I. An anonymous f a r c e , Orphee ou A r l e q u i n aux enf e r s , appeared i n 1711. Renaissance humanism; he i s a blood-brother t o the Orpheus of F r a n c i s Bacon and John M i l t o n . As the c l a s s i c embodiment of a r t , music, wisdom and human achievement, as a new mystery beyond the pale of medieval G h r i s t i a n i t y , Orfeo became to 62 I t a l y \"the h e r a l d of the Renaissance\", \"the great protagon-i s t of t h i s new.reign of c u l t u r e \" . J The foremost h i s t o r i a n of I t a l i a n l e t t e r s e x p l a i n s why Orpheus appealed to the humanists: \"He was the founder of the humanities, f o r he softened the natures of beasts and men w i t h the sound of h i s l y r e , he softened the heart of Death and threw h i s enchant-' ment over H e l l ; he was the triumph.of a r t and c u l t u r e over the rude i n s t i n c t s of Nature. And the triumph was made holy by martyrdom, when Orpheus was torn to pieces by the bacchantes i n t h e i r drunken f u r y , f o r having v i o l a t e d the laws of Nature. And now, a f t e r the long, dark ni g h t of the second barbarism, Orpheus was reborn amid the f e s t i v a l s of the new c i v i l i z a t i o n 1 , and inaugurated the r e i g n of the humanities, or t o put i t b e t t e r , of humanism. This was the mystery of the century, the i d e a l of the R e n a i s s a n c e \" . ^ In I t a l y as i n England i t i s the triumphant Orpheus that the Renaissance adopts: De S a n c t i s a l l u d e s to the s t o r y of the descent only b r i e f l y , and never h i n t s that i t i s a s t o r y of f a i l u r e and Francesco de S a n c t i s , H i s t o r y of I t a l i a n L i t e r a t u r e t r . Joan Redfern (New York, 1931')., v o l . I , p. 384.. 6 3 I b i d . , p. 382. 6 4 I b i d . i4o tragedy. Yet the I t a l i a n s , w i t h t h e i r i n g r a i n e d m y s t i c a l sense and t h e i r passionate love of music, were not to neglect t h i s p a r t of the myth, and i n f a c t i t gained i n I t a l y the p o p u l a r i t y i t l o s t i n England. We know we have passed from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance when Petrarch's v i s i o n of the dead, u n l i k e Dante's, encompasses the myt h i c a l Orpheus:. Mentre i o volgeva g l i occhi i n .:.ogni parte s' i ' ne vedessi alcun d i c h i a r a fama o per antiche o per moderne c a r t e , v i d i c o l u i che sola E u r i d i c e ama, \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 e l e i segue a l l ' i n f e r n o , e per l e i morto, con l a l i n g u a g i a fredda anco l a chiama ^ (Tr i o n f o d'Amore IV,10-5)\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 With Boccaccio's Amorosa V i s i o n e we are s t i l l f a r t h e r i n t o the Renaissance. This i s yet another v i s i o n of the a f t e r l i f e - but now the supernatural i s nowhere i n evidence; a l l i s completely human. With Dante, Orpheus was a prophet i n Limbo; w i t h P e t r a r c h he was the mythical f i g u r e , f.f. but p a r t of a world of shadows; i n Boccaccio's V i s i o n e he i s completely a l i v e , s i n g i n g the p r a i s e s of love . Boccaccio a l l u d e s to the myth s e v e r a l times: i n the e a r l y 67 F i l o c o l o , a debate on questions of love ; i n the 65 -\For other references to Orpheus i n P e t r a r c h , see A f r i c a V, 675-8; Secretum; De Rebus F a m i l i a r l b u s I,9; Eclogue 1 ,123 ; Rime 28,68; 187,9; 332,51-2.. \u00C2\u00B0\u00C2\u00B0XXIII,4-30. ^Book 4. See p.. 873 i n v o l . 8 of La L e t t e r a t u r a Ital.iana., ed. E. B i a n c i et a l . ( M i l a n , n.d.) 141 68 Fiammetta where the heroine compares her love pangs to 69 Eurydice's snake-bite, and i n the L a t i n Carmina. The predominant Ovidian tone i s e s p e c i a l l y notable i n the open-in g l i n e s of the N i n f a l e d'Ameto, where the st o r y i s used thus: Quella v e r t u , che gia, l ' a r d i t o Orfeo mosse a cercar l e case d i Plutone, a l l o r che fors e l i e t a g l i rendeo l a cercata E u r l d i c e a condizione, e d a l suon v i n t o d e l l ' arguto legno e d a l l a nota d e l l a sua canzone, per f o r z a t i r a i l mio debole ingegno a cantar l e tue lode, o C i t e r e a , insieme con l e fo r z e d e l tuo regno (Proemio, 1.-9). 70 Boccaccio the scholar knows the Orphic w r i t i n g s . But strange to say, the f o l k - t a l e element of Orpheus' myth does not turn up i n the Decameron, and i s conspicuously 71 absent from the subject m a t e r i a l of the I t a l i a n n o v e l l e . The p a s t o r a l poets represent Orpheus as the i d e a l 72 73 shepherd. But the a r t i f i c e s of Sannazaro 1 and Boiardo'^ do not prepare us f o r the wonder that i s P o l i z i a n o ' s Orfeo. 6 8Book 1.. See p. 1064, i b i d . ^ Carmina quae supersunt I I , 118. 7 QDe Gen. Deorum XIV,8. 71 According to D.P. Rotunda., Motif-Index of the I t a l i a n N o v e l l a i n Prose (Bloomington, 1942). 7 20rpheus i s mentioned i n Egloga XI,74. 73 -^Ec.loga X, i n p r a i s e of the Duke of Calabria., i s supposed to be spoken by Orpheus. 142 In 1472 C a r d i n a l Francesco Gonzaga returned to Mantua a f t e r a prolonged absence, and to mark the occasion an entertainment was given - the Favola d' Orfeo.. The t e x t was by Angelo Ambrogini of Montepulciano, known as Angiolo Poloziano, .or P o l i t i a n . Only seventeen years of age at the time,. P o l i t i a n wrote the Orfeo i n two days and, by h i s own admission,, \" i n the midst of continuous disturbances, and i n vulgar style, so that i t might be b e t t e r understood by the it 74 spectators... ' From what we know of him, young P o l i t i a n , the protege of Lorenzo de 1 Medici,, was t o t a l l y devoid of any r e l i g i o u s or moral f e e l i n g . His professed r e l i g i o n was humanism. \"The world of a n t i q u i t y took easy possession of a soul from which every remainder of the Middle Ages had completely v a n i s h e d i . .Theology, s c h o l a s t i c i s m , symbolism,, the Middle Ages w i t h t h e i r forms and t h e i r content...was a world completely extraneous to h i s c u l t u r e and h i s f e e l i n g ; he saw i t as barbarism.\"' 9 A humanist by v o c a t i o n , he became i n time a profound scholar,, an eminent teacher and the author of many g r a c e f u l works i n Greek and Latin.. In short, he epitomized the s p i r i t of h i s age. The spectators at the Orfeo were cut from a s i m i l a r p a t t e r n ; they were a new k i n d of audience. In the past.,, drama 74 Louis E. Lord, A T r a n s l a t i o n of the Orpheus of Angelo P o l i t i a n (Oxford, 1931), p. 71.. 75 1 -\De S a n c t i s , op. c i t . , p. 38I-143 In Europe had always been r e l i g i o u s i n character: the l i t u r -g i c a l p l ays of the e a r l y Middle Ages stemmed from the dramatic element of a r i c h ceremonial, and appealed v i v i d l y to a l i v i n g f a i t h ; the sacre r a p p r e s e n t a z i o n i of l a t e r times were more complex, m u s i c a l l y and s c e n i c a l l y , and much more s o p h i s t i c a t e d , but the audience they reached was s t i l l attuned to the r e a l i t i e s of mysticism and a s c e t i c i s m . But by P o l i t i a n ' s day a l l t h i s was changing. The forms of r e l i g i o u s drama s t i l l e x i s t e d , but the v i t a l i t y had gone out of them. The f i f t e e n t h -century o l i g a r c h , a proud c i t i z e n of a f l o u r i s h i n g , s e l f -contained c i t y - s t a t e , had l i t t l e i n t e r e s t i n the prophets of the Old and the s a i n t s of the New Testament. He lacked a sense of the t e r r i b l e , the s p i r i t u a l , one might almost say of the dramatic. His i d e a l world was the world of the Theo-c r i t e a n i d y l l , f o r t h e r e i n were combined the c l a s s i c i s m and s e n s u a l i t y which were the two p o l a r f o r c e s of the new s p i r i t . Por such an audience P o l i t i a n was commissioned to compose a new entertainment. -It was a c r u c i a l moment i n the h i s t o r y of the drama. Deprived of i t s r e l i g i o u s r a i s o n d 1 e t r e , drama might have died a l i n g e r i n g death; the new audience, b r i l l i a n t but s u p e r f i c i a l , might have hastened i t s demise. I t was at t h i s moment that P o l i t i a n saved the drama by e f f e c t i v e l y s e c u l a r i z i n g i t . He found a subject i n pagan mythology which f i t t e d n e a t l y i n t o the framework of the sacra rappresentazione but had r i c h symbolic s i g n i f i c a n c e f o r the new age: Orpheus the l o v e r who confronted the supernatural, 144 Orpheus the martyr, was a l s o Orpheus the c i v i l i z e r . , the a l l -compelling a r t i s t , the god of the shepherd world. I t i s g e n e r a l l y reckoned P o l i t i a n ' s great achieve-ment t h a t he s u c c e s s f u l l y t r a n s f e r r e d the drama from the mystique t o the mondain; h i s Orfeo i s the f i r s t s e c u l a r drama i n a modern language. But, almost a c c i d e n t a l l y , i t i s s t i l l more than t h i s . I t i s the prototype of a completely new a r t -form.. And f o r t h i s P o l i t i a n i s l e s s r e s p o n s i b l e than the myth i t s e l f . A b r i e f examination of the Orfeo should enable us t o see the e x t r a o r d i n a r y place i t holds i n the h i s t o r y of Western culture.. The Orfeo begins w i t h a prologue, a resume of the s t o r y , spoken by Mercury, whose coming from heaven i s seen by the shepherds as a good omen. In the opening scene, A r i s t a e u s t e l l s Mopsus of h i s passion f o r a nymph he has seen only yesterday f o r the f i r s t time. He urges Mopsus to take h i s pipe and accompany him as he sings to h i s beloved. The Orfeo then bursts i n t o melody, a four-stanza t e x t of the most savory I t a l i a n , p l a i n l y marked by i t s author as a canzona: U d i t e , s e l v e , mie dolce p a r o l e , P o i che l a n i n f a mia u d i r non vSle (54-5). The second scene d i s c l o s e s A r i s t a e u s pursuing the maiden.. Then we are shown, i n P o l i t i a n ' s words, \"Orfeo, cantando sopra i l monte i n su l a l i r a e' seguenti v e r s i l a t i n i \" , and we hear a long L a t i n hymn i n p r a i s e of Mantua's c a r d i n a l . A shepherd 145 then announces that Eurydice i s dead, b i t t e n by a serpent as she f l e d from A r i s t a e u s . Orpheus sings a song of lamentation. Then we see him s i n g i n g before the gates of Hades: P i e t a , p i e t a ! d e l misero amatore P i e t a v i prenda, o s p i r i t ! i n f e r n a l ! . Qua g i u m'ha scorto solamente Amore; Vo l a t o son qua g i u con l e sue a l l (214-7). I t i s the f i n e s t s i n g l e moment of the p l a y , when the dramatic end. i s served by the l y r i c element. Minos advises P l u t o not to l i s t e n t o the d e c e i t f u l song,, but Proserpina, d e l i g h t e d w i t h the music, persuades her husband to r e s t o r e Eurydice. P l u t o agrees, but w i t h the c o n d i t i o n Ch'el.la t i segua per l a c i e c a v i a , Ma che t u mai l a sua f a c c i a non veggi P i n che t r a ' v i v i pervenuta s i a (295 -7)\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 On the upward journey Orpheus sings four L a t i n l i n e s adapted from Ovid: I t e triumphales circum mea tempora l a u r i i Vicimus Eurydicen r e d d i t a v i t a mihi e s t . Haec est praecipuo v i c t o r i a digna triumpho: 7 ^ Hue ades, o cura parte triumphe mea! (302-5). Suddenly, Eurydice laments that h i s too great love has des-troyed them both. She disappears, and the way back to Hades i s barred by a Fury. Orpheus' lament now takes the form of a forswearing of the love of womeni He launches i n t o the p r a i s e s of male companionship, counsels married men to divorce t h e i r wives and a l l men to f l e e the company of the other sex, whereupon the f i n a l catastrophe ensues, and the p l a y ends i n a bacchanal.e. Cf. Ovid, Amores 11,12,1-2,5,16, 146 What i s t h i s Orfeo? In i t s e x t e r n a l form i t i s sacra rappresentazlone, w i t h the o l d meter - the ottava, and the o l d fea t u r e s - the angel-messenger, the shepherd \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 prologue, heaven opening, h e l l gaping, the hero martyred. But a l l t h i s i s s e c u l a r i z e d . \"Instead of kn e e l i n g i n s a i n t l y prayer, as would the hero of a mystery, Orpheus appears:, l y r e i n hand, s i n g i n g i n L a t i n sapphics the p r a i s e s - of the guest of the occasion.\" P r i m a r i l y , the Orfeo i s s e c u l a r drama. I t i s ha r d l y great drama, and P o l i t i a n himself would be the l a s t to c a l l i t tragedy.. He regarded i t .as i n f e r i o r t o h i s Greek and L a t i n w r i t i n g s , as a c h i l d he would have p r e f e r r e d to expose. Yet i n g l o r i f y i n g man i n h i s r o l e of a r t i s t , man t r a g i c i n h i s l i v i n g , l o v i n g and dying, P o l i t i a n provided the Renaissance i n I t a l y w i t h a r i c h symbol, and came c l o s e r to c l a s s i c tragedy than any of h i s countrymen had come f o r c e n t u r i e s . The Orfeo i s most often regarded as a dramatic eclogue, and l i t t l e more. This estimate h a r d l y does i t j u s t i c e . I t i s true that P o l i t i a n , to please h i s audience., placed h i s t r a g i c Greek s t o r y i n a p a s t o r a l s e t t i n g ; p a s t o r a l poems were to the Renaissance what romance was to the Middle Ages. But to regard the Orfeo only as a 77 J e f f e r s o n B. F l e t c h e r , L i t e r a t u r e of the I t a l i a n Renaissance (New York, 1 9 3 4 ) , p. 1 3 7 . See P o l i t i a n ' s i n t r o d u c t i o n to the Orfeo, \"A Messer Carlo Canale\". 147 p a s t o r a l i s to be bewitched by the opening scenes and various b u c o l i c elements which have clung t o the myth from V i r g i l to Gluck. The f a c t i s , no p a s t o r a l poem before the Orfeo had encompassed three t r a g i c elements, embraced heaven, e a r t h and h e l l i n t e l l i n g the s t o r y of a hero, allowed f o r dramatic a c t i o n , bacchic dithyrambs and set musical pieces.. Is the Orfeo an opera, indeed the f i r s t opera? I t s music has not survived, and we are not even sure who composed i t . But t h i s does not r e a l l y matter; the Orpheus-myth demanded music, once i t was put on the stage,, and music that was not i n c i d e n t a l but e s s e n t i a l to p l a y i n g out the s t o r y . The stage d i r e c t i o n s i n the t e x t p l a i n l y i n d i c a t e 79 that p o r t i o n s of the p l a y were sung, and W.J. Henderson detects at l e a s t four d i s t i n c t musical types i n what many commentators have been pleased to c a l l a l i b r e t t o . J.A. Symonds notes that the c h i e f charm of the t e x t l i e s i n i t s musical language, i t s musical movement, i t s \" l i m p i d i t y of thought and f e e l i n g , i n which the very words evaporate Ro and lose themselves i n f l o o d s of sound\". Thus, at one stroke, P o l i t i a n 1 s Orfeo. s e c u l a r i z e d the drama and i n i t i a t e d two new art-forms. The l e s s e r of these, the p a s t o r a l drama or dramatic eclogue, became a standard divertissement i n s i x t e e n t h - and seventeenth-century 79 / \ ^Some Forerunners of I t a l i a n Opera (London, 1911), p. .101. 8o Renaissance i n I t a l y : I t a l i a n L i t e r a t u r e (London, 1912), vol.. 1, p. 360, 148 I t a l y . Tasso's Amlnta and G u a r i n i ' s I l _ Pastor Fido are the outstanding instances of t h i s genre, which in c l u d e s new Orfeos by such celebrated I t a l i a n s as A r i o s t o and Marino. The s p i r i t of the p a s t o r a l drama stems, however, not from the Orpheus-Eurydice s t o r y but only from a few extraneous p a s t o r a l d e t a i l s i n P o l i t i a n ' s Orfeo. The greater art-form, and the true s p i r i t u a l des-cendant of the f i r s t dramatized Orfeo, i s that s e c u l a r dramma per musica which allows f u l l scope to the h e r o i c and the t r a g i c , which uses music to t e l l i t s s t o r y . Whether or not the. Orfeo i s an opera we need not d i s c u s s ; to the extent that P o l i t i a n depended on music to t e l l Orpheus' s t o r y d r a m a t i c a l l y he may be s a i d to be the forerunner of the great o p e r a t i c composers who drew t h e i r i n s p i r a t i o n from the myth.. The f i r s t operas g e n e r a l l y recognized as such, the E u r i d i c e s of P e r i and C a c c i n i and the Orfeo- of Monte-verdi.,. are more than a \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 century l a t e r , but they r e t u r n i n s t i n c t i v e l y to P o l i t i a n ' s m a t e r i a l f o r t h e i r i n s p i r a t i o n . . A l so s i g n i f i c a n t i s the f a c t that opera has always been sec u l a r i n s p i r i t . Sacred subjects are i n v a r i a b l y 8 l sensationalized;, s e n t i m e n t a l i z e d or l e f t to the o r a t o r i o . 8 l The r e l i g i o u s backgrounds i n V e r d i ('Tr ova t o r e , La Forza d e l Destino) and the other I t a l i a n s are s e n s a t i o n a l ; the French (Gounod i n Faust, Massenet In Le_ Jongleur) p r e f e r to s e n t i -mentalize; Wagner's P a r s i f a l i s at best p s e u d o - r e l i g i o u s ; Moussorgsky i s genuine, but h a r d l y i n the European t r a d i t i o n . 149 Opera seems to breathe\" the a i r of the s e c u l a r drama i n t r o -duced by P o l i t i a n . In 1494 the Orfeo was transformed i n t o a Senecan Orphei Tragedia by Antonio Tebaldeo. I t i s a dramatic 82 improvement, s t r e s s i n g the t r a g i c l e v e l i n P o l i t i a n . We have already mentioned A r i o s t o and Marino. A r i o s t o ' s Orfeo ed A r i s t i o f o l l o w s V i r g i l . , and i s one of i t s author's minor works.: ^ Marino's poem, one of s e v e r a l i d i l l i f a v o l o s i i n h i s Sampogna, i s c l o s e r to Ovid's account,- and Ovid's gay, s u p e r f i c i a l s p i r i t as w e l l permeates t h i s Orfeo, w i t h i t s carefree voluptuousness, conventional myth-making and f l u e n t musical grace. This i s Orfeo of the decadence, 82 A t r a n s l a t i o n i s i n c l u d e d i n Lord, op. c i t . . , on odd-numbered pages. I t was f i r s t p u b lished i n 1776 by Father Irene.o A f f o . F i v e acts are I n d i c a t e d ; the o c c a s i o n a l a l l u s i o n s i n P o l i t i a n , ' i n c l u d i n g the L a t i n verses i n p r a i s e of C a r d i n a l Gonzaga,. are d e l e t e d ; the announcement of Eury-dice ' s death i s more s k i l l f u l l y presented by the i n t r o d u c t i o n of a new character, M n e s i l l u s ; Orpheus i s given a motive f o r t u r n i n g - u n c e r t a i n t y ; the p r a i s e of homosexual love and the c o u n s e l l i n g of divorce are e l i m i n a t e d . O o See a l s o the prologue to I I Negromanto, 1-3; S a t i r e s VI,86; Orlando Furioso XLIII.,.83-,.8 f o r other references. 150 P o l i t i a n ' s symbol i s so soon d i s s i p a t e d ; Marino marks the t r a n s i t i o n , i n I t a l y , from Renaissance to Baroque. Orpheus' d e c l i n e i n l i t e r a t u r e was c o i n c i d e n t w i t h , and p o s s i b l y caused by, h i s phenomenal r i s e as the p r o t a g o n i s t of the dramma per musica. In the towering musi-c a l f i g u r e who spans the Renaissance and the Baroque, Claudio Monteverdi, drama was re-animated by the s p i r i t of music, and Orpheus again was the figurehead of the movement. But the i n v e s t i g a t i o n of t h i s w i l l r e q u i r e a sep-arate chapter^ CHAPTER V THE EVOLUTION OF AN ART-FORM Orpheus i s the most important s i n g l e character i n the h i s t o r y of opera. His s t o r y l i e s at the heart of the secular music-drama and might be s a i d to c o n s t i t u t e the op e r a t i c i d e a l . In P o l i t i a n , Monteverdi and Gluck the myth of Orpheus seems to have suggested, evolved and pe r f e c t e d an art-form of i t s own. I f the opera d i d not develop immediately from P o l i t i a n ' s Orfeo, i t was not f o r want of any op e r a t i c germ i n that work; i t was because Renaissance musicians were absorbed i n the musical legacy l e f t them by the Middle Ages. P o l i t i a n ' s era was followed by the golden age of polyphony, and i t i s hard to conceive of any music l e s s s u i t e d to dramatic purposes than t h a t of P a l e s t r i n a and h i s contem-p o r a r i e s . Some attempts were made to adapt polyphony to the drama, w i t h the act o r s mouthing words sung by a multI-voiced chorus i n the wings. The f i r s t of these was i n 159^, the very year of P a l e s t r i n a ' s death. But no polyphony, however Intense or expressive, could d e l i n e a t e character or develop a s i t u a -t i o n . There i s no dramatic l o g i c i n any of the madrigal 151 152 comedies, and the most famous of them, Yecchi's L'Amfiparnasso (1597), was never even intended as a drama. Polyphonic music was of course s u c c e s s f u l l y adapted to quasi-dramatic b i b l i c a l and m o r a l i t y plays,\" 1\" but to f i t music i n t o the drama something c l o s e r to ordinary speech was required.. This musico-dramatic problem l i e s between the two Orfeos of P o l i t i a n and Monteverdi. The s o l u t i o n came i n two E u r i d i c e s and, s t r a n g e l y enough, from men who were, s t r i c t l y speaking, n e i t h e r musicians nor dramatists, but c l a s s i c a l e n t h u s i a s t s - a group of F l o r e n t i n e scholars c a l l e d the Camerata (from the v a u l t e d h a l l i n the house of 'Giovanni B a r d i , where they held t h e i r meetings) . Among t h e i r number were the poets Marino, Chiabrera and R i n u c c i n i and the musical t h e o r e t i c i a n Vincenzo G a l i l e i ( f a t h e r '-of the astronomer), whose Dialogo d e l l a Musica Antica.e d e l l a Moderna (1581) provided a p a r t i a l summary of 2 ancient musical theory. Musicians appear to have shown E.g., the works w r i t t e n by P a l e s t r i n a and others f o r the oratory of St. P h i l i p N e r i ' s h o s p i t a l of San Girolamo d e l l a Car i t a, and the Rappre sen taz lone d e l l : ' Anima e_ d e l Corpo of E m i l i o de 1 C a v a l i e r i . 2 This t r e a t i s e contained, as examples of Greek music, the four hymns as c r i b e d t o Mesomedes, 153 l i t t l e i n t e r e s t i n G a l i l e i ' s researches, but the poets and scholars of the Camerata were convinced that something b e a u t i f u l could be b u i l t on the i d e a l , i f not on the a c t u a l remains, of Greek music. The grandeur of the legendary-Greek musicians - Orpheus and Amphion and Terpander, not t o mention A p o l l o h i m s e l f , the high regard and deep concern f o r music expressed by P l a t o and A r i s t o t l e , above a l l the i n d i s -putable f a c t that Greek l y r i c s and c e r t a i n l y a l a r g e p a r t of Greek tragedy were sung - a l l t h i s conspired t o turn the c l a s s i c i z i n g s p i r i t of humanism towards music as, e a r l i e r , i t had turned to a r t and l i t e r a t u r e . The Camerata drew t h e i r p r i n c i p l e s from what G a l i l e i t o l d them, r i g h t l y or wrongly, about Greek tragedy -that i t c o n s i s t e d of monophonic music throughout, w i t h instrumental accompaniment, that polyphonic music was a l i e n t o the s p i r i t and the usage of the Greeks. B a r d i persuaded an eminent singer i n the group, Jacopo P e r i , to t r y h i s hand at a new s t y l e of musical composition based on G a l i l e i ' s t e n e t s , and e n l i s t e d the s e r v i c e s of the court Poet, Ottavio R i n u c c i n i , f o r the words. The experiment was u n v e i l e d i n 1594 _ n o t Oedipus or E l e c t r a or Orestes, but Daphne. The audience was d e l i g h t e d at what i t thought to be an authentic Greek tragedy, and the piece was repeated on s e v e r a l occa-s i o n s . But Ovid's s t o r y was n e i t h e r t r a g i c nor dramatic, and o f f e r e d l i t t l e scope f o r musical expression.. The music has been l o s t . 154 R i n u c c i n i decided, upon a more musical subject f o r h i s next l i b r e t t o . Almost c e r t a i n l y , he remembered P o l i t i a n : the new work was c a l l e d E u r i d i c e . The poem i s \"dramatic poetry of the f i r s t water, w r i t t e n i n a g l o r i o u s language\", and despite the f a c t that i t s prologue i s spoken by Tragedy, i t s O rfeo'is the triumphant f i g u r e of the Renaissance:. the power of h i s music s i l e n c e s a l l o p p o s i t i o n ; there i s no second l o s s of Eurydice. R i n u c c i n i ' s poem was twice set to 4 music. P e r i ' s was performed i n 1600, at the P i t t i Palace, to c e l e b r a t e the marriage, by proxy, of Henry IV of France and Maria de' M e d i c i . Rubens was i n attendance,, and the composer himself sang the r o l e of Orpheus. In general i t can be s a i d t h a t P e r i ' s simple approach s t r e s s e d the drama r a t h e r than the music. C a c c i n i , the f a t h e r of the f i r s t prima donna, emphasized the musical l i n e i n h i s r i v a l v e r s i o n , per-formed i n l602.. Thus do the two E u r i d i c e s mark the peren-n i a l problem of o p e r a t i c composition - the r e l a t i v e import-ance of the music and the drama.. So i t was that a group of amateurs, using the Orpheus-myth, r e s t o r e d to the drama the musical s t y l e that was e s s e n t i a l to the c r e a t i o n of opera t But they were men -\"Paul Henry Lang, Music i n Western C i v i l i z a t i o n (New York, 1 9 4 1 ) , p. 3 3 8 . 4 '. A few p o r t i o n s of P e r i ' s E u r i d i c e were c e r t a i n l y composed by C a c c i n i . See Donald Grout, A Short H i s t o r y of Opera (New York, 1 9 4 7 ) , v o l . 1, p. 5 1 . of t a l e n t r a t h e r than of genius. The monodic declamation and the m u s i c a l l y jejune \"choral odes\" must have seemed p a i n f u l l y t h i n to audiences who could hear V i t t o r i a i f they went to Church. The two E u r i d i c e s were n e i t h e r Greek tragedy nor opera; they were only experiments, wrong-headed attempts which, r i g h t l y and f o r t u n a t e l y f o r opera, r e s t o r e d monophonic music to the drama. At t h i s p o i n t a genius appeared, \"one of those e x t r a o r d i n a r y i n d i v i d u a l s who create and organize a new form of a r t , and whose advent i n t o the domain of thought i s analogous to the appearance of a su p e r i o r species i n nature, a f t e r a s e r i e s of u n f r u i t f u l attempts.\"^ The m a d r i g a l i s t Claudio Monteverdi was encouraged by Vincenzo Gonzaga to t r y h i s hand at the new music-drama. He came to i t u n f e t t e r e d by any half-understood t h e o r i e s of a n t i q u i t y , and by unaided a r t i s t i c sense achieved the A r i s t o t e l i a n i d e a l of an art-form i n which a l l elements converge on a s i n g l e purpose. Again the subject was Orfeo, produced i n 1607 i n Mantua, where the myth had f i r s t been dramatised over a century before. Monteverdi 1s work proved a milestone i n the h i s t o r y of music, \"the f i r s t music-drama, i n which the p o e t i c words, the dramatic a c t i o n and the musical 6 c o n s t r u c t i o n are held i n c r e a t i v e equilibrium\".. -^Lang, op_.. c i t . - , p. 339-^Hans. Ferdinand R e d l i c h , Claudio Monteverdi, t r . Kathleen Dale (Oxford, 1 9 5 2 ) , p. 9 5 . 156 The l i b r e t t o f o r the Orfeo was w r i t t e n by Alessandro S t r i g g i o , son of a famous m a d r i g a l i s t . I t begins w i t h a prologue, sung by Music h e r s e l f : l o l a Musica son, c h ' a i d o l c i accent! so f a r t r a n q u i l l o ogni turbato core, Ed or d i n o b i l ' i r a ed or d'amore posso infiammar l e p i u gelate mente. The f i r s t of the f i v e acts i s a scene of p a s t o r a l r e j o i c i n g at the marriage of Orfeo and E u r i d i c e ; i n the second a c t , a messenger t e l l s of the b r i d e ' s death, and Orfeo r e s o l v e s to seek her below i n the Inferno; i n the great t h i r d act he confronts Charon, l u l l s him to sleep and crosses the Styx alone, t h r i c e r e p e a t i n g the impressive l i n e rendetemi i l mio ben, t a r t a r e i numi; the f o u r t h act i s set i n Hades, where Proserpina p r e v a i l s upon P l u t o t o r e s t o r e E u r i d i c e , and where Orfeo l o s e s her, suddenly d i s t r a c t e d by a V i r g i l i a n f r a g o r ; i n the f i n a l a c t , A p o l l o p i t i e s Orfeo's g r i e f and takes him t o h i s 7 apotheosis among the stars.. ' S t r i g g i o o r i g i n a l l y wrote a scene i n which the Bacchantes appear but do not dismember Orfeo.. Monteverdi understand-ab l y objected t o t h i s concession to c o u r t l y t a s t e and suggested the present sending, which i s not e n t i r e l y s a t i s f a c t o r y but i s perhaps b e t t e r s u i t e d to h i s t a l e n t s than a bacchanale would have been.. See Joseph Kerman, Opera as Drama (New York, 1957), P . 37. 157 A good many composers have deri v e d i n s p i r a t i o n from t h e i r l i b r e t t o . In the Orfeo i t i s more than t h i s . I t i s a case of the l i b r e t t o suggesting the groundwork f o r opera i t s e l f . Monteverdi recognized t h a t , i f Orpheus' story-was t o be dramatized at a l l , i t would r e q u i r e monophonic solo p i e c e s . The Camerata were c o r r e c t i n t h i s p a r t i c u l a r , though f o r the wrong reason. I t was not the h i s t o r i c a l f a c t that Greek tragedy had been sung, but the present dramatic exigency t h a t h i s Orpheus must s i n g that prompted him to deal w i t h the a c t i o n of the p l a y i n s i n g l e v o c a l l i n e s r a t h e r than i n the polyphonic w r i t i n g that was h i s s p e c i a l t y . Moreover, i f Orpheus i s an a r t i s t capable of moving h e l l , a l o v e r g r i e v e d enough to descend there, he must express himself i n a more compelling s t r a i n s than the b l o o d l e s s , pseudo-Greek phrases of the Camerata experiments; there must be a musical correspondence to the p o e t i c \" a f f e t t o \" . Monteverdi attacked t h i s problem d i r e c t l y , and \"with a 8 p e r f e c t genius f o r declamation\" evolved a m a r v e l l o u s l y \u00E2\u0080\u00A2expressive v o c a l l i n e approximating human speech but w i t h the i n t e n s i t y only music can provide. Again, i f Orpheus must react to emotional c r i s e s - and S t r i g g i o t r i e s to provide one f o r each of the f i v e acts - he must express himself at leng t h Joseph Kerman, op_. c i t . , p. 30. The v o c a l l i n e i s w e l l i l l u s t r a t e d i n Chapter I , e n t i t l e d \"Orpheus; the Ne o c l a s s i c V i s i o n \" . 158 and w i t h greater musical complexity, Monteverdi developed a so r t of a r i a f o r t h i s - an accompanied s t r o p h i c song, of which Orfeo 1s \"Possente S p i r t o \" Is only the best-known example. This new Orfeo i s more than an adaptation and extension of the means used' by P e r i and C a c c i n i , however Monteverdi blended the f u l l resources of a century of Renaissance music i n t e l l i n g of Orpheus and Eurydice.. The s t o r y begins i n Arc a d i a : l e t there be the music of the p a s t o r a l e , as o l d as P o l i t i a n ' s p l a y ; Orpheus descends t o the underworld; l e t the instrumentation be e c c l e s i a s t i c a l and solemn, as i n the m o r a l i t y p l a y s ; the chorus comments on Orpheus 1 joy and, sorrow, h i s weakness and h i s f i n a l apotheosis: l e t there be the flaming trumpets of the t r i o n f i and t o r n e i , \"the tender melody of the intermedia, the splendor of the mascherata, and above a l l the intense e x p r e s s i v e -ness of the madrigale; Orpheus' s t o r y i s the g l o r i f i c a t i o n of music, and Musica h e r s e l f mounts the stage: l e t her per-vading i n f l u e n c e be expressed by repea t i n g her r i t o r n e l l o a f t e r the c r u c i a l moments i n the action.. Thus, Monteverdi's Orfeo synthesizes a l l the musi-c a l .forms, from the tourney to the F l o r e n t i n e \"Greek t r a g e d i e s \" , which could c o n t r i b u t e to the e f f e c t i v e dramati-z a t i o n of Orpheus'- s t o r y . Opera has not changed, funda-mentally, since the Orfeo-. Monteverdi's work contains i n embryonic form the major t r a d i t i o n s that s t i l l govern o p e r a t i c 159 composition - a r i a , r e c i t a t i v e , musical c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n , c h o r a l and dance i n t e r l u d e s , c o n t i n u i t y by l e i t m o t i f . I t i s \"a musical cosmos which peers, J a n u s - l i k e , i n t o the past of the ' Intermedium 1- as w e l l as i n t o the f u t u r e of the Gluck-Wagnerian ' B i r t h of the drama from the s p i r i t of music'A The f a c t that tends t o be overlooked i n any d i s -cussion of t h i s a r t i s t i c m i r a c l e i s that i t was suggested and encompassed by the Orpheus-myth, the pregnant m a t e r i a l already used i n every \" o p e r a t i c \" experiment. Always a l l o w -i n g f o r Monteverdi's genius, i t i s d i f f i c u l t to see how opera could have evolved from the c o u r t l y entertainments of the Renaissance unless Orpheus were chosen as the subject of the drama... Other s t o r i e s , most ~of them from Greek a n t i q u i t y , were presented,, and often - as t r a g e d i e s w i t h i n c i d e n t a l music, as mimes, masques, p a s t o r a l s and b a l l e t s . But i t was Orpheus' s t o r y e f f e c t e d the new a r t - f o r m that was i n the making; i t r e q u i r e d that music be put i n the mouth of i t s hero i n order f o r the drama to be enacted. I t was e s s e n t i a l l y , even q u i n t e s s e n t i a l l y , an o p e r a t i c s t o r y : the i d e a l l i b r e t t o provides a maximum of emotionally charged s i t u a t i o n s which enable the characters to express themselves i n song, and the Orpheus-myth encompasses three t r a g i c i n c i d e n t s , : e a c h of which c a l l s f o r t h a song from i t s Redlich-, op_. c i t . . , p. 9 7 . 1 6 0 hero. I t has, i n f a c t , remained the c l a s s i c s t o r y f o r dramatic presentation' through music, and over f i f t y d i f f e r e n t o p e r a t i c treatments of i t followed upon Monteverdi's c l a s s i c . With the b i r t h of opera, the Orpheus-symbol changes. Orfeo I s now an op e r a t i c hero. In S t r i g g i o ' s prologue we r e a l i z e we are no longer i n the Renaissance t r a d i t i o n , f o r i t i s not Tragedia who addresses us; i t Is Musica. This i s not t o be Greek tragedy; i t i s music - drama. The Renaissance Orpheus l e f t the scene w i t h Tragedia., the muse who had introduced, f o r the sc h o l a r s of the Camerata, a hero too wise, too noble to lose Eurydice a second time. The new Orpheus, who appears i n the Baroque, the Enlightenment and the Romantic age i s not a triumphant symbol of the c i v i l i z i n g wisdom of man; he i s Monteverdi's passionate, f a l l i b l e hero, inconceivable apart from h i s music, g l o r i o u s i n h i s attempt but t r a g i c a l l y wanting i n self-ma s t e r y . At the close of Act I I I . o f the Orfeo, the chorus s i n g that every human attempt i s worthwhile: N u l l a impresa per uom s i tenta invano, Ne contro a l u i p i u sa natura armarse, E i de l ' i n s t a b i l piano, aro gl' o n d o s i campi, e ' l seme sparse D l sue f a t i c h e , ond' aurea messe a c c o l s e . Then, a f t e r Act IV, we are t o l d that a man must f i r s t master himself: 161 Orfeo vinse l 1 I n f e r n o e v i n t o p o i Fu d a g l i a f f e t t i su.oi. Degno d'eterna g l o r i a F i a s o l c o l u i ch'avra d i se v i t t o r i a . With Monteverdi \"the approach to the human soul i s not through c l a s s i c a l d i c t i o n but through sympathy; he t a r r i e d at the manif e s t a t i o n s of human sorrow because i n h i s eyes sorrow and passion are the r e a l r e v e l a t i o n s of man. He f e l t that only the s u f f e r i n g s and indomitable passions of man make him what he i s : a t r a g i c being who can l i v e on earth-, f i g h t i n g and f a l l i n g h e r o i c a l l y . \u00E2\u0080\u00A2'Arianna a f f e c t e d people because she was a- woman, and Orpheus because he was simply a man.,' w r i t e s Monteverdi i n one of h i s l e t t e r s (December, l 6 l 6 ) ; : b u t to make i t p o s s i b l e f o r them to be man and woman, the master r e v e a l s them i n the throes of passion. Upon hearing the message announcing the death of E u r i d i c e the whole world Collapses abbut Orpheus. \u00E2\u0080\u009E . P e r i and C a c c i n i d i d not even dream of\u00E2\u0080\u00A2such accents, while we are s t i l l l i v i n g on the he r i t a g e of the dramatic breath of the Mantuan musi-c i a n , who, w i t h Rembrandt, was. the great baroque poet of the secret depths of the human soul.. 1 1 In the many seriou s and comic ve r s i o n s that f o l l o w e d Monteverdi, Orpheus i s thoroughly human, a creature of pa s s i o n . And Eurydice at l a s t comes i n t o her own. Her r o l e i s enlarged u n t i l poets and musicians come to t e l l the e n t i r e s t o r y from her p o i n t of view. The Culex w i l l prove, i n the Romantic era , the s p i r i t u a l ancestor of much of the Orphean l i t e r a t u r e . Lang, op., c i t . , pp. 341-2. 162 Even when, w i t h Monteverdi, the opera was s o l i d l y e s t a b l i s h e d as an art-form, and musical speech became c r e d i b l e i n the mouths of Ariadne and Adonis, Jason and Ulysses, com-posers continued to r e t u r n to Orpheus, as to a source, f o r i n s p i r a t i o n . B e l l i r s Orfeo, produced i n Florence i n 1616, had a l i b r e t t o by one of the Camerata, the I t a l i a n Ronsard, G a b r i e l l o Chiabrera, w h i l e August Buchner s u p p l i e d H e i n r i c h Schutz w i t h a p o e t i c t e x t e n t i t l e d Orpheus (1638), but the music has, u n f o r t u n a t e l y , been l o s t . By the end of the century 11 there were new I t a l i a n Orfeos i n Mantua ( F e r r a r i , 1607) Rome (Landi, 1619), Vicenza (anon., 1658), Venice ( S a r t o r i o , 1672), Bologna ( S a r t o r i o , r e v i s e d , 1695). Orpheus introduced opera to France, where Rossi's L'Orfeo was produced i n P a r i s as Le_ Mariage d'Orphee et E u r i d i c e (1647). I t was an a u s p i c i o u s beginning, s e t t i n g the tone f o r c e n t u r i e s of P a r i s i a n opera. The production cost over 400,000 l i v r e s , l a s t e d , over s i x hours. The book, by Francesco B u t i , i s a kaleidoscope of s e r i o u s and comic episodes, and Rossi's score i s e q u a l l y v a r i e d . But the overwhelming f e a t u r e , i n 1647, was the elaborate stage machinery designed by Giacomo T o r e l l i . I t was the wonder of i t s day, the t a l k of the court and the despair of the l i t e r a r y c i r c l e s . Rossi's opera was thus the f i r s t of the many \"machine p l a y s \" of the French For the remainder of the chapter, works given only passing mention are c i t e d by composer and date. For the sources, see pp. 269-71. 163 t h e a t e r , and Orpheus' name, i n France, England and e l s e -where, became a s s o c i a t e d w i t h elaborate, I t a l i a n a t e stage-c r a f t while h i s l i t e r a r y p r e s t i g e dwindled. Le Mariage was such a sensation i n P a r i s that a p l a y by Chapoton, La_ Descente d'Qrphe'e aux E n f e r s , was h a s t i l y equipped w i t h music and mounted on a grand scale to compete w i t h i t . L u l l y ' s Orphee, one of h i s l e s s e r works, f o l l o w e d i n I69O. Orpheus aus Thracien (Loewe, 1659) brought the new \u00E2\u0080\u00A2Orpheus to Germany, where t r a n s l a t i o n s of I t a l i a n works ( S a r t o r i o , 1690) as w e l l as o r i g i n a l German operas (Keiser> I698, rev. 1702) proved popular. Vienna heard La L i r a d'Orfeo (Draghi, 1683), and by the end of the century i t appears that London had seen i t s f i r s t E n g l i s h Orpheus (Goodson-, 1698) . The e a r l i e s t of these operas were o c c a s i o n a l p i e c e s , composed f o r \" t h e courts of p r i n c e s . But comic episodes were introduced e a r l y by Landi, the f i r s t composer to w r i t e h i s own l i b r e t t o - , and .after p u b l i c opera-houses were b u i l t , the d i l e t t a n t e i n t e r e s t gave way t o prosperous \u00E2\u0080\u00A2commercial enterprise.. Orpheus rode the c r e s t of t h i s wave of p o p u l a r i t y , though i n time Iphigeneia and Hercules E..g., Orpheus; The d e s c r i p t i o n of the great machines of the Descent of Orpheus i n t o H e l l , presented by a French company, at the Cockpit i n Drury Lane i n l 6 6 l . . 164 proved to be even more popular f i g u r e s . Three of the foremost composers of the time, Charpentier, Rameau and P e r g o l e s i , p r e f e r r e d t o t r e a t the Orpheus-myth i n cantata form. In the eighteenth century, Orpheus-operas often appeared as s i n g l e musical pieces i n l a r g e r s e t t i n g s - i n the b a l l e t Le^ Carneval de Venise presented i n Amsterdam i n l699; i n the E n g l i s h tragicomedy Solon (pub. 1705)> i n the French divertissement Le_ Triomphe de 1 1 Harmonie (1737), i n the David G a r r i c k f a r c e c a l l e d A Peep Behind the C u r t a i n (1767). By t h i s time the myth became the c l a s s i c v e h i c l e f o r r i d i c u l i n g opera - as i n the French Roger-Boutons et Javotte (1775) and Le P e t i t Orphee ( 1 7 9 5 ) , the German S i n g s p i e l Orpheus (1775), the Danish Michel og Malene (1789), the Viennese So_ Geht Es In Olympus Zu (1.813).. A s i n g s p i e l , Orpheus, w i t h music by Salomon Seeman, appeared i n Riga In 1734, and an Orpheus-pasticcio w i t h a i r s from various composers adapted to a t e x t by R o l l i i n Lon-don i n 1736. But serious o p e r a t i c treatments of the myth con-t i n u e d , though we care l i t t l e about them today - i n Vienna 165 (Fux, 1715), London (Lampe, 174-0), B e r l i n (Graun, 1752), P a r i s (Dauvergne, pub. 1770), Munich ( T o z z i , 1775), Venice ( B e r t o n i , 1776), Copenhagen (Naumann, 1786), Hamburg ( D i t t e r s d o r f ) 1788), Parma (Paer, 1791) and Brunswick (Bachmann, 1798). In some c i t i e s these works were succeeded by s t i l l more operas on Orpheus - Vienna (Wagenseil, 17^0 D i t t e r s , 1787, and Kanne, ca. 1810), London ( G u l i e l m i , 1780), B e r l i n (Benda, 1785) and Munich (Cannabich, 1802). Other treatments appeared i n Germany ( C h r i s t i a n Bach., 1770, Asplmayr, 1780 and Dor f t e - H u l s h o f f , 1791) and I t a l y (Lamberti, c. 1800). Only two Orfeos of t h i s opera-mad century deserve s p e c i a l mention, one because of the eminence of i t s composer, the other because i t demonstrates anew that the myth of Orpheus i s the o p e r a t i c i d e a l . The f i r s t i s the Orfeo ed E u r i d i c e of Franz Joseph Haydn, one of that master's few unsuccessful works. Composed i n 1791, r e v i s e d i n 1805, i t waited t i l l 1951 f o r i t s f i r s t performance. Much of i t s o r i g i n a l music was reworked by Haydn i n t o other works. The JThe l i b r e t t o , by Lewis Theobald, i s o u t l i n e d i n W i r l , op. c i t . , pp. 7^-5. I t i s notable f o r i n t r o d u c i n g Rhodope, a Thracian Queen i n love w i t h Orpheus. I t i s she who con-jures up the snake to k i l l E u rydice. other i s , of course, Orfeo ed E u r i d i c e (1762), by Christoph W i l l i b a l d von Gluck - a vast forward s t r i d e , from the machine-made and ephemeral Baroque opera to opera as we know i t i n the r e p e r t o r y theaters today. A f t e r P o l i t i a n and' Monteverdi i t i s the t h i r d landmark i n o p e r a t i c h i s t o r y ; thus does the music-drama show again and again i t s indebted-ness t o Orpheus by t u r n i n g to h i s myth at every major c r i s i s . Gluck himself was a product of the seventeenth cen-t u r y opera, a mammoth i n d u s t r y comparable only to that of the movies of today. I t s music was w r i t t e n f o r the v i r t u o s o singer - c l i c h e - r i d d e n , ornamental., often w i t h no bearing on the drama or s i t u a t i o n ; i t s complicated l i b r e t t i were so 14 p o e t i c a l l y f i n i s h e d that they f a i l e d to communicate any-t h i n g of the essence of drama, and any hack musician could 15 set them. Gluck was no hack, but as a composer he had s e v e r e . l i m i t a t i o n s . To h i s advantage, however, was h i s keen dramatic sense, as w e l l as h i s growing conception of the i n t e r - r e l a t i o n s h i p of composer, poet and performers i n the o p e r a t i c scheme. Most important of a l l , he was i n touch w i t h the i n t e l l e c t u a l c urrents of h i s day - w i t h the French e n c y c l o p e d i s t s ; w i t h the ideas of Rousseau, e s p e c i a l l y the Metastasio's l i b r e t t i are s t i l l s t udied by a l l serious students of I t a l i a n l i t e r a t u r e . 15 Handel's famous judgment on Gluck was \"He knows no more counterpoint than my cook\". 167 d e s i r e f o r a n a t u r a l expression of human f e e l i n g ; w i t h Winckelmann,. i n h i s r e t u r n to ancient Greece to f i n d the formative impulse f o r true a r t i s t i c expression. By Gluck's day the formal order of the Baroque had d e c l i n e d In the face of the r a t i o n a l i s m of V o l t a i r e , , and survived only i n the c a p r i c i o u s n e s s of the Rococo. New order and new f e e l i n g were beginning t o emerge i n the s t r i p p i n g away of ornament and the r e t u r n to s i m p l i c i t y . Gluck represents t h i s i n music, and Orpheus i s again the figurehead. A f t e r composing s e v e r a l conventional operas w i t h only mediocre success, Gluck came under the i n f l u e n c e of the new a r t i s t i c t r end i n the w r i t i n g s of the philosopher Francesco A l g a r o t t i and i n the person of a l i t e r a r y adventurer named Raniero C a l z a b i g i , who was deeply convinced of every-t h i n g A l g a r o t t i had to say. Gluck and C a l z a b i g i t e s t e d the new ideas i n t h e i r Orfeo. Never was an opera chosen w i t h such care, and mapped out along such c o n s c i o u s l y i d e a l i s t i c l i n e s . Both were convinced that the drama must come f i r s t , that the music was only one of the means through which the drama was to be r e a l i z e d . Gluck even claimed that i n composing i t , he t r i e d to f o r g e t he was a musician. He saturated himself i n the Orpheus-story, reduced by C a l z a b i g i to i t s simplest essence, t o three characters i n a s e r i e s of h i g h l y charged s i t u a t i o n s . In Act I Orfeo and the chorus mourn at the grave of E u r i d i c e . Amor appears to him and announces that the gods of 168 the underworld have been moved by h i s song, and w i l l a llow him to descend and r e c l a i m Eurydice, on c o n d i t i o n that he does not look upon her u n t i l he reaches the li g h t , . Act I I i s comprised of two underworld scenes: Orfeo s i l e n c e s the f u r i e s w i t h h i s song, and then enters the E l y s i a n f i e l d s (Che puro c i e l ) , where E u r i d i c e i s r e s t o r e d to him.. In Act I I I , E u r i d i c e , f o l l o w i n g a f t e r Orfeo, complains that he does not look at her. Orfeo turns to console her, and she sinks l i f e l e s s to the ground.. He sings of h i s new sorrow (Che f a r o senza E u r i d i c e ) , and again the gods are moved. Amor r e t u r n s to r e s t o r e E u r i d i c e t o l i f e , and the opera concludes w i t h f e s t i v i t i e s i n the temple of the god. As the Orfeo was commissioned f o r the court of Maria Theresa, the l i b r e t t o makes some unfortunate conces-sions t o Rococo t a s t e : f o r the Hermes of the A t t i c r e l i e f , a c o l o r a t u r a Cupid i s s u b s t i t u t e d ; a happy ending i s tacked on; Gluck w r i t e s p r e t t y music f o r the Watteau-Fragonard f i n a l e , and begins the, work w i t h a skimpy overture. But the r e s t i s worthy of Winckelmann and the new a r t i s t i c creed. Always the simplest musical means are used; ornament i s r u t h l e s s l y s t r i p p e d away; a r i a s are reduced to a formal s i m p l i c i t y , a minimum of harmony. We hear only what the s i t u a t i o n demands: i n the opening chorus, Orfeo's g r i e f i s expressed more memor-ably than i t has ever been before or s i n c e , by the one word, \" E u r i d i c e i \" , t h r i c e repeated and t e a r i n g through the texture of the c h o r a l music. This s i m p l i c i t y , t h i s d e l i b e r a t e 169 a u s t e r i t y r e s u l t i n a work of e x t r a o r d i n a r y power, and n e i t h e r Gluck nor C a l z a b i g i nor even the i d e a l s of the p e r i o d quite account f o r i t . Somehow, a s p e l l i s cast i n which Gluck's music, f o r a l l i t s t e c h n i c a l inadequacies, appears to be the very essence of music, and.Calzabigi's characters, though they are poorly-motivated'and g e n e r a l i z e d types, seem 16 \"marble statues m i r a c u l o u s l y endowed w i t h l i f e and motion\" .. One concludes that the s p e l l i s cast by the pervading pre-sence of the myth i t s e l f , , which remains the p a t t e r n and the i n s p i r a t i o n f o r o p e r a t i c composition. Gluck and C a l z a b i g i approached i t w i t h a f e e l i n g f o r i t s values, and i t seems to have e f f e c t e d of i t s e l f the reform that was sought.. Gluck never set up any canons of o p e r a t i c composition, and h i s musical techniques have not had great i n f l u e n c e ; i t i s h i s i d e a l that has l a s t e d . His c l a s s i c statement: I endeavored to reduce music to i t s proper function,, that of seconding poetry by e n f o r c i n g the expression of the sentiment, and the i n t e r e s t of the s i t u a t i o n s , without i n t e r r u p t i n g the a c t i o n , or weakening i t by superfluous ornament.17 only shows that i t was the t e x t that was uppermost i n h i s mind, and i n h i s r e v o l u t i o n a r y work t h i s t e x t was fashioned from the myth of Orpheus, the patron of the opera since 1472. l 6Edward J , Dent, Opera (Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1940), p. 46 17 'Prom the preface to A l c e s t e , quoted i n Lang, op_. c i t . , P. 557. 170 I r o n i c a l l y enough, G l u c k 1 s reforms e v e n t u a l l y brought to an end the vogue f o r operas on c l a s s i c a l s u b j e c t s , f o r these were a s s o c i a t e d w i t h the a r t i f i c e s of the d e c l i n i n g Baroque. Haydn'1 s Orfeo f a i l e d not only because i t s composer's genius d i d not extend to the stage but because by the turn of the century opere s e r i e were h o p e l e s s l y dated. We look i n v a i n f o r Orfeos i n the nineteenth century. There are fragments i n the B r i t i s h Museum of an u n d i s t i n g u i s h e d 18 Orpheus w i t h words by the Scot, John Gait ( l 8 l 4 ) , but before long E n g l i s h o p e r a t i c c r e a t i v i t y ground to a halt.. I t a l i a n ' o p e r a needed more melodrama than the Orpheus-myth could p r o v i d e ; the French turned to h i s t o r i c a l pageants; Germany's great Romanticists touched on the themes of the myth - the a l l - c o n q u e r i n g power of music, the r e n u n c i a t i o n i m p l i c i t i n l o v e , the p r i o r i t y of death over l i f e - but Wagner found these Orphean, e s s e n t i a l l y o p e r a t i c , themes i n German mythology: Tannhauser i s the m i n s t r e l who'descends to the court of Venus; E l s a i s the i n q u i s i t i v e v i c t i m undone by a c o n d i t i o n put on her l o v e ; death and love are one f o r T r i s t a n and Isolde.. Wagner seems to have sensed that these s t o r i e s were pregnant w i t h music and drama. Almost i n s t i n c t -i v e l y , the. young Wagner chose as h i s f i r s t o p e r a t i c subject an Orpheus-story i n German f o l k l o r e - Die Feen. But Orpheus' Summarized i n W i r l , op. c i t . , p. 82. 171 presence pervades h i s work more deeply s t i l l . Wagner, l i k e Gluck, was a reformer who found i n s p i r a t i o n , i f not m a t e r i a l , i n the s p i r i t of Greece. In h i s o p e r a t i c a p o l o g i a , Orpheus i s r e i n c a r n a t e d , both i n the young knight Walther, who must win over by h i s song the i n f e r n a l pedants of h i s day and rescue from them the captive Eva, and again i n Hans Sachs, who must renounce h i s own love of Eva before he can win the true reward of h i s a r t . The whole conception of Die M e i s t e r s i n g e r i s l i k e a medieval a l l e g o r y of the Orpheus-myth. 1 9 The Romantic programmists d i d not neglect Orpheus. But h i s i n f l u e n c e f l i c k e r s only f i t f u l l y i n L i s z t ' s symphonic poem Orpheus (1856); he seems to be more a l i v e , taming the beasts, i n the second movement of Beethoven's f o u r t h piano concerto, though the \"programme\" here i s not Beethoven ' s. ^ I f s e r i o u s opera was out of sympathy w i t h Greek myths i n the nineteenth century, operetta s t i l l found i n Orpheus' s t o r y e x c e l l e n t m a t e r i a l f o r musical satire... Orpheus i n Dorfe by K a r l Conradin, appeared i n Vienna i n 1867. A much more famous example, however, i s Orphee aux 1 9 I n t h i s connection, see Kerman, op.. c i t . , pp. 48-9. 20 More recent symphonic poems on Orpheus are those of Conrad Ansorge (Orpheus, 1893), Jean Louis Martinet (Orphee, 1950), and Alan Hovhaness (Meditation on Orpheus, 1959). 172 E n f e r s , In which Jacques Offenbach and h i s l i b r e t t i s t s Halevy and Cremieux b r i l l i a n t l y r i d i c u l e d v a r i o u s l e v e l s of P a r i s i a n s o c i e t y i n 1858. Offenbach's Orpheus i s a d u l l conservatory musician, and Eurydice g l a d l y . f o r s a k e s him when advances are made by A r i s t a e u s , who, i t seems, i s a c t u a l l y P l u t o i n d i s g u i s e . Both P l u t o and J u p i t e r show more i n t e r e s t i n the s t o l e n Eurydice than'does her husband, who i s driven to seek her i n Hades only by the promptings of P u b l i c Opinion - a curious r e i n c a r n a t i o n of the Amor of Gluck and the Hermes of the A t t i c r e l i e f . This Orphee i s a landmark i n i t s own way: i t e s t a b l i s h e d the genre of the Offenbachiade, and 21 became \"a token, a portent of the times\" - a c o n t r o v e r s i a l indictment of the Second Empire which was the more devastating f o r i t s obvious appeal to P a r i s i a n s of a l l s o c i a l l e v e l s , each of which took i t as a s a t i r e on the others. In the present century there i s a new i n t e r e s t i n Orpheus, f o r composers are again seeking a new approach to opera. P o l i t i a n ' s Orfeo was set to music by A l f r e d o C a s e l l a i n Venice i n 1932, and the enfant t e r r i b l e of contemporary German opera has reworked Monteverdi's Orfeo 21 S. Kracauer, Orpheus i n P a r i s (New York, 1938), p. l82.. Offenbach reduced h i s s a t i r e t o musical pantomime i n a second Orphee i n 1874. three times - i n 1925, i n 1931 and again i n 1941 i n a t r a n s -c r i p t i o n so f r e e , so modern i n i t s harmony and i n s t r u -mentation that i t has come to he known as O r f f 1 s Orfeo. Monteverdi's work has served Orff as a k i n d of e x e r c i s e f o r h i s ideas f o r a new reform i n the musical t h e a t r e . Other new operas on the myth are the dissonant Orpheus und Eurydice of Krenek and the Malheurs d'Orphee of Milhaud, both produced i n 1926, the Orfeo of V i t t o r i o R i e t i (1928), the scenic o r a t o r i o Der Tod des Orpheus, by Hellmuth Wolff (1948), and the new (1955) Orphee of Hans Haug, an e c l e c t i c o f f e r i n g based on P o l i t i a n , w i t h excerpts 22 from Ovid sung i n L a t i n by a chorus i n the orchestra p i t . Orpheus appears as a character i n another experiment, Mala-p i e r o ' s Orfeide (1915). Roger-Ducasse's Orphee (1914) Is a \"mimodrame l y r i q u e \" ; the recent Orpheus und Eurydike of Henk Badings (1943) i s a \"choreographic drama\" w i t h a t e x t ; a much better-known ballet-drama (without t e x t ) i s S t r a v i n s k y ' s avant-garde Orpheus (1947). In s t i l l another b a l l e t , H i l d i n g Rosenberg's, Orfeus I Stan, the statue of Orpheus outside the concert h a l l at Stockholm comes to l i f e , and looks f o r Eurydice among the other statues i n the c i t y . While none of these t w e n t i e t h century works has achieved permanent s t a t u r e , i t i s s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t , i n a Reviewed i n Opera 6 (1955), PP. 528-9. 174 t r a n s i t i o n a l p e r i o d i n the music-drama, recourse i s had once more to Orpheus, e i t h e r by f r e s h approaches or by a r e t u r n to P o l i t i a n and Monteverdi-I t should be s a i d , f i n a l l y , that Mozart incorporated Orpheus i n t o h i s \"amalgam of a l l musical c i v i l i z a t i o n s . \" Amid the f a n t a s t i c assortment of Weltmarchen c a r e l e s s l y assembled by Schikaneder but wonderfully u n i f i e d by Mozart, Orpheus, i n the person of P r i n c e Tamino, again plays and sings f o r the beasts (Act l,no.8) and e s c o r t s h i s Eurydice, now the P r i n c e s s Pamina, through the i n f e r n o of f i r e and water, p l a y i n g a l l the w h i l e on h i s Zauberfl8te (Act 2, no.. ,21). This i s h i s most curious o p e r a t i c r e i n c a r n a t i o n , but i t i s c e r t a i n l y the greatest of them a l l . Lang, op, cit..., p.. 645. This Orpheus-theme comes from the Abbe' Tessaron's novel Sethos.. See Paul N e t t l , Mozart and Masonry (New York,^ 1957), p.. 78.. CHAPTER VI THE ROMANTIC PERIOD Orpheus was f o r the eighteenth and nineteenth c e n t u r i e s one of the great w r i t e r s of a n t i q u i t y , and i n Germany at l e a s t he was one of the sources of Romanticism: Goethe, Herder, Schlegel and others were steeped i n the Orphic writings.. At the same time, poets were r e a c t i n g against the abuse of c l a s s i c a l a l l u s i o n s , and Macaulay, w r i t -i n g i n 1842, d e c r i e s \"Orpheus, Elysium and Acheron....and a l l the other f r i p p e r y which, l i k e a robe tossed by a proud beauty to her waiting-woman, has long been contemptuously abandoned by genius to mediocrity\".\" 1\" Thus there seemed t o be two d i s t i n c t Orpheuses -the Orphic poet, who was seen as an h i s t o r i c a l f i g u r e of rare m y s t i c a l and p o e t i c i n s i g h t , and the mythological character, of small consequence, who f l o u r i s h e d only on the musical stage. But Gluck's masterpiece had as s o c i a t e d t h i s second Orpheus w i t h the Romantic i d e a l , and g r a d u a l l y , through the periods of Revolution and Romanticism, there i s an i n c r e a s i n g i f not always f u l l y conscious tendency to i n v e s t the myt h i c a l Orpheus w i t h the power and st a t u r e of the m y s t i c a l one. In our F r e d e r i c k the Great, i n Works, ed. Lady Trevelyan (London, 1 8 7 9 ) , v o l . 6 , p. 6 9 7 . 175 176 own day, t h i s Orpheus-symbol has come t o i t s f u l l flower - i n the French symbolists and e s p e c i a l l y i n R i l k e . The great c u l t u r a l f a c t of the eighteenth century i s the r e b i r t h of the c l a s s i c i d e a l i n German genius, e f f e c t e d most obv i o u s l y by Winckelmann's researches i n t o d l a s s i c a l a r t , by Lessing's Laocottn and by the t r a n s l a t i o n s of Johann Voss. This was l e s s a Romantic than a H e l l e n i z i n g movement, and as Orpheus' descent was l a r g e l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h L a t i n authors and I t a l i a n opera i t i s not s u r p r i s i n g to f i n d that i t i s given l e s s prominence than some of the more a u t h e n t i c a l l y 2 Greek myths.. Thus i n Lessing's Weiber s i n d Weiber, i n the Anhang to h i s Odes, i n An den Herrn Marpurg,^ the descending Orpheus i s only the standard late-Renaissance f i g u r e . But the Orphic poet i s quoted i n Lessing's more seriou s w r i t i n g s , and there are s e v e r a l e n t h u s i a s t i c pages about the Orphic \"Wundermann\" i n the A l t e s t e Urkunde des Menschengeschlechts by the leader of the Sturm und Drang movement, Johann G o t t f r i e d von Herder ( l l , 6 ) . Klopstock, himself dubbed the German Orpheus, sees the Orphic poet as the true type of 21,5,10-12:. Lines 59 and 85. Orpheus i s a l s o mentioned i n a poem enclosed i n a l e t t e r of Feb.. .22, 1759-177 German a r t , and F r i e d r i c h S c h legel h a i l s him as the \"Vater II 4 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 der Poesie . When i t was beginning to look as though the Romantic Orpheus was to be the Orphic w r i t e r e x c l u s i v e l y , that the myth of the descent would be dismissed as more s u i t e d 5 6 to comedy and burlesque than to serious l i t e r a t u r e , two German Romantics appeared who, c o n s c i o u s l y or not, charged the Orpheus of the descent w i t h some of the power of the U r d i c h t e r by attempting through poetry to penetrate the mystery of death. These were N o v a l i s ( F r i e d r i c h Leopold, Baron von Hardenburg) and F r i e d r i c h H8lderlin.. ' -Orpheus i s f o r them an almost subconscious symbol; today,, w i t h R i l k e , he i s e x p l i c i t . I t i s impossible here to analyse- the e f f e c t of the myth on t h e i r workj i t may be impossible i n any case :. E r i c h H e l l e r , speaking mainly of Nietzsche and R i l k e , says, \"The attempt of scholars to unravel the complex of h i s t o r i -c a l reminiscences, images, i n s i g h t s , f e e l i n g s that make up the s t o r y of Dionysus,\u00E2\u0080\u00A2Apollo and Orpheus i n modern German l i t e r a t u r e and thought, and then t o ' r e l a t e i t to what may be the Greek r e a l i t y of these d i v i n e c r e a tures, i s as h e r o i c as S t l o p s t o c k i n the -Ode An_ des D i c h t e r s Freunde ( 9 - 1 6 ) , and Schlegel i n Geschichte der Poesie der Gries.chen und- R-flmer. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 E...g., the popular s c h a u s p i e l , Orpheus und Eurydice, produced by J-.F, Schuck i n 1777, and K l i n g e r ' s Orpheus, a tragicomedy w i t h p o l i t i c a l overtones ( 1 7 7 8 , rev. 1 7 9 0 ) . c \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 UE.g.., the t r a n s l a t i o n of Quevedo by Brockes, and a s a t i r i -c a l poem by Salomon von Golaw, both of which are quoted i n Quevedo, Obras, p. 1 4 7 3 . i t i s doomed to f a i l u r e . F o r a s c h o l a r ' s guarded steps cannot p o s s i b l y keep pace w i t h the rush and dance of the passions of the mind s w i r l i n g around those names,.\"' 8 But at l e a s t we can repeat what others have s a i d , that Orpheus can be found i n a l l of N o v a l i s 1 work. The references are few, but the i n f l u e n c e i s unmistakeable. The teacher i n Die L e h r l i n g e zu S a l s i s only Orpheus under a d i f f e r e n t name; i n the Hymnen an die Nacht, a sequence of poems often compared to Dante's Commedia, Novalis' 1 unnamed guide through the unknown, a \"Sanger aus H e l l a s \" , seems to be the Orphic poet; as f o r the l y r i c novel H e i n r i c h von Ofterdingen, one of the monuments of e a r l y Romanticism, .\"the i n v i s i b l e hero of t h i s novel. . . i s Orpheus, whose presence 7 The D i s i n h e r i t e d Mind: Essays i n Modern German L i t e r a t u r e and Thought (Cambridge, 1952), p. 109.. A recent \"attempt\" i s M. K i s t l e r , Orphism and the.Legend of Orpheus i n 18th Century German L i t e r a t u r e , a d o c t o r a l d i s s e r t a t i o n f o r the U n i v e r s i t y of I l l i n o i s , 1948,. ^Walther Rehm, Orpheus: der D i c h t e r und die Toten (Dussel-dorf, 1950), pp. 57-66, P r i e d r i c h H i e b e l , N o v a l i s (Bern, 1951), pp.. 42-50 and 190-1., and Michael Hamburger, Reason and Energy: Studies i n German L i t e r a t u r e (London, 1957), esp.. p. 83. The Eurydice-motif i n N o v a l i s i s studied by Joachim Rosteut'cher, Das Usthetische I d o l (Bern, 1956), pp. 87-98.-. ^Michael Hamburger, op_. c i t , , p. 83. i s f e l t i n the four \"dreams\" i n Chapter I , which t e l l of a search f.or \"die G e l i e b t e \" i n strange and f a r - o f f regions; i n the f i r s t of the i n t e r p o l a t e d Marchen, the s t o r y of a poet whose a r t wins him a p r i n c e s s and a kingdom, and i n the main o u t l i n e of the novel i t s e l f , which t r a c e s a poet's l i f e from the f i r s t breath of i n s p i r a t i o n to the moment when he plucks at l a s t the u n a t t a i n a b l e Blue Flower, the symbol of wisdom, song and l o v e . N o v a l i s ' answer to Goethe's Wilhelm Me'ister i s thus that the i d e a l . o f poetry i s found not i n human experience or i n p h i l o s o p h i c d i s c u s s i o n , but i n the magical atmosphere of the Orpheus myth. Ho-lderlin was the most thoroughly Greek of the German Romanticists, and by f a r the best s c h o l a r . Walther \u00E2\u0080\u00A2Rehm says that from the w r i t i n g of the Hymne an den Genius Griechenlands, Du kommst, und Orpheus Liebe Schwebet empor .zum Auge der Welt, Und Orpheus' Liebe Wallet nieder zum Acheron ( 3 5 - 8 ) , the f i g u r e of Orpheus never l e f t h i s s i d e , but was c o n s t a n t l y i n f l u e n c i n g him.. \"Ungennant und u n s i c h t b a r b l e i b t der a l l f u h l e n d e , a l l i e b e n d e Sanger im Werk des Deutschen gegenwartig.. \"\"^ C e r t a i n l y H o l d e r l i n ' s dream-world re-c r e a t i o n of H e l l a s , h i s preoccupation w i t h the.power of song and the constant t h r e a t of death owe something to Orpheus: Op. . c i t . , p. 159-. i 8 o Die Seele, der im Leber) i h r g c t t l i c h Recht Nicht ward, s i e ruht auch drunten Im Orkus n i c h t ; Doch i s t mir e i n s t das H e i l ' g e , das am Herzen mir l i e g t , das Gedicht gelungen, Willkommen dann, 0 S t i l l e der Schattenwelt! (An die Parzen, 5 - 9 ) \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 But the i n v e s t i g a t i o n of t h i s i n f l u e n c e must be l e f t to the p s y c h o l o g i s t . S c h i l l e r was able to use the Orpheus-myth w i t h more detachment, yet i t embodied f o r him the most melancholy remembrance of a n t i q u i t y - that the beauty that once was has faded, even as. E u r y d i c e r s l o v e l i n e s s was reclaimed by Hades: Auch das Sch8ne muss sterben! Das Menschen und Gtitter bezw.inget, Nicht die eherne Brust r u h r t es des stygischen Zeus,. Einmal nur erweichte die Liebe den Schattenbe-herrscher, Und an der Schwelle noch, streng, r l e f er zuruck sei n Geschenk (Nanie, 1-T4) . These l i n e s from a short poem to the goddess of f u n e r a l s repeat the theme of S c h i l l e r ' s great H e l l e n i c poem The Gods of Greece - that the b e a u t i f u l must p e r i s h , even as the l o v e l y Greek d i v i n i t i e s are gone and men are l e f t today w i t h only the m a t e r i a l universe.. Goethe planned to introduce Orpheus i n t o the second part of F a u s t H i s hero was to v i s i t Proserpine and obtain from her Helen of Troy. This scene was l e f t u n w r i t t e n , but 1 \"'\"Noted i n Wilmon Brewer, Ovid''s Metamorphoses In European Culture (Francestown, N.H., 1 9 4 1 ) , vol.. 2, p. 3 1 7 . the Helen-episodes as they stand now are vaguely Orphean i n f l a v o r - Faust v i s i t s Helen i n the a f t e r - l i f e and twice l o s e s her; Manto, admitting Faust to Hades, c r i e s : H ier hah' i c h e i n s t den Orpheus eingeschwarzt; Benutz 1 es besser! f r i s c h l b e h e r z t l (11,2,7493-4), and Orpheus i s described by Chiron as za r t und immer s t i l l bedachtig, Schlug er die L e i e r a l i e n {Toermachtig (11,2,7375-6). He i s a l s o mentioned by a F i d e l e r i n the Walpurgisnachtstraum (1,4312). But the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice does not bulk la r g e i n the immensely v a r i e d c l a s s i c a l s t r a t a i n Goethe's works-. Rather, 'Orpheus i s f o r Goethe an h i s t o r i c a l personage, the author of hymns r i c h i n symbols and ideas, w h i l e Eurydice i s an i d e a l f i g u r e f o r a r t - Goethe holds the opinion that pathos i s best expressed i n a r t by de p i c t -i n g the t r a n s i t i o n from one state to another, and says, f o r example, that Eurydice would make a subject of great pathos i f the twofold s t a t e , her .joyful advance through the meadow and her sudden and p a i n f u l death, were expressed by the flowers she l e t s f a l l , the wavering of her limbs and 12 the h e s i t a n t f l u t t e r i n g of her garments. See fiber Laocoon, V o l . 33, p. 132 i n Works, ed. E. von der Hell e n and others ( S t u t t g a r t and L e i p z i g , 1902-12). 182 In eighteenth-century Prance there Is at f i r s t a s i m i l a r d i s t i n c t i o n made between the serious h i s t o r i c a l 1^ Orpheus - a concern to V o l t a i r e ^ and Diderot - and the 14 s l i g h t l y r i d i c u l o u s Orpheus of the Eurydice-.story. Diderot's a t t i t u d e i s e s p e c i a l l y noteworthy. A f t e r speaking l e a r n e d l y and at lengt h about the h i s t o r i c a l Orpheus and vari o u s aspects of h i s myth, he dismisses the descent i n t o Hades w i t h the words, \"j'abandonne cett e f i c t i o n aux p o n t e s . \" 1 5 Rousseau uses the myth f o r a s a t i r i c a l epigram: Quand, pour r a v o i r son epouse Eurydice, Le ^bon Orphee a l i a jusqu'aux enfers, L'etonnement d'un s i rare caprice En f i t cesser tous l e s tourments divers-. On admira, bien p l u s que ses concerts, D'un t e l amour l a b i z a r r e s a i l l i e j Et Pluton meme, embarrasse du choix, La l u i r e n d i t pour p r i x de sa f o l i e , Puis l a r e t i n t en faveur de sa v o i x (Epigrammes, I I , 1) .. Rousseau was, however, g r e a t l y impressed by Gluck-'s Orphee, and became a p a r t i s a n and admirer of Gluck's.. 13 ^The twelve references l i s t e d i n the index to Oeuvres Completes, ed.. Beuchot ( P a r i s , 1885), are a l l concerned w i t h the h i s t o r i c a l figure.. 14 E.g., the Orphee of Senece, another t r a n s l a t i o n from Quevedo. See Quevedo, Obras, pp.. 1471-2.. 15 In the entry under Grecs :. See Oeuvres Completes, ed. J . Assezat ( P a r i s , 1877), v o l . 15, p. 53. 1 Orpheus was made a symbol of the Revolution by the poet Andre Chenier, who, born i n Constantinople of a Greek mother, proudly proclaimed himself the compatriot of Orpheus: Puisse aux v a l l o n s d'Hemus, ou l e s rocs et l e s bois Admlrerent d'Orphe'e et s u i v i r e n t l a ^ v o i x , L'Hebre ne m'avoir pas en v a i n donne naissance! Les Muses avec moi vont connaltre Byzance (L'Art d'aimer, 1,5-8) For Chenier Orpheus symbolizes the poet who deserves the honor of a l l great men: Autour du demi-dieu l e s p r i n c e s immobil.es Aux accents de sa v o i x demeuraient suspendus, Et 1' e'coutaient encor quand i l ne c h a n t a i t plus (Hermes, 11,11,14^6). This i s n.ot the Orpheus of the descent, but Chenier i s the beginning, i n Romantic French l i t e r a t u r e , of the f u s i n g of the m y t h i c a l Orpheus w i t h the m y s t i c a l one. By the mid-nineteenth century, a f t e r the sub-conscious use of the myth by N o v a l i s and H o l d e r l i n and the conscious a s s o c i a t i o n s of S c h i l l e r , Gluck and Chenier, the s t o r y of Orpheus and Eurydice took on an a l l e g o r i c a l meaning, but more Romantic than medieval, best stated i n the forward to Franz L i s z t ' s symphonic poem .Orphe'e; Orphee, c 1 est a d i r e l ' A r t . .. . pleure Eurydice cet embleme de 1'Ideal e n g l o u t i par l e mal et l a douleur, .^qu' i l l u i est permis d'arracher aux monstres de l'Erebe, de f a i r e s o r t i r du fond des' tenebres cimmeriennes, mais qu.'.il ne s a u r a i t , helas conserver sur c e t t e t e r r e . 1.84 In Romantic I t a l y c l a s s i c a l themes were s t i l l p o p u l a r but the Orpheus-myth was con s i d e r e d too much a p a r t of the o p e r a t i c t r a d i t i o n t o serve as l i t e r a r y m a t e r i a l . 16 V i c o , always i n t e r e s t e d i n myths, notes t h a t a l l the founders o f n a t i o n s , Orpheus i n c l u d e d , descend to Hades. A minor poet, I p p o l i t o Pindemonte, r e t o l d the t a l e at some l e n g t h , and w i t h some debt t o V i r g i l , i n A Giovanni d a l Pozzo.. Spanish l i t e r a t u r e s u f f e r e d a long d e c l i n e a f t e r the death of Caldero'n. Ovid's former .influence dwindled r a p i d l y , and I t a l i a n opera i s dou b t l e s s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the melodrama.La L i r a de Orfeo by A g u s t i n de Montiano y Luyando and the b a i l e Orfeo y E u r i d i c e by Domingo R o s i . The n e o - C l a s s i c p e r i o d i n E n g l i s h l e t t e r s was a great age of t r a n s l a t i o n , and Orpheus appeared i n new ver-s i o n s of the f o u r t h Georgic by Dryden, Lord Mulgrave and John S h e f f i e l d . But we note t h a t the young Addison's t r a n s l a t i o n h a l t s at the episode of A r i s t a e u s and Orpheus. And Ovid' was l a r g e l y n e g l e c t e d . Mythology had f a l l e n from f a v o r , a f t e r 'centuries of abuse at the hands of p o e t a s t e r s who s p e c i a l i z e d i n accumulating dozens of f r i g i d a l l u s i o n s . In Scienza Nuova V I I I , 1 . Noted i n Cabanas, op. c i t . , pp. 60-1. 185 The most frequent use of the myth in.eighteenth-century England i s f o r humorous purposes. Generally speaking, these poems are neg l i g i b l e . . Poets who, l i k e John Dennis, are unsuccessful i n seri o u s attempts at mythology (Orpheus and Eurydice, a_ masque) descend to bourgeois humor and coarseness (The Story of Orpheus 18 Burlesqu 1d) f o r popular success. There are s a t i r i c a l Orpheus and Eurydices by W i l l i a m King (1704) and W i l l i a m Woty (1798); there are the E n g l i s h t r a n s l a t i o n s of Quevedo's sa t i r e \" 1 \" 9 ; John Gay, who was himself c a l l e d the \"Orpheus of highwaymen\", quips; So f i e r c e A l e c t o ' s snaky t r e s s e s f e l l , When Orpheus charm'd the r i g ' r o u s powers of h e l l . ( T r i v i a , I , 2 0 4 - 5 ) , 2 0 and a certain. Scot named S t a r r a t , compares A l l a n Ramsay's musical s k i l l to h i s who 21 Could w h i s t l e an ould dead wife f r a e hell..' The best of these humorous a l l u s i o n s to the myth i s i n Tom Jones. F i e l d i n g ' s approach to mythology i s c e r t a i n l y not i ft See H..G. Pau l , John Dennis (New York, i 9 . l l ) , pp. 20 and 44. Paul l i s t s three other eighteenth-century dramas on Orpheus, by Martin Bladen (1715), J . Weaver \"(1718) and Mr. M a l l e t (1731). ^ 9By .Lady Monck, anon.,.-and Robert Dodsley. See Quevedo, Obras, p. .1475. 20 See a l s o T r i v i a 11,393-8 f o r a wry and vigorous passage on Orpheus 1 dismemberment. 21 Quoted i n W i r l , op_. c i t . , p. 68. 186 reverent, but I t i s always apt and w i t t y and g e n e r a l l y f u l l y developed. The comparison of Tom e s c o r t i n g Mrs. Waters to Upton to Orpheus leading.Eurydice from H e l l could w e l l serve as a model f o r l i g h t m ythological a l l u s i o n s : Thus our hero and the redeemed lady walked i n the same manner as Orpheus and Eurydice marched he r e t o f o r e ; but though I cannot b e l i e v e that Jones was designedly tempted by h i s f a i r one to look behind him,. .yet as she f r e q u e n t l y wanted h i s a s s i s -tance to help her over s t i l e s , and had besides many t r i p s and other a c c i d e n t s , he xvas often o b l i g e d to tu r n about. However, he had b e t t e r fortune than what attended poor Orpheus, f o r he brought h i s companion, o r . r a t h e r f o l l o w e r , s a f e : i n t o the famous town of Upton (Book IX, .chapter 2 ) . The eighteenth-century c r a z e . f o r opera i s r e f l e c t e d i n the d e d i c a t i o n of'Orpheus and Hecate, an anonymous Ode i n the B r i t i s h Museum, w r i t t e n f o r Lady Brown, patroness of the 22 I t a l i a n opera. The ode i t s e l f might be a condensed opera p l o t : Hecate f a l l s i n love w i t h Orpheus and attempts to keep him i n h e l l . The i d o l of the opera c i r c l e i n London, Handel, was ofte n c a l l e d the Orpheus of h i s time. Addison, who v i o l e n t l y opposed the f l i p p a n t use of c l a s s i c a l mythology, r i d i c u l e s t h i s sobriquet i n a scathing a t t a c k on opera i n the 2^> Spectator. See W i r l , op_. c i t . , pp. 75-6. 2 3 I n No.- 5 (March 6, 1.710). Addison a l s o a l l u d e s to Orpheus b r i e f l y i n h i s epilogue to Lord Lansdowne's The B r i t i s h Enchanters and i n The V i s i o n of the Table j of Fame ( T a t l e r , Oct. 15, 1709). But Orpheus r e a l l y means very l i t t l e to an age tha t could r e f e r t o him as c a l l o u s l y as does Lady Winchilsea i n her Answer to Pope's Impromptu: You, of one Orpheus, sure have read, Who wou'd, l i k e you, have W r i t t , Had He i n London Town been bred, And P o l l i s h J d , to h i s Wit; But He, poor s o u l , thought a l l was We l l , And great shou'd be h i s Fame, When he had l e f t h i s Wife i n H e l l And B i r d s , and Beasts cou'd tame ( 8 - 1 5 ) . T h i s , says Douglas Bush, \" i s enough to suggest the tone of a mass of poems and a l l u s i o n s i n w r i t e r s too f a m i l i a r w i t h the c l a s s i c s f o ignore mythology, and too s o p h i s t i c a t e d t o take i t to t h e i r hearts as w e l l as t h e i r heads. The great w r i t e r s of the p e r i o d , Dryden and Pope, both make g r a c e f u l , even memorable use of the Orpheus-myth, without i t s coming to mean anything to them. To Dryden the Orpheus of E n g l i s h music i s not Handel, but P u r c e l l : We beg not H e l l , our Orpheus t o r e s t o r e (Ode on the Death of Mr. Henry P u r c e l l , 1 6 ) . The reference i s at l e a s t s i n c e r e , and extended f o r s e v e r a l g r a c e f u l l i n e s . Orpheus pre d i c t a b l y - turns up i n Dryden's ge n t l y expanded t r a n s l a t i o n s of the Aeneid, the Eclogues and the Georgics, but h i s appearance i n The Cock, and.the Fox, a modernization of Chaucer's Nun's P r i e s t ' s Tale, comes as a complete s u r p r i s e : the song of the cock, which Chaucer Mythology and the Romantic T r a d i t i o n i n E n g l i s h Poetry (Cambridge, Mass., 1937), -P. 27 . 188 l i k e n e d to that of an angel, becomes w i t h Dryden: A Song that wou'd have charm'd t h ' i n f e r n a l Gods, And banish'd Horror from the dark Ahodes: Had Orpheus sung i t i n the neather Sphere, So much the Hymn had-pleas'd the Tyrant's Ear The Wife had been detain'd, to keep the Husband there ( 6 0 3 - 7 ) . F i n a l l y , i n the Song f o r St. C e c i l i a ' s Day, Orpheus' musical power over nature i s g r a c e f u l l y contrasted to C e c i l i a ' s over supe mature.. This happy i n s p i r a t i o n i s taken up by Pope w i t h r a t h e r mixed r e s u l t s . Tt i s r e a d i l y conceded that l y r i c expression i s not one of Pope's s p e c i a l t i e s , and the Ode on St. C e c i l i a ' s Day i s almost u n i v e r s a l l y w r i t t e n o f f as a f a i l u r e . Yet i t i s only symptomatic of the i n a b i l i t y of the neo- C l a s s i c era t o deal adequately w i t h c l a s s i c myths, and i s i n f a c t the bravest, almost the sole attempt to do so. Joseph Warton, i n h i s essay on Pope, notes the many d e t a i l s \" e l e g a n t l y t r a n s l a t e d \" from V i r g i l and \"happily adapted to the subject i n q u e s t i o n \" , 2 ^ but laments that they are fol l o w e d by l i n e s that are close t o John Dennis, or \"some hero -of the Dunciad\" or \"a d r i n k i n g song at a country e l e c t i o n \" . There are l a p s e s , indeed: Dreadful Gleams, Dismal screams, F i r e s that glow, Shrieks of Woe ( I V , 5 6 - 9 ) . An Essay on_ the Genius and W r i t i n g s of Pope (London, I . 762) , .vol.. 1, pp.. 5 4 - 5 . . But Pope has at l e a s t attempted to t e l l the s t o r y of Orpheus and Eurydice w i t h some genuine f e e l i n g and to i n v e s t i t w i t h some s i g n i f i c a n c e . Very s u c c e s s f u l i s the c l o s i n g comparison Of Orpheus now no more l e t Poets t e l l ; To b r i g h t C e c i l i a greater Pow'r i s g i v ' n ; His Numbers'raised a shade from H e l l , Hers l i f t the Soul t o Heaven (VII,131-4) . 26 This f i n e c o n c l u s i o n , w i t h i t s somewhat Boethian tone, i s 27 28 worth more than a l l the other p r e t t y ' or t o p i c a l or 2Q 30 humorous or conventional references to Orpheus i n the w r i t i n g s of a busy and urbane eighteenth-century craftsman. The most famous a l l u s i o n to Orpheus i n eighteenth-century E n g l i s h \" l e t t e r s does not mention him by name - but s u r e l y the opening l i n e s of Congr'eve1 s The Mourning Bride r e f e r to Orpheus: Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast, To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak ( i , 1 , 1 - 2 ) , In two more s a t i r e s Orpheus r e f l e c t s the changing times: an anonymous Orpheus, p r i e s t of nature and- prophet of \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 i n f i d e l i t y , dated I 7 8 I , t e l l s of a B r i t i s h Orpheus enthroned i n the Margaret chapel, r e c e i v i n g homage from V o l t a i r e and 26D:T. Johnson noted the Boethian s t r a i n i n Pope's Orpheus i n the Rambler, J u l y 30, 1751. 27Summer 8 l f f . 2 8 T o Mr. Lemuel G u l l i v e r 19-20. 290n Mrs. T o f t s 1-4-. 3\u00C2\u00B0Temple of Fame 83-4; To the Author of a_ Poem, e n t i t l e d , Successio 9-10. 190 31 Benjamin F r a n k l i n , while John Hookham Fre r e , i n King Arthur and h i s Round Table, r e f e r s f l i p p a n t l y to the Orphic mysteries i n connection w i t h the J e s u i t s i n Paraguay ( I I I , s t . 9 - 1 1 ) . The passing from c l a s s i c t o Romantic i s marked by the young Thomas Moore, f o r whom Orpheus i s a poet i n s p i r e d 32 by the genius of harmony ; by Mark Akenside, who concerns on himself w i t h the Orphic w r i t i n g s , J and by W i l l i a m Gowper, who i s neo-Classic i n h i s use of Orpheus' s i n g i n g head i n the Ode on the Death of Mrs.. Throckmorton 1 si B u l l f i n c h ( 6 l - 6 ) , but Romantic i n the Ode on the Marriage of a F r i e n d , where he claims that love i s the strongest power of' a l l , f o r Eurydice awakened sweeter s t r a i n s from Orpheus' l y r e than d i d rocks, r i v e r s and t r e e s . Walter Savage Landor's f i n e s t e a r l y works are The Descent of Orpheus, a t r a n s l a t i o n of V i r g i l which marks h i s break w i t h eighteenth-century s t y l e , and The B i r t h of Poesy, which t e l l s us of the l o s s of Eurydice and Orpheus' death at considerable l e n g t h and w i t h great s k i l l 35 f o r a man s c a r c e l y out of h i s teens. ^ 3 1 See W i r l , op_. c i t . , pp. 77-8. J See The Genius of Harmony, an i r r e g u l a r ode 46,.58-72. 33 . . . \u00E2\u0080\u00A2^ The commentator Alexander Dyce notes that Akenside uses the Orphic poems i n h i s Hymn t o the Naids. 3^Lines 1-18. For b r i e f a l l u s i o n s t o the power of Orpheus' song see a l s o The Task 111,587 and V,694. 3^There i s a humorous reference to Orpheus i n a l e s s e r e a r l y work, An Address to the Fellows of T r i n i t y College, 57~60. In l a t e r l i f e , Landor dubbed the Orpheus-episode \"the masterpiece of V i r g i l \" , and Dryden's t r a n s l a t i o n of i t \"the best\". His own t r a n s l a t i o n \"has small m e r i t \" , but Wordsworth's, he says, i s \"among the worst\". Indeed to tra c e the references to Orpheus through Wordsworth i s to get no idea of that po.et:'s st a t u r e or of h i s r o l e i n r e s t o r i n g mythology to the mainstream of E n g l i s h p o e t r y j there i s only \"Orphean i n s i g h t \" 3 ^ and \"Orphean l y r e - \" 3 8 ; Ossian i s dubbed Orpheus, 3 9 40 as i s a f i d d l e r i n Oxford S t r e e t . This i s the best the author of The Power of Music and The Power of Sound can do w i t h the c l a s s i c embodiment of music's power'! Lord Byron, p r e d i c t a b l y , f i n d s an anonymous Orpheus i n the Greece of h i s day: Thus sung, or would, or could, .or should have sung, The modern Greek, In t o l e r a b l e verse; I f n o t ' l i k e Orpheus q u i t e , when Greece was young, Yet i n these times he might have done much worse. (Don Juan 111,87,1-4). 41 The other references are standard a l l u s i o n s . 3^Works, ed. Stephen Wheeler (London, 1935), vol.. 14, p. 251, 3^The Power of Sound, 115. o O Z2. the Clouds, 60; The Source of the Danube, 9; Prelude 1,233. 3-^Written In a_ Blank Leaf of MacPherson' s Ossian, 38. 40 The Power of Music, 1. The remarks are based on Lane Cooper, A Concordance to the Poems of W i l l i a m Wordsworth (London, 1911).. ^ 1 H i n t s _ From Horace 663-6; The Waltz 18; ;The I r i s h Avatar; 1.2,1 Stanzas, w r i t t e n i n passing the Ambracian G u l f . 192 S h e l l e y ' s Orpheus., a dialogue between a Greek chorus and a messenger, i s l i s t e d among h i s fragments, but i t i s complete i n i t s e l f , and ha r d l y seems p a r t of any contemplated 42 tragedy. I t s p i c t u r e of the b l i g h t e d landscape l e f t by Eurydice's death and then of the f r e s h growth that comes t o l i f e at Orpheus' song are e x c e l l e n t i n themselves, but not re p r e s e n t a t i v e of S h e l l e y . Orpheus does not appear i n any of the mythological l y r i c s , and S h e l l e y ' s reference to him' i n H e l l a s (1034) i s n e g l i g i b l e . Presumably Orpheus had l i t t l e t o o f f e r the e a r l y Romanticists'' overblown transcendentalism. He i s not mentioned i n the poems of Coleridge or, l a t e r , of 43 Tennyson, But i n Keats, each of the references i s so r i c h l y and s t r i k i n g l y o r i g i n a l as to warrant quotation here. In the l u x u r i a n t Endymion, Keats' imaginative way of t e l l i n g us that the s p i r i t 'of music pervades a l l nature i s : from the t u r f , a l u l l a b y doth pass In every place where i n f a n t Orpheus s l e p t (1,793-4). 42 Most scholars regard i t as an impromptu jeu d 1 e s p r i t i n i m i t a t i o n of the famous Improvisator S g r i c c i . As i t i s found only i n the t r a n s c r i p t s of Mary S h e l l e y some consider i t her work. See Works, ed. W i l l i a m Michael R o s s e t t i , vol.. 3, PP. 417-8, 4^ f According to the concordances of S.E.. Logan (Indiana, 1940) and A.'E.v Baker (London, 1914), r e s p e c t i v e l y . Tennyson t e l l s of trees assembling to hear, not Orpheus, butAmphion (Amphion 17-56). The same poem contains two compressed, and f a n c i f u l a l l u s i o n s to the Eurydice-:story: by the Orphean l u t e When mad Eurydice i s l i s t e n i n g to 't ('II, 1.64-5), and: Thou leddest Orpheus through the gleams of death (111,98). And i n Lamia, L y c i u s looks at the serpent-maiden not w i t h c o l d wonder f e a r i n g l y , But Orpheus-like at an Eurydice (247-8). Every reference i s notable f o r suggestive power and economy. O l i v e r E l t o n uses the Orphic fragments i n r e -t e l l i n g the whole of the s t o r y i n h i s two poems The Dream 44 of Orpheus and The Song of Orpheus.. \"Various aspects of the myth appeal to some of the l e s s e r Romanticists: Orpheus the Argonaut s i l e n c e s the s i r e n s i n the poem of Richard Chevenix T r e n c h 4 5 ; i n Robert Southey's Thalaba (VI,21,7-15) and i n Thomas Campbell's Moonlight (40-4), the n i g h t i n g a l e sings at Orpheus' grave; -but Campbell a l s o uses Eurydice w i t h charming e f f e c t i n h i s .Lines o_n _a P i c t u r e of a_ G i r l i n the A t t i t u d e of Prayer: L i k e Orpheus, I adore a shade, And dote upon a phantom (3-4). 44 Por a d i s c u s s i o n of these see \"Thoughts on Orpheus\" i n Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine 44(l838) pp. 21-33. 45 ^Orpheus and the Sirens.. Trench a l s o t r a n s l a t e d the f o u r t h Georgic 452-516 i n t o E n g l i s h verse, as Orpheus and Eurydice. 194 As we move i n t o the l a t e Romantic era, the descent of Orpheus proves the most popular i n c i d e n t i n h i s myth. Eurydice i s given.as much a t t e n t i o n as Orpheus hi m s e l f , and often the s t o r y i s t o l d from her po i n t of view. There i s a l s o a new seriousness i n evidence. We move past the stage where \"Orphean\" i s an ornamental tag, where the myth i s used merely to evoke mood or add c o l o r , to a new phase i n which i t i s a p p l i e d to the deepest problems of human l i f e . The love of the poet Orpheus f o r h i s t w i c e - l o s t Eurydice now r e f l e c t s the growing awareness among nineteenth-century poets of t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p to s o c i e t y . Serious i s the word f o r three new Eurydices, by W i l l i a m J V L i n t o n , Coventry Patmore and Robert Browning. Li n t o n ' s i s a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y f e r v i d lament; Patmore's i s one of s e v e r a l odes set i n a profoundly C h r i s t i a n context - the husband dreams he seeks h i s wife through the most s q u a l i d surroundings, and f i n d s her at l a s t , dying, 46 neglected by a l l the world, most of a l l by himself ; Browning's i s l e s s s i g n i f i c a n t , but even more in t e n s e . I n s p i r e d by the famous p a i n t i n g by Lord Leighton, i t i s an e i g h t - l i n e appeal of Eurydice f o r one glance from Orpheus: Patmore's Orpheus, a poem i n Canto I of The Espousals, sees i n Orpheus'' subduing the Sirens the s o c i a l , moral, even r e l i g i o u s f u n c t i o n of the poet. 195 But give them me, the mouth, the eyes, the brow! Let them once more absorb me I One look now W i l l l a p me round f o r e v e r , not t o pass Out of i t s l i g h t , though darkness l i e beyond; Hold me but safe again w i t h i n the bond Of one immortal look! A l l woe that was, Forgotten, and a l l t e r r o r that may be, h.7 Defied, - no past i s mine, no f u t u r e : look at me! The increased importance of women i n s o c i e t y was doubtless p a r t l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r Eurydice's new middle-class vogue. Edward Dowden, the biographer of Browning, expresses v a r i o u s d i s t a f f views on men and marriage i n The Heroines: Helen, A t a l a n t a , Europa, Andromeda and l a s t l y Eurydice speak i n dramatic monologues, Eurydice s t r e s s i n g s e l f -effacement, d e d i c a t i o n , the complete submerging of the w i f e ' s s e l f i n the husband's.. The year of p u b l i c a t i o n of The Heroines, 1876, a l s o saw the appearance of the second book of S i r Lewis M o r r i s ' Epic of Hades, i n which Orpheus makes the s a c r i f i c e : as a man of genius, he l i v e s a higher l i f e than Eurydice can know, but f o r love of her he renounces h i s career; Eurydice asks h i s forgiveness f o r the demands she makes on him, and Orpheus comforts her w i t h s t u f f y V i c t o r i a n sentiments-. A more s t r i k i n g poem by another man of l e t t e r s i s Edmund G.osse's The Waking of Eurydice: Orpheus asks Persephone f o r permission to s i n g to the i n v i s i b l e Eurydice, and at h i s song her l a n g u i d shade appears, awakes, 47 'Browning mentions the Orphic poet i n Easter Day VII,2 3 , and Orpheus expectedly turns up i n the paraphrase of the A l c e s t i s which the heroine r e c i t e s i n 3 a l a u s t i o n ' s Adventure, 865, as w e l l as i n the Browning v e r s i o n of the Agamemnon,. I69.L. 196 trembles and g r a d u a l l y t h r i l l s w i t h l i f e ; even Gosse's mono-tonous t r o c h a i c rhymes seem transformed by t h i s p o e t i c i d e a . 48 Almost as d e l i b e r a t e l y i n s p i r a t i o n a l i s the passage i n Lord Lytton's The Lost Tales of M i l e t u s , i n which Orpheus' song b r i n g s new hope to the tormented Sisyphus. Another dramatic monologue, Orpheus the Musician, by Robert Buchanan, expresses the poet's d i s i l l u s i o n m e n t i n attempting to improve s o c i e t y . Por a time Orpheus subdues the w i l d and b e s t i a l world, but i n the end, nature a s s e r t s i t s e l f : when I ceased to s i n g , the satyr-crew Rush-'d back to r i o t and carouse; S e l f - f e a r f u l faces b l u s h i n g l y withdrew Into l e a f y boughs ( 8 0 - 3 ) . Orpheus l e a r n s the b i t t e r t r u t h that the a r t i s t ' s spell., however compelling, i s only t r a n s i t o r y . The s o c i a l gospel imbibed by many V i c t o r i a n poets was t h a t provided by Thomas C a r l y l e , who r e v i v e s the C h r i s t -Orpheus theme i n Sartor Resartus: Our highest Orpheus walked i n Judaea, eighteen hundred years ago: h i s sphere-melody, f l o w i n g i n w i l d n a t i v e tones, took captive and r a v i s h e d the souls of men ( i l l , 8 ) . A r e a c t i o n against t h i s i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of C h r i s t and Orpheus i s seen i n a s e r i e s of t o r t u r e d but c l e a r - s i g h t e d sonnets by Charles Tennyson-Turner, c a l l e d C h r i s t and Orpheus. The high p o i n t i n t h i s appeal to d i s s o c i a t e the two f i g u r e s i s touching indeed: Summarized i n Wirl,- op_. c i t . , p. 8 3 . The sorrowing manhood of the King of kings, The double nature, and the death of shame, The tomb - the r i s i n g ' - are s u b s t a n t i a l t h i n g s , I r r e l e v a n t to Orpheusj What hath made Thy wisdom match Messias w i t h a shade? (Sonnet 127,10-4). But despite t h i s appeal, V i c t o r i a n p i e t i s m and s o c i a l consciousness continued to turn to mythological subjects f o r e xpression. Even the pre-Raphaelites indulge i n a c e r t a i n amount of t h i s . Swinburne's Orpheus i s V i c t o r Hugo, to whom he appeals to turn and look upon Eurydice, the v i p e r - s t r i c k e n embodiment of J u s t i c e . ^ And one of W i l l i a m M o r r i s ' most famous passages i s the s e r i e s of antlphonal songs of Orpheus and the Sirens i n The L i f e and Death of .Jason;' the Sirens hymn the sensual l i f e of a m a t e r i a l i s t Utopia while Orpheus answers w i t h pleas f o r what i s , i n e f f e c t , s o c i a l i s m - but the v e r b a l t e x t u r e of h i s song i s as l i s t l e s s and unworldly as i s that of the Sirens''. I t seems the pre*-Raphaelite genius i s b e t t e r adapted to atmospheric s t o r y - t e l l i n g than to \" s i g n i f i c a n t \" themes, and M o r r i s ' Story of Orpheus and Eurydice i s a t y p i c a l specimen:.-of languorous dreaming p r o t r a c t e d to p r o d i g i o u s lengths, w i t h an underworld of hidden vo i c e s and a hero given to l y r i c i s m of the most sweetly e f f u s i v e v a r i e t y . Dante 50 G a b r i e l R o s s e t t i ' s Orpheus longs only f o r Eurydice's l i p s , ^ 49 ^See Eurydice, i n Songs Before Sunrise. 50 See Sonnet 6,7-8, i n The House of L i f e . while George A. Simcox's laments h i s t w i c e - l o s t love i n long, 51 dreamy musings of the vaguest p h i l o s o p h i c a l substance ; 52 Thomas Irwin's Orpheus i s of the same stamp. The pre-Raphaelitism of the Homerist, Andrew Lang, was somewhat l e s s remote: The Song of Orpheus i s a t r a n s l a t i o n of part of the Orphic Argonautica; the Grave of Orpheus t e l l s again of the n i g h t i n g a l e s ; l a t e r Lang s a t i r i z e s h i s pre^-Raphaelite days and the way We twanged the melancholy l y r e . . . j-o When f i r s t we heard R o s s e t t i s i n g , and t h i s palinode i s put i n the mouth of The New Orpheus to^ h i s Eurydice \u00E2\u0080\u00A2. A Hornerist of a d i f f e r e n t s o r t , Matthew Arnold> longed to escape to \"a p r i m i t i v e mythological world of simple joy and h a r m o n y , 1 1 a longing c l e a r l y r e f l e c t e d i n T h y r s i s , h i s p a s t o r a l lament f o r Arthur Hugh Clough. I t contains a b r i g h t paraphrase of the Orphean passage i n Moschus' lament f o r Bion, w i t h a d d i t i o n a l j u d i c i o u s l y chosen images and piquant language, p a r t i c u l a r l y 55 i l l u s t r a t i v e of Arnold's paganizing C h r i s t i a n i t y . ^ At 5 1 . S e e Orpheus, i n C o r n h i l l Magazine 25(1867), p. 218.-. 5 2 I n Dublin U n i v e r s i t y Magazine 6 3(l864), pp. 528-43. Another pre-Raphaelite Orpheus i s by Richard Watson Dixon. -^Quoted i n Bush, Romantic T r a d i t i o n , p. 4 l 6 . -^Douglas Bush, op_. c i t . , p. 247. 55Thyrsis. 81-90. See a l s o Memorial Verse 34-40, i n which Wordsworth's coming to Hades i s l i k e n e d to Orpheus*.. 199 the same time, John Ruskin was r e j e c t i n g mythology as a pedagogical device, i n The Cestus of A g l a l a . One of the f i g u r e s asked to \"put up ( h i s ) pipes and be gone\" i s Orpheus, because he represents the sentiment and pure soul-power of Man, as moving the very rocks and t r e e s , and g i v i n g them l i f e , ' b y i t s sympathy w i t h them; but l o s i n g i t s own best-beloved t h i n g by mere venomous accident: and afterwards going down to h e l l f o r i t , i n v a i n ; being impatient and unwise, though f u l l of gentleness; and, i n the issue., a f t e r as v a i n l y t r y i n g to teach t h i s gentleness to others, and to guide them out of t h e i r lower passions to s u n l i g h t of true h e a l i n g l i f e , i t d r i v e s the sensual heart of them, and the gods that govern i t , i n t o mere and pure f r e n z y of r e s o l v e d rage, and gets torn to pieces by them, and ended; only the n i g h t i n g a l e s t a y i n g \u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 by i t s grave to sing.56 The c o n t i n u i n g p o p u l a r i t y of G l u c k 1 s opera i s seen i n an anonymous poem (l882) dedicated t o J.E.C., i n 57 the B r i t i s h Museum, ' which f o l l o w s C a l z a b i g i c l o s e l y ; i n Vernon LeeJs Orpheus i n Rome (1889), r e f l e c t i o n s on a r t prompted by Gluck's music, and i n the p o e t i c drama Armgart, by George E l i o t , which t e l l s the Orpheus-like s t o r y of a prima donna who enjoyed great success as Gluck's Orfeo, and who s a c r i f i c e d everything, i n c l u d i n g marriage, f o r her a r t ; when she loses her v o i c e , the o f f e r of marriage i s not renewed. The l i b r e t t i s t James R. Planche\" provided two p l a y s 5 Works, ed. E..T. Cook (London, .1905), vol.. 19, p. 66. Ruskin's other a l l u s i o n s to Orpheus (see Cook's index) are n e g l i g i b l e . 5 ? S e e W i r l , op. c i t . , pp. 89-90.' 200 d e a l i n g w i t h the myth - Olympic D e v i l s and Qrpheusi i n the Haymarket - f o r l i g h t opera purposes.. Beethoven was some-what b e l a t e d l y dubbed Orpheus by E r i c MacKay i n Beethoven 58 at, the Piano. Two poems by Americans deserve mention at t h i s p o i n t . P h i l i p Preneau's The Prayer of Orpheus i s a b e a u t i f u l paraphrase of the p l e a Ovid put i n the poet's mouth when he appeared before P l u t o ; what was conventional i n Ovid i s made very touching here.. The Eurydice of James R u s s e l l L o w e l l , f o r a l l i t s vagueness and mediocre craftsmanship, i s a l s o a notable poem. Lowell .regrets the d e c l i n e of a r t i s t i c f e e l i n g i n h i s day, and the passing of h i s own youth, and sees these f l e e t i n g b e a u t i f u l things as Eurydice, the \"more tender dawn\" that f l e e s before the f u l l moon: At that e l m-vista's end I t r a c e Dimly thy sad l e a v e - t a k i n g face, Eurydice* Eurydice! The tremulous leaves repeat to me Eurydice! Eurydice* . No gloomier Orcus swallows thee Than the unclouded sunset's glow; Thine i s at l e a s t E l y s i a n woe; Thou hast Good's n a t u r a l decay, And fadest l i k e a s t a r away (67-76). Lowell seems to haye heard of Max M u l l e r ' s t h e o r i e s . John Witt Randall wrote a Lament of Orpheus i n 1856. Another American, John Godfrey Saxe, burlesqued See i b i d . , p. 84. the s t o r y i n l 8 6 l , ^ while Emma Lazarus gave i t l y r i c treatment ten years l a t e r y ^ A.B. A l c o t t composed some c r y p t i c Orphic Sayings i n 1840. Emerson p r e f e r r e d the a c t u a l Orphica ( i n t r a n s l a t i o n ) to both A l c o t t ' s and Miss 61 Lazarus' e f f o r t s , and r e l a t e s the saying of h i s own Orphic bard near the close of Nature^ The descent of Orpheus was apt m a t e r i a l f o r American melodrama and burlesque, as i s witnessed by such stage productions as Orpheus and Eurydice, a p l a y (Henry J . Byron, 1884); Orpheus and Eurydice, an op_eratic burlesque (presented i n B u f f a l o i n 1897) and Orpheus, a_ one act p l a y ( i n Throw that l i g h t on me, by O.M. Scott and G. Ford, presented i n Chicago In 1912). Both England and America produced, at the turn of the century, so many l y r i c poems on Orpheus by so many r e l a t i v e l y unimportant w r i t e r s that i t should be enough f o r our purposes merely t o l i s t them. The sheer q u a n t i t y of t h i s work i s impressive, and t e s t i f i e s t o the continued i n t e r e s t i n Orpheus and Eurydice. But the swollen r h e t o r i c of many of these poems has doomed them to e x t i n c t i o n . -^Orpheus and Eurydice, a_ travesty_, i n Poems (l86l) . 6 0Orpheus, i n Admetus (1871). 6 l See L e t t e r s , ed. R.L. Rusk, v o l . 2, p. 291 and vol.. 6, p. 114. 202 1882 V i r g i n i a Vaughan, Orpheus and the S i r e n s , a drama i n l y r i c s 1884 Henry N i l e s P i e r c e , The Death. Chant of Orpheus (The A g n o s t i c ) ; Eurydice (The Agnostic) 1885 E l i z a b e t h Stuart Phelps, Eurydice (Songs of the S i l e n t World) 1887 (Charles J . P i c k e r i n g ) , Orpheus (Metassai) 1886 Walter Malone, The Song of the Dying- Orpheus (The Outcast)j Orpheus and the Sire n s (1893) 1888 David Atwood Was son, Orpheus (Poems) 1889 Prank T. M a r z i a l s , Orpheus and Eurydice, a sonnet (Death 1s Disguises);. Two Sonnet Songs: The Siren.S | Sing Orpheus and the Mariners Make Answer I 8 9 I I s a b e l l a T.. A i t k e n , Orpheus and Eurydice (Bohemia) 1891 James R. Rodd, The Lute of Orpheus (The V i o l e t Crown) 1891 Mrs,. Ernest Radford, Orpheus (A L i g h t Load) 1893 W i l l i a m B e l l S c o t t , Orpheus (A P o e t 1 s Harvest Home); Eurydice 1893 F r a n c i s W.. B o u r d i l l o n , Eurydice (Sursum Cor da) 1894 S. Wiley, C o r o t 1 s Orpheus (Poems L y r i c a l and Dramatic) 1895 Lord de Tabley, Orpheus^ i n Hades; Orpheus i n , Thrace (19,01) I898 J.B, Dabney, Orpheus Sings (Songs of Destiny) 1898 E.W. Watson, The Song of Orpheus (Songs of F l y i n g Hours) 203 I 8 9 8 Florence E,. C.oates, Eurydice (Poems) 1900 Arthur S. Cripps, Eurydice ( T i t a n i a ) 1900 Annie A.. F i e l d s , Orpheus: a masque 1901 Laurence Binyon, Orpheus i n Thrace (.Odes) 1901 L l o y d M i f f l i n , Eurydice; The Last Song of Orpheus; The S i l e n c e A f t e r Orpheus' Death ( C o l l e c t e d Sonnets) 1901 L i l y Thicknesse, Eurydice to Orpheus (Poems) 1903 Joseph Cook, Orpheus and.the Sirens (Overtones) 1904 Ruth Young,'Orpheus (Verses) 1904 E>L, Cox, Orpheus i n Hades (Poems L y r i c and Dramatic) 1904 T. 'Sturge Moore, A Lament For Orpheus 1905 A l e i s t e r Crowley, Orpheus; \u00C2\u00A7_ l y r i c a l legend 19.06 Charles Gibson, Orpheus and Eurydice (The S p i r i t of Love) 1907 Arthur D i l l o n , Orpheus 19.07 Bernard Drew, Orpheus and Eurydice (Cassandra) 1907 A l f r e d Noyes, Orpheus and Eurydice (F o r t y Singing Seamen) 19.07 Louis Alexander Robertson, Orpheus and Eurydice (Through Painted Panes) 1909 E d i t h Wharton, Orpheus (Artemis to Actaeon) 1910 H.V. Sutherland, Orpheus and Eurydice (.Idylls of Greece, Second Series) 1912 S i r H. Tree, Orpheus i n the Underground, a p l a y In two a c t s . 1912 Eva Gore-Booth, The Death of Orpheus (The Agate Lamp) 1913 Margaret S a c k v i l l e , Orpheus among the .Shades, a p l a y (Songs of Aphrodite) 204 n.d-. S..S. Creamer, Orphean Tragedy n.d. Norman Gale, Orpheus n..d. A l f r e d P.. Graves, Orpheus (Dark Blue 2:4l) n.d.. E l i z a b e t h 0. Smith, Regrets There i s a l s o a p o e t i c drama, of s l i g h t m e r i t , by the Vancouver poet, E.A. Jenns, Orpheus and Eurydice (1910). Of these, B o u r d i l l o n ' s i s a popular, but commonplace poem, I n which Eurydice b r i e f l y t e l l s of her awaking to the world at Orpheus' c a l l , and of .the sorrow she caused when she, turned t o look back.. A l f r e d Noyes t e l l s , w i t h c h a r a c t e r i s t i c n a r r a t i v e magic, how A p o l l o sent the snake because Orpheus had neglected h i s god-given powers to woo Eurydice. The hu m i l i a t e d Orpheus of P l a t o ' s Symposium reappears i n E d i t h Wharton's poem, while most of the others show t h e i r indebtedness to Browning and W i l l i a m Morris by t h e i r very t i t l e s . . Perhaps the best of these poems - those of de Tabley, Binyon, D i l l o n and Moore - are those which deal w i t h Orpheus-' death, i n the l u x u r i a n t , overripe neo-pagan cast of S h e l l e y and Swinburne, a t r a d i t i o n which died 62 hard i n mythological poetry. ^De Tabley and D i l l o n are analyzed at l e n g t h i n W i r l , op. c i t . , pp. 85-9 and 90-101. Moore i s b e t t e r known f o r the p l a y Orpheus and Eurydice, one of h i s many mythological dramas d e a l i n g s y m b o l i c a l l y and one might say P l a t o n i c a l l y w i t h i d e a l beauty and the e f f o r t s of the human soul t o grasp i t . In the Orpheus, the gods of the t i m e l e s s , i d e a l world of the s p i r i t i n v i t e Orpheus to stay w i t h them as t h e i r son, but Eurydice, who has refused to d r i n k of Lethe's waters, begs him to take her back to the m a t e r i a l world. On the t e r r i f y i n g upward journey she i s overcome by the darkness and h i s apparent l a c k of tenderness, and bri n g s about the catastrophe. The horror of the world of matter i s unmasked i n the concluding scene: a B a s s a r i d e x u l t s over Orpheus' severed'limbs. I t i s a f i n e p l a y , one i n which the ideology a c t u a l l y enhances the myt h i c a l s t o r y . 6 3 Eurydice a l s o appears i n Ulysses, one of the grandiose p o e t i c dramas of Stephen P h i l l i p s , long enough to t e l l her b r i e f s t o r y : I am Eurydice, That f o r one moment was so near the day, When Orpheus backward looked, and a l l was nigh t ( l l , 2 ) . Yet i n t h i s wealth of E n g l i s h mythological poetry -so much of i t deeply f e l t and i n t e n s e l y serious - the one poem which f u t u r e generations are most l i k e l y to read and to JA r e v i s e d v e r s i o n appeared i n C o l l e c t e d Poems, v o l , 3 (London, 1 9 3 2 ). Here, when Orpheus returns a second time, Eurydice p r e f e r s t o d r i n k the po t i o n and remain among the i d e a l s , a s s o c i a t e w i t h the myth does not mention Orpheus and Eurydice at a l l . In A Shropshire Lad, A.E, Housman t e l l s how Hermes met him one morning and accompanied him on h i s journey through pastureland, v a l l e y s and woods; And midst the f l u t t e r i n g l e g i o n Of a l l that ever died I f o l l o w , and before us Goes the d e l i g h t f u l guide, With l i p s t hat brim w i t h laughter But never once respond, And f e e t that f l y on f e a t h e r s , And s e r p e n t - c i r c l e d wand (42: The Merry Guide, 53-60] Contemporary mytho l o g i c a l poetry a s p i r e s to t h i s s t a t e -the use of one or at most a few d e t a i l s of the myth, d i v e s t e d of any s o c i a l s i g n i f i c a n c e and set, as i t were, outside of time. CHAPTER V I I CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE Orpheus was one of the Greek mytho l o g i c a l f i g u r e s adopted by the symbolist poets of France. While Baudelaire saw the poet as Icarus, Rimbaud as Prometheus, and V a l e r y as Nar c i s s u s , Orpheus appears i n the w r i t i n g s of almost a l l the s y m b o l i s t s . 1 The supra-human characters of Greek myths, w i t h t h e i r t r a g i c s t o r i e s , appealed s t r o n g l y to men who l e f t \"human valu e s \" t o the n o v e l i s t and the pl a y w r i g h t , and sought to reach poetry i t s e l f i n i t s purest s t a t e . The symbolists approach Orpheus o b l i q u e l y . In. t e l l i n g h i s s t o r y , they give the d e t a i l s w h i l e the e s s e n t i a l s are only suggested. Thus the symbolist Orphee l i v e s in-an a l l u s i v e , dreamy, s i g n i f i c a n t world \u00E2\u0080\u0094 but the a l l u s i o n s are not the meaningless tags of the Renaissance, the dreaminess i s not the saccharine languor of the pre-Raph.ael.ites, the s i g n i f i c a n c e i s not e x p l i c i t , owes nothing to s o c i a l problems, as w i t h the Victorians.. The myth i s not so much used as contemplated, and penetrated. The Orpheus that f a s c i n a t e d the e a r l y symbolists was Orpheus the magician, at whose song a l l nature was ani - r mated. Maliarme saw the modern poet's r o l e as a s i m i l a r one -207 203 c o n j u r i n g , a l t e r i n g nature i n mysterious ways. This concept of the poet as magician dominated the French poetry of our century. Rimbaud's Theorie du Voyant, the manifesto of t h i s i d e a l , stems from the nineteenth century.philosopher Ballanche, i n whose v i s i o n the day would come when a l l the peoples of the earth.would be u n i t e d i n the one empire of poetry, and t h i s must be accomplished by a -new Orpheus -f o r Orpheus himself was a voyant who understood the synthesis 2 ' of the world. That t h i s was the meaning of the myth to Paul V a l e r y i s c l e a r from a l e t t e r he wrote t o Debussy about t h e i r proposed c o l l a b o r a t i o n on a b a l l e t : J'avals songe incidemment au Mythe d'Orphee, c ' e s t - a - d i r e 1'animation de toute chose par un e s p r i t , - l a f a b l e meme de l a m o b i l i t e et de . 1'arrangement.3 \"'\"See A r t For A l l , i n Ma l i a r me', t r a n s l a t e d by Bradford Cook (Baltimore, 1956), pp. 9-13, and the note \"Orphic ex p l a n a t i o n \" on p. 116. \"' . \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 ^Ballanche's Orphee (1829) i s a humanitarian epic i n nine books. The descent i s given only cursory treatment i n book I I I , and the mythology i s h i g h l y unorthodox throughout. See. A l b e r t Joseph George, Pierre-Simon Ballanche (Syracuse194.5), pp.. 111-8. ^Quoted from F r a n c i s Scarfe, The A r t of Paul V a l e r y (London, 1954), p. 290.. The b a l l e t never m a t e r i a l i z e d , and V a l e r y ' s only Orphee i s an e a r l y sonnet i n which the theme of music moving mountains i s r a t h e r c o n v e n t i o n a l l y handled. More ample treatment of t h i s theme i s given i n Vale'ry.'s melodrama Amphion. 209 But the s t o r y of Orpheus' descent was e v e n t u a l l y taken up and i n time the image of Orpheus i n the world beyond e c l i p s e d that of Orpheus the magician.. In A l a i n -F o urnier's novel Le Grand Meaulnes, the E u r y d i c e - s t o r y l i e s beneath the surface, and there i s the constant h i n t of a d i s p a r i t y between the a e s t h e t i c Eurydice of Orpheus' song, of the world of l i g h t , and the a c t u a l Eurydice given him by the world of shadows.. With the s u r r e a l i s t Paul E l u a r d , a l l p o e t i c experience i s a journey through h e l l , l i k e Orpheus', which f i n d s f u l f i l l m e n t i n the woman who, l i k e Eurydice, always sees the dawn of a new world emerging from the dark-n e s s . 5 Most r e c e n t l y the tormented \"poet of C h r i s t i a n 6 myth\", P i e r r e Emmanuel, has devoted two books of poems to Orpheus. In the Tombeau d 1Orphee, sexual passion i s the the cause of Orpheus' s u f f e r i n g - both i n h i s f a i l u r e to recover Eurydice and i n h i s death at the hands of the u n s a t i s f i e d Maenads; at the close of h i s l i f e he renounces human lov e , becomes both man and woman l i k e T i r e s i a s , a symbol of the whole cosmos. Eurydice too renounces human passion, p r e f e r r i n g to remain i n e t e r n i t y r a t h e r than For an a n a l y s i s of t h i s theme i n A l a i n - F o u r n i e r , see Robert Champigny, P o r t r a i t of_ \u00C2\u00A7_ Symbolist Hero (Bloomington, 1 9 5 4 ) . ^This theme i s e s p e c i a l l y notable i n L,'Amour du Poe'sie and' C a p i t a l e de l a Douleur. See Joseph C h i a r d i , Contemporary French Poetry (Manchester, 1 9 5 2 ) , p.. 1 4 7 . T i t l e f o r Chapter 4 i n C h i a r d i , op_. c i t . 210 r e t u r n to conjugal l i f e ; she d i d not c a l l t o Orpheus to turn and look upon her - r a t h e r he mistook the promptings of h i s own d e s i r e f o r h e r . v o i c e . Both of them win redemption by t h e i r r e n u n c i a t i o n , and as the poem closes Orpheus, who has prayed f o r martyrdom, i s surrounded w i t h the shroud, the spear and the crown of thorns. The second book, Orphiques, t e l l s , i n the f i r s t p a r t (Musique de l a N u i t ) , of Orpheus the musi-c i a n , w i t h t r i b u t e s to Bach and Beethoven; i n the second (Aube sur l e s E n f e r s ) , of the descent, w i t h homage p a i d to Gerard Manley Hopkins, and i n the t h i r d (Invention des Menades), of the dismemberment - a l l at great le n g t h and w i t h much o b s c u r i t y . The i n f l u e n c e of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice upon the e a r l y poems of Rainer Maria R i l k e i s an almost subconscious one, as i t was e a r l i e r w i t h N o v a l i s and H o l d e r l i n - a n a t u r a l consequence of the poet's f a s c i n a t i o n w i t h h i s own powers, h i s search f o r beauty and h i s attempt to penetrate the mystery of death. Even though they are not named, Orpheus and Eurydice seem to be the l o v e r s R i l k e speaks of i n .Per Tod der G.eliebten: Er wusste nur vom Tod, was a l l e wissen: dass er uns nimmt und i n das Stumme st8sst. A l s aber s i e , n i c h t von ihm f o r t g e r i s s e n , n e i n , l e i s aus seinen Augen ausgel8st, h i n u b e r g l i t t zu unbekannten Schatten, und a l s er f u h l t e , dass s i e drftben nun wie einen Mond i h r MadchenlMcheln hatten und i h r e Weise wohlzutun: 211 da wurden ihm die Toten so bekannt, a l s ware er durch s i e mit einem jeden ga'nz nah verwandt; ,er l i e s s die andern reden und glaubte n i c h t und nannte jenes Land das gutgelegene, das immersusse -Und t a s t e t e es ab f u r i h r e Fusse.7 Joachim Rosteutscher, i n Das a.sthetische I d o l , f i n d s t r a c e s Q of the myth i n a half-dozen more of R i l k e ' s e a r l y poems. Only one of these i d e n t i f i e s the characters.. I t i s c a l l e d Orpheus, Eurydike, Hermes, and was d i r e c t l y i n s p i r e d by the A t t i c r e l i e f , which R i l k e saw In the Naples copy i n 1904. I t i s a thoroughly modern poem, however, i n i t s s e n s i b i l i t y , i t s i r r e g u l a r form, and i t s use of symbols. I t i s a l s o c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of R i l k e i n i t s m y s t i c a l preoccupation w i t h death and the maiden.; Eurydice i s the focus of the poem, as of the r e l i e f , but she i s a strange Eurydice, f i l l e d w i t h her great death, Wie eine Frucht von S u s s i g k e i t und Dunkel (65). She i s not conscious that she i s f o l l o w i n g her husband, f o r Sie war i n einem neuen Madchentum und unberuhrbar; i h r Geschlecht war zu wie eine junge Blume gegen Abend (68-70). ^In Per Neuen Gedichte, Anderer Te.il (1908) . 8Das Buch von der P i l g e r s c h a f t ; Worpsweder Tagebuch (28 Oct. 1900); Madchengestalten; Das jungste Gericht ( i n Das Buch der B i l d e r ) ; Das Stundenbuch I I I ; Orpheus.. Eurydike. Hermes ( i n Der Neuen Gedichte, Erster. Te.il) . See Rosteutscher, op_; c i t . , pp. 249r-53. 212 Loosened as 1 long h a i r , abandoned as the f a l l e n r a i n , d i s t r i -buted as b l e s s i n g s abundant,-Sie war schon Wurzel (82) . Orpheus represents the human world, r e s t l e s s , impatient, touched w i t h genius but cursed w i t h s e l f - s e e k i n g . Through the phantasmagoria of rocks, shadows, f o r e s t s , \"Brucken uber Leeres\" (8) he leads the way, h i s l y r e f o r -gotten, grown i n t o h i s l e f t hand, h i s senses wavering l i k e a hunting dog which races ahead, then turns back to the turn of the path. Hermes i s shining-eyed and l i g h t of f o o t , w i t h h i s slender wand held out before him and the wings f l u t t e r i n g about h i s ankles. He i s a god, but he i s moved by human d i s -a s t e r : he i t i s who c r i e s i n anguish \"Er had s i c h umgewendet -\". Eurydice, the b r i d e of death, knows nothing, and asks only \"Wer?\" (85-6). A f t e r t h i s s t a r t l i n g climax, Orpheus i s f o r g o t t e n . We do not hear h i s laments even as we d i d not hear of h i s song before P l u t o , With Eurydice, we have f o r g o t t e n him; we r e t u r n to the world where the mysterious f i g u r e of death stands \"dunkel vor dem k l a r e n Ausgang\" (87), where Eurydice has already passed, den S c h r i t t beschrankt von langen Leichenbandern, unsicher, sanft und ohne Ungeduld (94-5). This e a r l y poem of R i l k e 1 s could stand, w i t h Housman's,as a model f o r the p o e t i c treatment of c l a s s i c a l myths, f o r i t i s no sentimental or pedantic i n v o c a t i o n of 213 a n t i q u i t y , but an e x t r a o r d i n a r y e f f o r t to grasp the s p i r i t of the myth i t s e l f , a journey i n t o p r e - c l a s s i c time. Orpheus..- Eurydike. Hermes was w r i t t e n at a time when R i l k e ' s poetry was l a r g e l y an i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of various objets d 1 a r t ; i n h i s mature p e r i o d , R i l k e turned again to Orpheus. This time Eurydice i s not c a l l e d f o r t h from the 9 b e t t e r world of her new v i r g i n i t y ; only Orpheus i s invoked -and he i s not the husband of Eurydice so much as the c r e a t i v e Orpheus who knows the mysteries of l i f e and death, whose song permeates the whole world. The famous i d e a l of the Sonette an Orpheus, the culmination of a century of Orphean poetry from N o v a l i s and H o l d e r l i n through the French symbolists, has been compared\"^ to Nietzsche's Dionysus, Zarathustra and Superman: f o r R i l k e , the poet, symbolized i n Orpheus, i s the redeemer and t r a n s f i g u r e r of a l l existence -indeed, when he sings he c a l l s existence i n t o being: . Da s t i e g e i n Baum. 0 r e i n e UbersteigungI 0 Orpheus s i n g t i 0 hoher Baum im Ohri (Sonette an Orpheus: 1,1,1-2). R i l k e f i n d s the secret of a l l p o i e s i s i n a s e l f - i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w i t h t h i s powerful f i g u r e , and h i s l a t e r work i s a constant attempt to cast himself i n the mold of h i s Orpheus-symbol. ^In Sonette An Orpheus: 11,12,4, R i l k e speaks of being dead \" i n Eurydike\", i . e . i n the h a b i t u a l death of Eurydice i n the e a r l i e r poem. 1 0 S e e Michael Hamburger, op_. c i t . , pp. .105-13. 214 As f o r English-speaking symbolists, James Joyce chose Ulysses as h i s mythical hero, while T i r e s i a s i s the most important c l a s s i c a l f i g u r e i n T.S. E l i o t ' s The Waste Landj but the three S i t w e l l s have a l l d e a l t w i t h Orpheus: S i r Osbert's' Orpheus t e l l s how the f o r e s t animals were charmed, while S a c h e v e r e l l 1 s Eurydice ( i n The Th i r t e e n t h Caesar) makes Orpheus the sun; the Eurydice of Dame E d i t h i s , of the three, the poem to be reckoned with.. Written i n 1946, i t has none of the f l a s h i n g w i t of the famous poems, but i t s symbolism, weaving i n and out of i r r e g u l a r long l i n e s , i s gorgeous, and i t s approach (a new one f o r the myth, i f not f o r Dame E d i t h , who has w r i t t e n many s i m i l a r death-poems) i s b r i l l i a n t . Eurydice begins her s o l i l o q u y w i t h the l i n e s : F i r e s on the hearth! F i r e s i n the. heavens^! F i r e s i n the hearts of Men! I who was welded i n t o b r i g h t gold i n the earth by Death Salute you! (1-3)\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 She who i s now the golden b r i d e of Death s a l u t e s the f i r e s t hat l i g h t the world above. But she has another r i p e n i n g sun below - Death, who has taught her heart to f o r g i v e . Then she t e l l s how \"Orpheus came w i t h h i s s u n l i k e s i n g i n g \" (17)j and she moved to the mouth of the tomb and walked, a golden f i g u r e , across The dark f i e l d s where the sowers s c a t t e r grain L i k e t e a r s (26-7), r e c a l l i n g Proserpine of the golden h a i r , hearing the golden-v o i c e d man of goa^warn her to look to the l i g h t , while i n 1 1 A quotation from Meister Eckhart i s paraphrased i n l i n e s 39^41 and addressed to Eurydice. 215 the \" f e r i n e dust\" (43) t h a t r i s e s around her, Death bids her remember that he s t i l l has power over her. Par o f f she hears the sounds a r i s e from the golden-roofed dwellings of men, and wonders\u00E2\u0080\u00A2why they weep f o r the death of golden nature, which i s not l o s t but only changed i n the sweet darkness. S t i l l , she has cast her sweet death o f f f o r Orpheus-1 sake, and f o l l o w s him homeward to the small things of Love, the b u i l d i n g of the hearth, the kneading of the d a i l y bread, The c r i e s of b i r t h , and a l l the weight of l i g h t Shaping our bodies and our s o u l s . Come home to youth, And the noise of summer growing i n the v e i n s , And to o l d age, a serene afternoon, An element beyond time, or a new climate (70-5)\u00C2\u00BB But i n the f i n a l stanza i t i s she, not Orpheus, who turns, and w i t h s t a r t l i n g e f f e c t : I w i t h the other young who were born from darkness, Returning to darkness, stood at the mouth of the Tomb With one who had come g l i t t e r i n g l i k e the wind To meet me - Orpheus w i t h the golden mouth, You - l i k e Adonis born from the young myrrh-tree, you, the vine-branch Broken by the wind of l o v e . . . .1 turned to greet you-And when I touched your mouth, i t was the Sun ( 7 6 - 8 2 ) . So the themes pf gold, f i r e and the sun thread t h e i r way through the poem. I t i s impossible, i n a summary, to suggest as w e l l the other themes of wheat, of the l i o n , the honeycomb and the maiden bearing death as a c h i l d 216 w i t h i n her.. Some of these are t r a d i t i o n a l w i t h Dame Edith) the death-bearing maiden i s borrowed, w i t h c r e d i t , from R i l k e . But the two imposing themes, the sun and the wheat, are derived from the suggested o r i g i n s of the myth i t s e l f . : In the l a s t l i n e Eurydice the golden shaft of wheat, bearing the seeds of her own death w i t h i n her, awakes to Orpheus the sun. For the r e s t , there are dozens of E n g l i s h and American poets on the contemporary scene who have w r i t t e n about Orpheus and Eurydice: 19.18 George Rpstrevor Hamilton, Orpheus (Escape and Fantasy) Orpheus 1 song, i n contemporary language. 1919 B.K.. Van Slyke, Orpheus i n the Street (Poetry 13:2.52) Orpheus as a hurdy-gurdy man., 1921 Brookes More, Orpheus and Eurydice (The Beggar 1s V i s i o n ) a somewhat Romantic r e v i s i o n of V i r g i l and Ovid, but o r i g i n a l ( i n American l e t t e r s ) i n a s s o c i a t i n g -the husband and wife and serpent of the Orpheus myth w i t h Genesis, the close of the golden age and the coming of sorrow i n t o the world. 1921 Laurence Housman, The Death of Orpheusj Orpheus and The Phoenix (The Love Concealed, 1928) only the phoenix remains a l o o f from Orpheus'' song. 217 1924 E l i z a b e t h Maddox Roberts, Orpheus (Poetry 24:201) a naive treatment of Orpheus and the trees.. 19.24 F..-.W. Bateson, Orpheus i n Thrace (Spectator 133*506) a b r i e f lament f o r Eurydice. 1925 Frank Kendon, Orpheus (London Mercury 11: 571) \u00E2\u0080\u00A2a long n a r r a t i v e poem, i n which Orpheus' descent i s summed up i n the l i n e : To l o s e , to f i g h t , to win, to hope, t o lose ( s t . 40,1,2). 1925 L.. Hul l e y , Orpheus and Eurydice (Fables and Myths from the S i b y l 1 s Book) 1925 H>D'. (Mrs. Richard A l d i n g t o n ) , Eurydice ( C o l l e c t e d Poems) Eurydice reproaches Orpheus f o r h i s arrogance and ru t h l e s s n e s s , but adds, \"my h e l l i s no worse than yours\", 1927 L(oyd) H ( a b e r l y ) , Orpheus a t H e l l ' s Gate Sings (Poems) 1928 D>R. Williamson, Orpheus and Eurydice ( C o l l e c t e d Poems) 1929 A l i c e W i l l s , Orpheus 19,29 Helen G i l b e r t , Eurydice (Sewanee Review 37:322) an overly-Romantic narrative.. 1935 Joseph Auslander, Eurydice (No T r a v e l l e r Returns) Eurydice urges Orpheus to look and come to death w i t h her. 1937 Jy Evelyn, Eurydice and Orpheus (Poems) 218 1943 Yvor Winters, Orpheus: In Memory Of Hart Crane (The Giant Weapon) the l o s s of Eurydice and the dismemberment, i n a b r i e f , oblique n a r r a t i o n . 1944 Marya Zaturenska, The R e c a l l of Eurydice (The Golden M i r r o r ) a l y r i c v e r s i o n of the s t o r y w i t h no mention of Orpheus .. 1945 E d i t h Grabmann, Eurydice (Poetry 66:16) a warning t o Orpheus not to make h i s f r u i t l e s s journey to the underworld. 1945 W.H. Auden,. Orpheus ( C o l l e c t e d Shorter Poems) b r i e f and enigmatic. 1946 Helen Bevingt.on, Song of Orpheus ( A t l a n t i c Monthly, 178: Nov.., -74) the .shades weep at Orpheus 1 song. 1949 M u r i e l Rukeyser,. Orpheus (Selected Poems) a long, elaborate poem d e a l i n g w i t h Orpheus\"1 apotheosis. 1952 E. K r o l l , Orpheus (Cape Horn and Other Poems) 1952 Herbert Henry Marks, Orpheus, a p l a y i n verse.. 1953 John Hearne, Orpheus (New Statesman and Nation 45:582) Orpheus the musician, the Argonaut, the l o v e r , the martyr and a moral - i n f i v e b r i e f , f l i p p a n t stanzas. 219 1953 Edwin Muir, Orpheus 1 Dream ( C o l l e c t e d Poems) Orpheus only imagines Eurydice i s r e s t o r e d ; he turns and sees her S t i l l s i t t i n g i n her s i l v e r c h a i r Alone i n Hades' empty h a l l (17-.18) . 1954 E l i ' M a n d e l , Orpheus (T r i o ) Orpheus as a Welsh c o a l miner. 1954 Anne Goodwin Winslow, Orpheus To P l u t o (New Yorker, 30: .Dec 11, 161) Orpheus, .a peace f u l homebody, asks f o r Eurydice because \"Home was where she l i k e d to be\". 1955 Sidney Goodsir Smith, Orpheus and Eurydice, \u00C2\u00A7_ d i d a c t i c poem.. a drama i n S c o t t i s h d i a l e c t , . w i t h a few random quotes from Henryson. 1956 Harold F r a n c i s Stewart, Orpheus and Other Poems 1956 Roy Campbell, Orpheus: f o r Gene Tunney Orpheus, i n h i s n i n t h r e - i n c a r n a t i o n , r e t e l l s h i s l i f e - s t o r y i n modern terms before being shot by the s t a t e police:. 1959 James Dickey, Orpheus Before Hades (New Yorker 35: Dec. 5,52) Orpheus 1 l y r i c p l e a f o r the renewal of s p r i n g , n.d. Newton M;.Baskett, Orpheus and Eurydice n.d. David Gascoyne, Orpheus 1 i n the Underworld Orpheus dreams of \"tears and wet leaves, c o l d c u r t a i n s of rock\". 220 But despite t h i s steady output of mythological poetry, Orpheus 1 a b i d i n g p o p u l a r i t y i n our century Is due to h i s re-i n c a r n a t i o n s on the stage and i n the f i l m s . Our most famous Orpheus i s Cocteau's Orphee, which appeared on the stage i n 12 1926 and, w i t h many changes, on the screen i n 1951. This f i g u r e i s l a r g e l y the symbolist Orphe'e t r a n s p l a n t e d by Cocteau to the t h e a t r i c a l medium: he i s not a musician, but a poet i n contact w i t h another world, and death i s a r e a l i t y which hovers over him. Orphe'e himself introduces h i s p l a y w i t h a request f o r understanding from the audience.: He and Eurydice l i v e i n a modern Thrace, surrounded by marvels of a l l sorts.-. In the opening scene, Orphee i s shown d e t e c t i n g p o e t i c messages from the world beyond from the hoofbeats of an or a c u l a r horse 1^ which he keeps i n h i s house. ^ This i n f u r i a t e s the con-v e n t i o n a l Eurydice, but to Orphee \" l a moindre de ces phrases est pl u s e'tonnante que tous l e s poemes\".1^\" He seems to be d i s c o v e r i n g himself i n these messages, one of which,\"Madame Eurydice reviendra des enfers \" , he enters i n the annual poetry competition sponsored by a women's Many of the changes are introduced from Cocteau 1s f i r s t f i l m , L_e Sang d'un Poete (1933). 1 3The p o i n t seems to be that Orpheus, .who enchanted the beasts w i t h h i s song, i s i r o n i c a l l y enchanted by a beast's poetry. l^Oeuvres Completes de Jean Cocteau ( P a r i s , 1951) > v o l . 5, p. 24. 221 club c a l l e d the Bacchantes. Eurydice i s e v e n t u a l l y poisoned by the jealous leader of t h i s group, and Death, i n the person of a b e a u t i f u l young woman, .comes w i t h two surgeon-like a s s i s t a n t s to c l a i m her. Orphee i s warned of the treachery 15 by an angel named Huertebise, ^ but he a r r i v e s too l a t e to save h i s w i f e . Death has a c c i d e n t a l l y l e f t her gloves behind, however, and Huertebise t e l l s Orphee he can f o l l o w Eurydice i n t o the next world by donning the gloves and passing through the m i r r o r ; J-e vous l i v r e l e secret des s e c r e t s , Les m i r o i r s sont l e s portes par l e s q u e l l e s l a Mort va et v i e n t . Ne l e d i t e s a personne. Du r e s t e , regardez-vou.s toute votre v i e dans une glace et vous ve r r e z l a Mort t r a v a i l l e r comme des a b e i l l e s dans une ruche de verre.l\u00C2\u00B0 The recovery of Eurydice behind the m i r r o r i s accomplished i n the' s p l i t second i t takes the postman t o d e l i v e r a l e t t e r . The c o n d i t i o n imposed on Orphee i s that he never look upon h i s wife again. But i n a q u a r r e l he a c c i d e n t a l l y does so, and she disappears. Orphee opens the l e t t e r and discove r s that h i s poem \"Madame Eurydice r e v i e n d r a des Enfers\" has aroused the f u r y p f the Bacchantes because i t s i n i t i a l l e t t e r s s p e l l out \"un mot i n j u r i e u x \" . \"Le cheval m'a j o u e j \" 15 Huertebise\", Cocteau 1s angel., appears often i n h i s poetry. For the o r i g i n of the name, see Neal Oxenhandler, Scandal and Parade: The Theater of Jean Cocteau (Rutgers, 1 9 5 7 ) , p. 8 8 , Oeuvres, loc.. c i t . . , p. 5 8 . c r i e s Orphee, ' hut he breaks the horse's s p e l l by j o y f u l l y a ccepting h i s martyrdom. In the c l o s i n g scenes, Orphe'e i s paid the u s u a l posthumous honors of the misunderstood poet; h i s severed head announces that h i s name i s r e a l l y Jean Cocteau, and then w i t h h i s wife and guardian angel Huertebise he mounts to heaven. This o u t l i n e omits hundreds of d e t a i l s which are undoubtedly s i g n i f i c a n t t o Cocteau and h i s f o l l o w i n g , but i t at l e a s t i n d i c a t e s some ways i n which the myth has been used, \u00E2\u0080\u00A2as w e l l as some of the s e r i o u s , comic, analogous, and scandalous l e v e l s of the p l a y . In the f i l m the horse, the poetry contest, and the severed head are gone; the tone i s almost u n r e l i e v e d l y serious.. The scope of the motion p i c t u r e camera allows us to enter the world beyond s e v e r a l times, and the c e n t r a l character seems to be l e s s Orphee than Orphee's Death, a mysterious P r i n c e s s who t r a v e l s about escorted by two motorcyclist's. In the f i l m , Huertebise i s her chauffeur, and the p o e t i c messages from the other world come over the short-wave r a d i o i n her Rolls-Royce. Orphee i s a celebrated P a r i s i a n poet who i s seeking a f r e s h approach to poetry. When a b r i l l i a n t young l e f t - b a n k w r i t e r named Ce'geste i s run down and k i l l e d by the Pr i n c e s s and her c y c l i s t s , Orphee I b i d . , p. 74. r i d e s o f f i n the car, and l e a r n s that the young poet has been r e c e i v i n g h i s i n s p i r a t i o n through h i s connection w i t h the P r i n c e s s . He longs t o r e c e i v e the same p o e t i c secrets he hears c r a c k l i n g over her c a r - r a d i o . As a r e s u l t of h i s obsession, h i s unloved, pregnant Eurydice i s claimed by the P r i n c e s s and, as i n the p l a y , Orphee i s t o l d by Huertebise to recover her by donning the gloves and passing through the m i r r o r . But he r e a l i z e s that he i s making the journey to the beyond more out of f a s c i n a t i o n w i t h h i s Death, the P r i n c e s s , than out of love f o r h i s wife.. The Judges of the world of the dead - three blue-serged businessmen - r e s t o r e Eurydice to l i f e because the Pri n c e s s has claimed her prematurely. I t i s discovered that the two agents of death have f a l l e n i n love w i t h mortals -the P r i n c e s s w i t h Orphee, Huertebise w i t h E u r y d i c e . Stern warnings are issued them t o abide by the decrees of death, and Orphee i s t o l d he must never again look at Eurydice. The couple's new l i f e i s short, however - Eurydice i s dispatched by Orphee !s a c c i d e n t a l glance i n t o a m i r r o r , and he i s shot down by the Bacchantes as the supposed murderer of Cegest'e. But great poets are immortal: i n the memorable concluding scene of the f i l m , the Pri n c e s s and Huertebise t e l l Orphee and Eurydice that they are ready t o die i n t h e i r stead, and go to be punished by the judges. 224 Both the f i l m and the p l a y are unconventional: Orphee was Cocteau's f i r s t important p l a y , and the f i l m Orphee i s a compendium of h i s screen technique. In. both media l o g i c and convention are scorned i n an attempt to surround the s t o r y w i t h an atmosphere of u n r e a l i t y . -i r o n i c a l l y achieved by i n t r o d u c i n g the most r e a l i s t i c , even mechanical elements. But the d e l i b e r a t e shock element of the p l a y has been replaced, a f t e r twenty^flve years, by the marvelous and the picturesque i n the f i l m . The t h e a t e r audience i s s t a r t l e d i n t o accepting the s t o r y ; the cinema audience i s drawn to do so by c u r i o u s , evocative images. Cocteau's a t t i t u d e towards the myth has changed as w e l l . In the p l a y i t i s the power of poetry that i s central.: because he i s a poet, Orphee can contact the unknown regions beyond; these seek to communicate w i t h him i n ways malevolent (the horse) and benignant (Huertebise). The marvels which surround the poet b r i n g h i s d e s t r u c t i o n ' and h i s apotheosis. To an extent these ideas a r e . a l s o present i n the f i l m , but the emphasis has switched from the poet to the world of death, which i s seen no longer-as contrasted good and e v i l , but as a t e r r i b l e world which almost absorbs the poet and h i s w i f e . The true poet (Ce'geste) must contact t h i s world; the immortal\u00E2\u0080\u00A2poet (Orphee) must conquer i t by winning i t s l o v e . Death i s not cheated, however, and exacts i t s vengeance from i t s own agent, the P r i n c e s s - who i s the r e a l Eurydice to Orphee;. 225 These themes, the power of poetry i n the p l a y , the power of death i n the f i l m , are unquestionably inherent i n the Orpheus-myth; they are found i n the e a r l i e s t l i t e r a r y t r a c e s - the one i n E u r i p i d e s , the other i n P l a t o , both i n the Culex. Unfor t u n a t e l y Cocteau evokes them, not through the Orpheus\u00E2\u0080\u0094 Eurydice s t o r y i t s e l f , but by imposing some mythology of h i s own upon the c l a s s i c myth. By h i s own admission he uses Orpheus because he f e e l s \"quite n a t u r a l l y 18 drawn to a myth i n which l i f e and death meet face to f a c e \" . But i t i s l i f e and death, not Orpheus and Eurydice, that i n s p i r e him. The m y t h i c a l . f i g u r e s are obscured, almost submerged i n the concentration on the two worlds between which they are drawn. The d e t a i l s of the s t o r y , even the c r u c i a l backward glance, tend only to get i n the way of Cocteau ls e r r a t i c v i s i o n . They are e v e n t u a l l y f i t t e d i n , but w i t h considerable adjustment. In the l a s t a n a l y s i s , i t must be s a i d that the importance of Cocteau's Orphe'e i s due not to the c l a s s i c a l f i g u r e of Orpheus but to Cocteau's s t r a n g e l y e v o l v i n g sense of s t y l e and h i s f a s c i n a t i o n w i t h the power of poetry and death, which themes he conveniently f i n d s i n the Orpheus-myth. Jean Cocteau and Andre Praigneau, Cocteau on the F i l m (London, 1954), p. .101.. 226 Cocteau i s at present at work on a new. f i l m , Le. Testament d-tOrphe'e.. Meanwhile, plays and f i l m s on the 19 subject continue. Anouilh's Eurydice ^ r e t e l l s the myth i n the drab s e t t i n g s of a p r o v i n c i a l r a i l w a y s t a t i o n and a shabby M a r s e i l l e s hotel-room. Orpheus and h i s f a t h e r are I t i n e r a n t cafe musicians and Eurydice and her mother actr e s s e s i n a down-at-the-heel theatre troupe. Between, t r a i n s they meet and f a l l i n l o v e , escape from t h e i r parents f o r a few hours, i n which the whole world and a l l the people i n i t are transformed f o r them. But the sweetness i n l i f e i s impermanent; E u r y d i c e l s scandalous past pursues her; she leaves Orpheus and i s k i l l e d i n a s t r e e t a.cc.iden.t. Then Death, i n the person of the mysterious M. Henri, arranges that the g r i e f - s t r i c k e n Orpheus should meet her again i n the deserted s t a t i o n and win her back, provided he does not look her i n the face before dawn. But now Orpheus i s curious about Eurydice's previous l o v e r s , and i n h i s l o n g i n g to preserve her as he had once known her, faces her and has the t r u t h out, Eurydice fades i n t o the n i g h t , as her e s s e n t i a l goodness i s asserted by a p p a r i t i o n s of a l l the characters In the p l a y . In the f i n a l a c t , as Orpheus.'? f a t h e r e x t o l s the pleasures and ambitions of the bourgeois ^ E n t i t l e d P o i n t of Departure i n Great B r i t a i n and Legend of Lovers i n the United S t a t e s . 227 l i f e , Orpheus i s persuaded by M. Henri to meet Eurydice i n death that n i g h t . This i s the d i s i l l u s i o n e d Anouilh of the years of the German occupation of France, savoring the sweetness of l i f e and l o v e , but convinced that i t can' never survive i n a so r d i d world. For Orpheus and Eurydice, anything i s p r e f e r -able to the compromise t h e i r parents have made; they choose death, which, promises to give some permanence to t h e i r l o v e . Despite i t s success, c r i t i c s have been harsh w i t h the 20 p l a y ; i t has been judged a r t i s t i c a l l y unsound i n i t s sentimental, p s e u d o - e x i s t e n t i a l i s t approach to serious prob-lems and mora l l y shabby i n i t s s e l f - p i t y , i t s r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n of p r o m i s c u i t y , i t s mawkish death-wishing. But i t has moments of beauty and humor and - more than Cocteau's p l a y -i t seems to have touched on, i f not sounded the f u l l p o s s i -b i l i t i e s of, the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The current f i l m The F u g i t i v e Kind i s adapted from Tennessee W i l l i a m s ' p l a y Orpheus. Descending.. The movie i s more honest than the p l a y as f a r as the t i t l e i s concerned: 2 0 S e e Walter Kerr i n Commonweal 55(1952) pp.. 373-4; Joseph Wood Krutch i n The Nation 174(1952) p-. 44; Harold Clurman i n The New Republic 126(1952) p. 23; Brooks Atkinson i n The New York.Times, Oct. 29, 1959, P- 37. The CBC r e c e n t l y c a n c e l l e d a scheduled t e l e v i s i o n . p r e s e n t a t i o n , on moral grounds. 228 n e i t h e r has anything much to do w i t h Orpheus, I t i s no c r e d i t to W i l l i a m s ' a r t that he can i n v e s t an o l d p l a y w i t h \" c l a s s i c a l s i g n i f i c a n c e \" merely by equipping h i s 21 hero w i t h a guitar.' The myth i s more e x p l i c i t l y d e a l t w i t h i n another current f i l m , Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus). This i s , again, 22 an experimental work, almost a b a l l e t , based on a p l a y by the B r a z i l i a n diplomat V i n i c i u s de Moraes and f i l m e d i n B r a z i l by the French d i r e c t o r Marcel Camus. The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice i s here 1 re-enacted by the f a v e l a s , the negroes who l i v e by the thousands i n shacks made of cast-o f f o i l - c a n s and perched on the steep c l i f f s o v e rlooking the Bay of Rio de J a n e i r o . Among t h e i r number Is Orpheus, whose g u i t a r - p l a y i n g , according t o the favela. c h i l d r e n , 21 Orpheus Descending i s a r e w r i t e of the unsuccessful B a t t l e of Angels, which had no reference to Orpheus. I t must be s a i d however that i n the r e v i s i o n the myth gives some u n i t y to a b r u t a l melodrama that would otherwise be merely a succession of scenes a r b i t r a r i l y motivated. 22 Orfeu de Conceicao. The present t i t l e may have been sug-gested by Jean-Paul S a r t r e ' s Orphee N o i r ( P a r i s , 1948), a c o l l e c t i o n of French negro poetry. S a r t r e says, M J e nommerai .'orphique'' c e t t e poesie parce que cette i n l a s s a b l e descente du negre en soi-meme me f a i t songer a Orphee a l l a n t reclamer Eurydice a, Pluton (p. x v i i ) . \" makes the sun r i s e every day. By occupation he i s a streetcar-conductor'. Eurydice i s a peasant g i r l newly come to the settlement, f o l l o w e d by a r e j e c t e d l o v e r who i s i n t e n t on k i l l i n g her. She meets.the carefree m i n s t r e l and together they descend to Rio to dance i n the c a r n i v a l , Orpheus costumed as the sun and Eurydice as the n i g h t . Here amid the b i z a r r e f i g u r e s and the f r e n z i e d , w h i r l i n g rhythms they are separated, and Eurydice Is trapped i n a p.ower p l a n t by her pursuer, who i s masquerading as Death. I r o n i c a l l y i t i s Orpheus who u n w i t t i n g l y causes her death when he turns on the power switch to look f o r her; The h e l l s i n which B l a c k Orpheus then seeks h i s Eurydice are the bureau of missing persons, the s p i r i t - c o n j u r i n g r i t u a l s of the Macumba and, f i n a l l y , the morgue, where he f i n d s her body and c a r r i e s i t , at dawn, through the aftermath of the c a r n i v a l to h i s home high above the c i t y . Here, as he sings that happi-ness i s only an i l l u s i o n , he i s s t r u c k by a rock thrown by a jealous, \"bacchant\" and, w i t h Eurydice s t i l l In h i s arms, he plunges over the c l i f f to h i s death. One of the c h i l d -ren p i c k s up h i s g u i t a r to p l a y as the -sun r i s e s on another day. Camus', f i l m i s most e f f e c t i v e i n i t s f a n t a s t i c a r r a y of c o l o r , rhythm and sound. I t s weakness l i e s i n . the d i s p a r i t y between t h i s heady atmosphere and the f r a g i l e Greek myth which i s f o r c e d i n t o i t . The f i r s t h a l f of the f i l m i s a sympathetic and imaginative r e - c r e a t i o n of the 230 myth i n modern terms; then suddenly various mythical d e t a i l s are v i o l e n t l y and' a r b i t r a r i l y f i t t e d i n t o a context that s t e a d i l y r e s i s t s them.. Thus the caretaker of the power p l a n t must be named Hermes; the d i a b o l i c r i t u a l s must be guarded by a f e r o c i o u s dog named Cerberus; during the i n c a n t a t i o n Orpheus must be t r i c k e d i n t o b e l i e v i n g he hears Eurydice '\u00E2\u0080\u00A2s voice c a l l i n g him, t e l l i n g him not to look back. These devices are clumsy enough, but what e v e n t u a l l y wreaks havoc w i t h the myth i s the s o c i a l commentary a b r u p t l y i n t r o -duced by Camus: One of my themes was the denunciation of apathy: apathy i n r e l i g i o n (as shown i n the r e l i g i o u s sect of the Macumba); apathy i n p u b l i c o f f i c e , symbolized by the advance of red-tape bureaucracy; :apathy i n the face of the d i s t r e s s which r u l e s those white h e l l s of the h o s p i t a l and the mortuary.23 While Camus has something important to say, the Orpheus^ myth hardly.seems the appropriate v e h i c l e i n which to say i t . Por the d e t a i l s of the myth obscure the message: in s t e a d of adding an e x t r a dimension to the work (as i t d i d f o r the s o c i a l l y - o r i e n t a t e d m ythological poems of the V i c t o r i a n s ) the myth makes a b s t r a c t types of what should be sympathetic c h a r a c t e r s . And on the other hand, the message i s never r e l a t e d to the meaning of the myth: the mysterious power of music over death, the problem of the c o n t r o l of Quoted i n Georges Sadoul, \"Notes on a New Generation\", Sight and Sound 28 (1959), p. 112. 231 human passion, the l o s s of beauty won by song - these are submerged i n a s w i r l i n g mass of c o l o r and misplaced s o c i a l i n d i g n a t i o n . In the end, the award-laden Orfeu Negro makes no r e a l c o n t r i b u t i o n t o the l i t e r a t u r e of Orpheus.. Joseph G h i a r d i , speaking of Cocteau i n p a r t i c u l a r , makes some observations on the problem of adapting c l a s s i c myths to modern drama which can be a p p l i e d to Anouilh, \u00E2\u0080\u00A2Williams and Camus as w e l l : The only way of r e v i t a l i z i n g myths i s . . . .from the source, and not by making o l d shapes and ancient characters speak i n modern ways.. The serious use of a myth i n modern s e t t i n g s and s i t u a t i o n s i n -volves an attempt to l i n k together a r e l i g i o u s and s p i r i t u a l element which i s no longer ours and i s , t h e r e f o r e , d i f f i c u l t to experience, w i t h events and human a c t i o n s and r e a c t i o n s which cannot f i t i n i t . The r e s u l t i s unconvincing and dangerously near the burlesque, f o r there i s nothing which comes nearer laughter than a seriousness which cannot be grasped, or things which were once a w e - i n s p i r i n g and have now completely l o s t t h e i r aura of rever-ence. Orpheus 1 p l i g h t , f o r ins t a n c e , ..can only be f u l l y accepted w i t h i n the atmosphere of Greek l i f e and thought, and not by being t r a n s f e r r e d i n t o our modern l i f e . The Orpheus of Greek l i f e , w i t h h i s t r a i l of mystery, i s f a r more convincing than . the wandering m i n s t r e l of our modern playwrights.. The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice s t i l l r e t a i n s f o r us i t s former power and pathos, f o r the mystery which gave i t b i r t h i s not solved. . .The only way i n which an o l d myth can be given new l i f e i s , I b e l i e v e , by u s i n g not i t s e x t e r n a l form, but the a f f e c t i v e tangle which gave i t b i r t h , 2 4 I t remains f o r us now to r e i n v e s t i g a t e that \" a f f e c t i v e t a n g l e \" . The Contemporary French Theater (London, 1958), pp. 110-1.. CONCLUSIONS THE MEANING OF THE MYTH We have noted three f a c t s about myths: they evolve In l i t e r a t u r e ; t h e i r meanings change or deepen as they are used by men of d i f f e r e n t ages; some potent myths generate new art-forms i n which to express themselves. The f i r s t and l a s t of these f a c t s have been demonstrated, w i t h regard to the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, i n Chapters I and V, r e s p e c t i v e l y . I t remains to o u t l i n e the meaning of the myth as i t has revealed i t s e l f i n l i t e r a t u r e , as we have traced i t through the Culex and V i r g i l to Boethius and S i r Orfeo, to P o l i t i a n , N o v a l i s , R i l k e and Cocteau.'. The meaning Orpheus and Eurydice have f o r the men of any age i s l a r g e l y conditioned by the way i n which that age uses myth. Among p r i m i t i v e peoples i t i s customary to d i s t i n g u i s h between myth proper (the explanation of n a t u r a l phenomena), legend ( t r a d i t i o n a l h i s t o r y ) and f o l k l o r e ( p u r e l y imaginative n a r r a t i o n ) . \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 I t i s extremely d i f f i c u l t , how-ever, to cate g o r i z e Greek myths along these lines,, as many of them partake of the nature of myth, legend and -folklore at one and the same time. The s t o r y of Orpheus and Eurydice i s c e r t a i n l y one of these. I t has been assigned a number of 232 \"mythical\" o r i g i n s because i t f i t s i n t o the general c l a s s of underworld descent-myths which express the o p p o s i t i o n of day and n i g h t and l i f e and death; i t was t r e a t e d , even i n ancient times, as legend \"because of i t s a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h Orpheus, the legendary founder of Greek c i v i l i z a t i o n ; i t can be s a f e l y c l a s s e d as f o l k l o r e because the climax of it's a c t i o n - the backward look - i s a p a r t of the f o l k l o r e of the world.. The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice meant at l e a s t three t h i n g s to the ancient world: . i t symbolized the e t e r n a l s t r u g g l e of the elements; i t recounted the legendary power of a great c i v i l i z e r i t t o l d a t r a g i c love s t o r y . Each l e v e l of myth had something to c o n t r i b u t e to the r i c h n e s s of the r e s u l t i n g whole. And as the s t o r y continued to appear i n l i t e r a t u r e , part myth, p a r t legend, p a r t f o l k l o r e , , i t came to g r i p s w i t h three sub-j e c t s : the mystery of l i f e and death; the power of poetry over the elements of nature and the powers beyond nature; the prob-lem of the c o n t r o l of emotion, necessary f o r the s u r v i v a l of l o v e . We noted that the Culex deals w i t h a l l three of these themes,. V i r g i l ' s b e a u t i f u l account a l s o shows t h e i r i n t e r -r e l a t i o n i n the s t o r y - but, i n the o v e r a l l context of the Georgics, emphasizes the second, Orpheus the c i v i l i z e r . 234 The Middle Ages approached c l a s s i c a l myth i n two ways -by means of a l l e g o r y , i n an attempt to penetrate to the u n i v e r s a l meaning i n the n a r r a t i v e , and by romance, i n an attempt t o re c r e a t e the n a r r a t i v e i n new terms. I f we t h i n k of myth as symbol, then we must say that these medieval phenomena are opposed to myth: a l l e g o r y often b r u t a l l y un-masks the symbol; romance ignores the symbol and overlays the myth w i t h contemporary d e t a i l s -.. Myth i s fo r c e d to become r e a l i t y . Por Boethius, P u l g e n t i u s , King A l f r e d and a l l the moralized Metamorphoses, the Orpheus-myth expresses a higher r e a l i t y ; i n S i r Orfeo i t i s r e t o l d i n r e a l , i f f a n c i f u l , terms. Perhaps the myth was l i t t l e understood i n the Middle Ages. As Douglas Bush says, \"Whatever went i n t o the capacious m e l t i n g pot, the Aeneid or a t a l e from the Metamorphoses, came out a romance, or a sermon, or both.\"\"1\" But no one w i l l deny that the Orpheus-myth was \"a l i v i n g source of c u l t u r e \" as i t was i n almost no other age, and that I t was embodied i n works of beauty. Douglas Bush, Mythology and the Renaissance T r a d i t i o n i n E n g l i s h Poetry (New York, 1 9 5 7 ) , p. 23* 2 I b i d . , p. 2 4 . 235 For the Renaissance, myth was a r e v o l t against r e a l i t y , a symbolic r e t u r n to ancient times. C l a s s i c a l myths were seen as p o w e r f u l l y suggestive. But while they were c e r t a i n l y b e t t e r understood than i n the Middle Ages, they were, on the whole, l e s s w e l l served.. Because Renaissance authors refused to penetrate myth, p r e f e r r i n g to use i t a l l u s i v e l y , s y m b o l i c a l l y , most of the Greek and Roman myths were e x p l o i t e d , then s a t i r i z e d , and at l a s t discarded.. In t h i s p e r i o d the t r a g i c , romantic Orpheus of the descent i s l e s s important than the symbolic f i g u r e of Orpheus the c i v i l i z e r , who i s e x t o l l e d i n P o l i t i a n 1 s Orfeo, but e x p l o i t e d i n hundreds of f r i g i d a l l u s i o n s i n a l l languages, then s a t i r i z e d and e v e n t u a l l y discarded. Perhaps we should say that he was abandoned to the o p e r a t i c stage.. M y t h o l o g i c a l poetry i n the eighteenth century was s t i l l producing \" p l a s t e r reproductions of the antique\". But the Romantics saw myth i n a new l i g h t . I t became the defense of poetry against science, a k i n d of supra-s c i e n t i f i c knowledge. The m y s t i c a l poetry of the Orphic poet assumed new importance i n t h i s movement, and N o v a l i s and H o l d e r l i n found an i n s i g h t i n t o poetry i t s e l f i n the myth of Orpheus' descent. The warmly human Orpheus bequeathed Douglas Bush, Mythology and the Romantic T r a d i t i o n i n E n g l i s h Poetry (Cambridge, Mass.., 1 9 3 7 ) , p. 529-. 236 t o l i t e r a t u r e by the operas of Monteverdi and Gluck became an apt subject f o r Romantic poetry, and, as myth became a means f o r expressing s o c i a l a t t i t u d e s , the s t o r y was often t o l d by Eurydice. Today myth i s again used s y m b o l i c a l l y , and Orpheus i s .a symbol of the s u p r a - r a t i o n a l power of a r t ( R i l k e and the French symbolists) while h i s descent r e f l e c t s the mission of the a r t i s t to explore uncharted regions (Cocteau). Despite t h i s change i n the conception of and the approach to myth, the s t o r y of Orpheus and Eurydice has continued, through the ages, to express some .of the most ba s i c human t r u t h s . -As embodied i n the w r i t i n g s of poets., i t has had something to say about death, about a r t , and about l o v e . I n v a r i a b l y .in the course of i t s l i t e r a r y h i s t o r y i t has been burdened w i t h extraneous meanings; i t has been used and abused by men who had l i t t l e or no sympathy w i t h i t ; i t has been drained of i t s meaning through overuse, only to re-emerge w i t h f r e s h s i g n i f i c a n c e i n a new age; Some of the best treatments of the myth do not help us understand i t : w i t h Ovid and Jauregui and Ronsard i t i s c h i e f l y a s t o r y to be w e l l t o l d ; w i t h Keats and Offenbach and Marcel Camus i t i s the occasion f o r some f e l i c i t o u s or impressive work, but work which does not r e v e a l any of the myth's s i g n i f i c a n c e . A score of men have, however, 237 given some i n d i c a t i o n of i t s l a t e n t meaning. We s h a l l t r e a t them under three headings. The mystery of death The various t h e o r i e s of the o r i g i n of the myth of Orpheus' descent agree i n e x p l a i n i n g i t w i t h reference to l i f e and death. Eurydice l o s t , regained and l o s t again may represent the c r o p - c y c l e , or (among the Orphic i n i t i a t e s ) the r e i n c a r n a t i o n of the soul every thousand years, a f t e r i t s long p u r i f i c a t i o n i n the a f t e r l i f e . Eurydice r e t r e a t i n g before the glance of Orpheus may be s p r i n g f l e e i n g before summer, the n i g h t before the day, the mists of dawn before the f u l l morning of the sun.. These t h e o r i e s have been used by some modern poets, notably E d i t h S i t w e l l , but g e n e r a l l y speaking poets do not view the myth as a r e c u r r e n t cycle.. Rather i t i s a s t o r y which comes to a t r a g i c end: death claims a v i c t o r y over l i f e . In c l a s s i c a l times, from P l a t o to the S t o i c poets of Rome, we are warned that death i s never cheated; i n C h r i s t i a n times, from King A l f r e d through Ovide Moralise to Caldero'n, we are warned that the s t a t e of grace can be l o s t f o r e v e r ; i n the Romantic era, i n S c h i l l e r and L o w e l l , we f e e l r e g r e t that the b e a u t i f u l must p e r i s h . Some w r i t e r s have i d e n t i f i e d themselves w i t h Orpheus and attempted to penetrate the mystery of death: N o v a l i s found i t the i d e a l world of poetry; Housman went to meet i t j o y f u l l y ; R i l k e saw i t as sweet f u l n e s s and complete absorption; f o r Moore I t i s a b e a u t i f u l world of I d e a l s ; f.or Anouilh i t means p u r i t y and permanence; f o r Cocteau i t i s f a n t a s t i c and t e r r i f y i n g . The power of music The s t o r y of Orpheus and Eurydice i s unique among the myths of l i f e and death i n that i t s hero symbolizes not only man, but man i n the s p e c i f i c r o l e of a r t i s t . The u n i f y -in g element i n a l l the myths connected w i t h Orpheus i s the a l l - c o m p e l l i n g power of h i s song, which holds sway over a l l nature, harmonizing and transforming i t . This i s the con-t r i b u t i o n that legend has made to the s t o r y of the descent: i t i s the legendary, c i v i l i z i n g Orpheus who seeks h i s Eurydice; he overcomes Hades, not by .force, as Hercules does, or by magic, as do the epic heroes Odysseus and Aeneas, but by a r t . In the optimism of the Renaissance, e s p e c i a l l y i n P o l i t i a n , Orpheus symbolizes the c i v i l i z i n g f orce of human wisdom. With the French symbolists and w i t h the l a t e R i l k e he i s more p r o p e r l y a r t , which gives meaning and even existence to a l l t h i n g s . But V i r g i l reminds us that the a r t i s t , who i s indeed the c i v i l i z e r , must meet w i t h f a i l u r e , f o r he seeks t r u t h i n a world I n a c c e s s i b l e t o other men, and, though he f i n d s i t , he can never f u l l y possess i t . Cocteau r e a l i z e s that the a r t i s t must enter t h i s world, but he refuses to 239 admit that he i s foredoomed to f a i l u r e . The nature of human love F i n a l l y , Orpheus and Eurydice are l o v e r s , and to every age t h e i r myth has been one of the c l a s s i c expressions of human love - love which i s courageous enough to brave the t e r r o r s of h e l l to f i n d i t s f u l f i l l m e n t . For the e a r l i e s t c l a s s i c a l w r i t e r s , love i s stronger than death, and overcomes i t . . In o p t i m i s t i c ages t h i s meaning i s r e - a f f i r m e d : i n the High Middle Ages ( S i r Orfeo), i n the Renaissance (the experi-i ments of the Camerata) and, half-heartedly,- in. the l a s t stages of neo-Classicism (Gluck). \"But i n the overwhelming m a j o r i t y of i t s i n c a r n a t i o n s , the myth i m p l i e s that death has the f i n a l v i c t o r y . Orpheus and Eurydice are s t a r -crossed l o v e r s (haunted, i n Spanish l i t e r a t u r e , by agueros), flesh-and-blood creatures of passion'(Monteverdi, Robert Browning). Here i s the c o n t r i b u t i o n of f o l k l o r e - Orpheus' backward look undoes a l l that h i s a r t had accomplished. This t r a g i c ending to the s t o r y has prompted poets to use i t to express various aspects of human lov e : f o r A n o u i l h , love i s impermanent; f o r the author of the Culex, i t can survi v e only i f passion i s c o n t r o l l e d ; f o r the V i c t o r i a n s , Cocteau 1s forthcoming f i l m , Le Testament d'Orphee, which he says w i l l be h i s l a s t cinematic statement, may make t h i s admission. 2 4 0 husband and wife must r e a l i z e t h e i r mutual o b l i g a t i o n s . Almost a l l the treatments conclude that human lov e , i f i t i s to grow strong and deep, must be s e l f l e s s . Thus, while i t I s proper to say that myth means some-t h i n g d i f f e r e n t to every age, i t i s a l s o c l e a r that the myth'of Orpheus and Eurydice has a co n t i n u i n g , almost uniform t r a d i t i o n from V i r g i l to the present, that i t 'owes i t s p e r e n n i a l v i t a l i t y to three strands which are b e a u t i -f u l l y interwoven i n i t s s t o r y . Other myths t e l l of the c y c l e of l i f e and death; other legends, of the u n i v e r s a l power of music; other f o l k l o r e , of t r a g i c a l l y separated l o v e r s . The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice brings the three strands together, The r e s u l t i s a r i c h l y rewarding l i t e r a r y theme which i s more a l i v e today, and i n the most v i t a l a r t -forms, than ever before. Myth i s , i n the l a s t a n a l y s i s , a b e a u t i f u l way of expressing t r u t h - not reasoned, f a c t u a l , conceptualized t r u t h , but t r u t h as grasped by the i n t u i t i o n and the imagination.. We must not go too f a r , then, i n any a n a l y s i s . For myths are destroyed by p r e c i s i o n ; t h e i r s i g n i f i c a n c e can never be documented. I t can only be revealed anew each time the myth i s reborn i n the w r i t i n g s of genius. 241 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 BIBLIOGRAPHY 1, ANCIENT AUTHORS Aeschylus Septem Quae Supersunt Tragoedlae ed. G i l b e r t Murray Oxford: Clarendon Press (1937-j Anthologia Lyra Graeca 2 v o l s . , ed, Ernest D i e h l L e i p z i g : B,G, Teubner (1925) Antiphanes The Fragments of A t t i c Comedy, 2 v o l s . ed. J.M. Edmonds Leyden: E,J. B r i l l (1957) Apollodorus The L i b r a r y , .2 v o l s . ed. Richard Wagner, r e v , James G. 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Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von Goethes Samtliche i Werke, 40 v o l s . ed.- Eduard von der Hell e n ejb a l . S t u t t g a r t and L e i p z i g : J.B. Cotta (1902-12) Gongora y Argote, L u i s de Obras Com.pl.etas ed.. Juan and I s a b e l M i l l e y Gimenez Madrid: A g u i l a r (1956) Gosse, S i r Edmund W. New Poems London: C, Kegan Paul (l879) Greene, Robert Plays.and Poems, 2 v o l s . ed. J . Charton C o l l i n s Oxford: U n i v e r s i t y Press (1905) Guillaume de Machaut Oeuvres de Guillaume de Machaut, 3 v o l s . ed.. Ernest Hoepffner SATF P a r i s : Edouard Campion (192-1) H.-D. (Mrs. Richard Aldington) C o l l e c t e d Poems of H.-D. New York: Boni and L i v e r i g h t (1925) Hamilton, George Rostrevor Selected Poems and Epigrams London: W i l l i a m Heinemann (1945) Henryson, Robert The Poems and Fables of Robert Henryson, 2nd ed. Edinburgh and London: O l i v e r and Boyd (1953) Herder, Johann G o t t f r i e d von Herders Samtliche Werke, 33 v o l s . ed. Bernhard Suphan Berlin:: Weidmann (1877-1913) H e r r i c k , Robert The P o e t i c a l Works o_f Robert H e r r i c k e d. F,-. W > Mo or ma n Oxford: Clarendon Press (1915) Heywood, Thomas \"Pleasant Dialogues and Drammas von T h O ; Heywood\" ed. W.-. Bang, Materiali-en zur Kunde des a l t e r e n Englischen Dramas 3(1903) H o l d e r l i n , F r i e d r i c h Samtliche Werke und B r i e f e , 5 v o l s , ed. Franz Zinkernagle L e i p z i g : I n s e l - V e r l a g (1922) Housman, A.Ei, A_ Shropshire Lad New York: Henry Holt (1924) Housman, Laurence The Love i Concealed London: Sidgwick and Jackson (1928) Hurtado de Mendoza, Diego Poetas- L f r i c o s de Los S i g l o s XVI y_ XVII, 2 vols.. Madrid; B i b l i o t e c a de Autores Espanoles 32(1943) I r w i n , Thomas \"Orpheus\", Dublin U n i v e r s i t y Magazine 63(l864), pp.. 528-43 I s i d o r e of S e v i l l e , . St. PL 82, ed. J.-P. Migne P a r i s : D lAmboise (1850) Jauregui, Juan de Orfeo ed. Pablo Cabanas Madrid: B i b l i o t e c a de Antiguos L i b r o s (1948) Jenns, E.A. Orpheus and Eurydice and other poems Vancouver, B.C. (1910) Johnson, Samuel The B r i t i s h E s s a y i s t s , v o l . 18 -ed.. A. Chalmers London: Rl v i n g t o n et_ a l . (1823) Jonson, Ben Masques and Entertainments ed.. Henry Morley London: George Routledge (1890) The Works of Ben Jonson, 9 v o l s , ed. E> Cunningham London; B i c k e r s (l875) 258 Keats, John The P o e t i c a l Works of John Keats ed, W.H, Garrod Oxford: Clarendon Press (1939) Klopstock, F r i e d r i c h G o t t l i e b . Klopstocks Werke, 3 v o l s , ed, R, Hamel B e r l i n and S t u t t g a r t ; W. Speman (n.d.) Kyd, Thomas The Works of Thomas Kyd ed. F r e d e r i c k S. Boas Oxford: Clarendon Press (1955) La Fontaine, Jean de Qeuvres. de J_. de_ La_ Fontaine, 11 v o l s . ed. Henri Regnier P a r i s : Hachette (1883-92) Landor, Walter Savage The Complete Works of Walter Savage Landor, 16 v o l s , ed. T-. E a r l e Welby and Stephen Wheeler London: Chapman and H a l l (1927) Lang, Andrew The P o e t i c a l Works of Andrew Lang, 4 v o l s , ed. Mrs. Lang London: Longmans, Green (1923) Le s s i n g , Gptthold Ephraim Samtliche S c h r i f t e n , 23 v o l s . ed. Franz Murcker S t u t t g a r t : G.I.. Gttschen (1886) L i n t o n , W,.J. Poems and T r a n s l a t i o n s London: John C. Nimmo (1889) 259 L i s z t , Franz Orpheus ( o r c h e s t r a l score) L e i p z i g : B r e i t k o p f and H a r t e l (n.d.) Lovelace, Richard The Poems of Richard Lovelace ed. C.H. Wilkinson Oxford: Clarendon Press (1930) L o w e l l , James R u s s e l l Poems, 4 vols.. Boston: Houghton M i f f l i n (1848) Lydgate, John Lydgate 1s F a l l of P r i n c e s , 4 v o l s , ed. Henry Bergen . Washington: Carnegie I n s t i t u t e (1923) The Minor Poems of John Lydgate, v o l . 1 ed. Henry Noble MacCracken London: E a r l y E n g l i s h Text So c i e t y , v o l . 107('19H) Ma.caulay, Thomas Babington The Works of Lord Ma.caulay, 8 v o l s . ed. Lady Trevelyan London: Longmans, Green (1879) Malherbe, Fra n c o i s de Oeuvres Completes de Malherbe, 5 v o l s , ed. M.L. Lalanne P a r i s : Hachette (l862) Mandel, E l i The Bo.ok of Canadian Poetry, 3rd ed. ed. A.J.M. Smith Toronto: W.J. Gage (1957) 260 Marino, Giovanni B a t t i s t a Marino e_ i _ M a r i n i s t i ed..- Giuseppe Guido Fe r r e r o LLI M i l a n : Riccardo R i c - c i a r d i (n.d.) Marston, John The Works of John Marston, ,3 v o l s . ed. A.H. BulTen London: John C..Nimmo (1887) M a s s i n g e r , / P h i l i p P h i l i p Massinger, 2 v o l s , ed. Arthur Symons London: V i z e t e l l y (1887) M i l t o n , John The P o e t i c a l Works of John Milton,2 v o l s . ed. Helen D a r b i s h i r e Oxford: Clarendon Press (1952) Montalban, Juan Perez de Orfeo en Lengua C a s t e l l a n a ed.. Pablo Cabanas Madrid: B i b l i o t e c a de Antiguos L i b r o s (1948) Moore, Thomas The P o e t i c a l Works of Thomas Moore New York: L e a v i t t and A l l e n (1858) Moore, T. Sturge \"Orpheus and Eurydice\" F o r t n i g h t l y Review 86(1909, Supplement), pp. 1-26 The Poems of T. Sturge Moore, 4 v o l s . London: Macmillan (1931-3) More, Brookes The L i f e and Poems of Brookes More ed. Wilmon Brewer Boston: Ma r s h a l l Jones (1940) More, Thomas The L a t i n Epigrams of Thomas More ed. L e i c e s t e r Bradner and Charles Arthur Trench Chicago: U n i v e r s i t y Press (1953) M o r r i s , S i r Lewis The Epic of Hades . London: Kegan Paul, Trench (l88l) M o r r i s , W i l l i a m The C o l l e c t e d Works of W i l l i a m Morris,. 24 v o l s , London: Longmans, Green (1910-15) Muir, Edwin C o l l e c t e d Poems 1921-1951 New York: The Grove Press (1953) No v a l i s . 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GENERAL WORKS Abercromby, Ralph \"The Hermes and Orpheus Myths\" Academy 24(l883), p. 316 \"The Orpheus Myth\" Academy 24(l883), p. 399 A l p e r t , H o l l i s \"New Wave: Orpheus i n Rio\" Saturday-Review 42(51: Dec. 19, 1959), PP. 12-13 Ashbrook, W i l l i a m \"Many Guises f o r Orpheus\" Opera News (19(22: A p r i l 4, 1955), PP. 6-7, 31, 33 Atkinson, Brooks \"Anouilh's Matter of S t y l e \" New York Times, -Oct. 29, 1959, p.. 37 Baumeister, August Denkmaler des K l a s s i s c h e n Altertums, 3 v o l s . Munich and L e i p z i g : R. Oldenbourg (1889) Beazley, J.D. A t t i c k Black-Figure Vase P a i n t e r s Oxford: Clarendon Press '(1956) A t t i c Red-Figure Vase P a i n t e r s Oxford: Clarendon Press (1942) Blegen, C a r l W. \"The Palace of Nestor Excavations of 1955\" AJA 60(1956), pp. 95-101 B l i s s , A.J., ed. 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Legend B u i l d e r s of the West P i t t s b u r g : U n i v e r s i t y Press ('1958) Z i e g l e r , Konrat \"Orpheus\" PW 18(1939) , PP. 1200-1316 Zuntze., Gunther \"The A l t a r of Mercy\" C l a s s i c a et Mediaevalia 14 (1953) , pp. 71-85 \"Orpheus and Eurydice: The Lesson of a B a s - R e l i e f \" C o r n h i l l Magazine 38(1878) , pp. 207-17 \"Thoughts on Orpheus\" Blackwoods Edinburgh .Magazine 4 4 ( l 8 3 8 ) , pp. 21-23 Addison, Joseph, 184,186 Aeschylus, 6,7,15 A i t ken, I..T.., 202 Akenside, Mark, 190 A l b e r i c u s , 89 Alcaeus, 11 Alcidamas?, 7 ,8 A l c o t t , A.B., 201 Aldhelmus, 40 A l e x i s , 81 A l g a r o t t i , Francesco, 167 A l f r e d the Great 87 -8 ,234 ,237 A n o u i l h , Jean, i i i , iv , - 2 2 6 - 7 , 231,238,239 Ansorge, Conrad, 171 Antiphanes, 17 Apollodorus, 3 , 6 , 7 , 9 , 4 l - . 2 , 45-6 ,48 ,55 A p o l l o n i u s Rhodius, 6 , 7 , 3 1 A p u l e i u s , 48 Argonautica (Orphic), 31, 4 5 - 6 , 5 1 , 5 4 A r g u i j o , Don Juan de, 127 A r i o s t o , Ludovico, 148,149 A r i s t i a s , 17 Aristophanes, 9 A r i s t o t l e , 90,153,1.55 294 INDEX Arnold, Matthew, 198-9 Asplmayr, Franz, 165 Athenaeus, 6 ,26 A t t i c r e l i e f , 18-^23,27,45-7, ; 49 ,52 ,54,lo^7l72 ,211 Aubigne', Agrippa d 1 , 136 Auden, W..K.\u00E2\u0080\u009E 218 Auslander, Joseph, 21.7 Bach, C h r i s t i a n , I65 Bach, J.S., 210 Bachmann, G o t t l i e b , 165 Bacon, F r a n c i s , 107 ,113-4 ,139 Badings, Henk, 173 Ballanche, Pierre-Simon, 208 Barkstead, W i l l i a m , 109 Barnes, Barnabe, 109 B a r n e f i e l d , Richard, 109 Baskett, Newton M., 219 Bateson, F.W., 217 B a u d e l a i r e , Charles, 207 Bede, 87 Beethoven, Ludwig von, 171, 200,210 B e l l i , Domenico, 162 Benda, F r i e d r i c h , 165 Benserade, Th6oba3.de, 136 B e r t o n i , F,G., 165 Bevington, Helen, 218 Binyon, Laurence, 203,204 Bion, 29,136,198 Bocangel, G a b r i e l , 132 Boccaccio, Giovanni, 134,140-1 Boethius, 1 1 , 8 2 - 4 , 8 6 , 8 7 - 8 , 8 9 , 90,102,103,105,114-6,124, 232,234 Boiardo, Matteo M., l 4 l B o u r d i l l o n , F.W., 202,204 Breton,. Nicholas 111 Browning, Robert, 194-5,204,239 Buchanan, Robert, 196 Buchner, August, 162 B u l f i n c h , Thomas, 60 Burton, Robert, 112-3 Byrd, W i l l i a m , 110 Byron, Lord, 191 C a c c i n i , G i u l i o , 148 , 154,158, 161 Calderon de l a Barca, 107,132, 184,237 C a l z a b i g i , Raniero de'1, I 6 7 - 9 , 199 C a s e l l a , A l f r e d o , 172 Cassius of Parma, 110 Camoens, L u i s de, 132-3 295 Campbell, Roy, 219 Campbell, Thomas, 193 Campion, Thomas, 107,120 Camus, Marcel, i i i , v l , . 2 2 8 - 3 1 , 236 Cancer, Jerdnimo de, 130 Cannabich, K a r l , 165 C a r l y l e , Thomas, 196 C a t u l l u s , 65,67 C a v a l i e r i , E m i l i o de'1, 152 Cecrops the Pythagorean, 12 Cervantes, Miguel de, 126 Chanso_n de_ Roland, 90 Chapman, George, 107,114,124 Chapoton, 163 Charpentier, Marc-Antoine, 164 Chaucer, Geoffrey, 102,103 Chenier, Andre, 183 Chiabrera, G a b r i e l l o , 152,162 Chre'tien Legouais, 98 C h r i s t i n e de P i s a n , 101,124 Cicero., 82 Claudian, .6 Clement of A l e x a n d r i a , 9 ,12,81-2 Clough, Arthur Hugh, 198 Coates, F-.E., 203 Cocteau, Jean, i i , v , v i , 7 5 , 2 2 0 - 6 , 227,231 ,232,236,238-9 Cole, Samuel V., 203 Coleridge, Samuel T., 192 Coligny, H e n r i e t t e de, 131,136 Comes, N a t a l i s (Conti),107, 114-5,124-5 Congreve, W i l l i a m , 189 Conon, 6,36,45-6,55 Conradin, K a r l , 171 Cook, Joseph, 203 Coomaraswamy, Ananda K-., 1 Cooper, Thomas, 125 Cordoba, Sebastian de, 132 C o r n e i l l e , P i e r r e , 137 Cowley, Abraham, 121 Cowper, W i l l i a m , 190 Cox, E,.L., 203 Creamer, E,.S., 204 Cremieux, Hector, 172 C r e t i n , Guillaume, 134 Cripps, Arthur S., 203 Crowley, A l e i s t e r , 203 Culex, 1,6,32,33,38,45-6,55 57-60,65,78-9,161,225,232, 233,239 Cypri a , 28 Dabney, J.B., 202 Dante A l i g h i e r i , 97,100,134, 140 Dauvergne, Anton, 165 Davies, John, 109 Debussy, Claude A., 208 Dekker, Thomas, 118-9 Dennis, John, .185,188 de Tabley, Lord,.202,204 Dickey, James, 219 Didero t , Denis, 182 D i l l o n , Arthur, 203,204 Diodorus S i c u l u s , 9,30,45-6,54 Diogenes L a e r t i u s , 7 D i t t e r s d o r f , CD. von, I65 Dixon, Richard W., 198 Dodsley, Robert, 137,185 Dorf t e - H u l s h o f f , M.F., I65 Douglas, Gavin, 104 Dowden, Edward, 195 Draghl, Antonio, 163 Drayton, Michael, 107 Drew, Bernard, 203 Drummond, W i l l i a m , 109 Dryden, John, 184,187-8,191 Durkheim, Emile, 1 Eckhart, M e i s t e r , .215 E l i o t , George, 199 E l i o t , , T.S., 214 E l t o n , O l i v e r , 193 297 E l u a r d , Paul, 209 Emmanuel, P i e r r e , .209 Emerson, Ralph W.-, .201 Erasmus, Desiderius,. 107,133 Eratosthenes?, 6 ,7 E s c a l e , C h e v a l i e r de 1*, 110 Euphorion, 32 E u r i p i d e s , 6 , 7 , 9 , 1 4 - 1 8 , 3 1 , 4.5-9,52,54,225 Eusebius, 8 l Evelyn, J . , 217 F i e l d i n g , Henry, 185-6 F i e l d s , Annie A.., 2Q3 Flamenca, 91 F l e t c h e r , G i l e s , 107,108 F l e t c h e r , John, .116 F l e t c h e r , Phineas, 1.15-6 F l o l r et B l a n c h e f l o r , 93 Ford, John, 118 F o u r n i e r , A l a i n , 209 F r a n k l i n , Benjamin, 190 F r a z e r , S i r James G., 1,13, 49 Freneau, P h i l i p , 200 F r e r e , John Hookham, 1.90 Froumond of Tegernsee, 89 F u l g e n t i u s , 44,84-5,86,234 Fux, Johann J . , 165 Gale, Norman, 204 G a l i l e i , Vincenzo, 152-3 G a l l u s , 60-1 G a i t , John, 170 G a r c i l a s o de l a Vega, 126-7,132 Gascoyne, David, 219 Gay, John, 185 Gibson, Anthony, 110 Gibson, Charles, 203 G i l b e r t , Helen, 217 Gluck, C.W. von, ii,v,6 0 , 1 4 7 , 1 5 1 , 165-9,170,171,172,175,182, .183,199,236,239 Goethe, J.W.. von, 175,180-1 Golaw, Salomon von, 177 Gongora, L u i s de, .128,130 Goodson, R i c h a r d , 163 Gore-Booth, Eva, 203 Gosse, Edmund, 195-6 Gounod, Charles, 148 Grabmann, E d i t h , 218 Gracian, B a l t a s a r , 131-2 Graun, C a r l H., 165 Graves, A l f r e d P.., 204 Greene, Robert, 120 G r i e s , J.W., 131 G u a r i n i , B a t t i s t a , 148 Guillaume de Machaut, 100-1 G u l i e l m i , P i e t r o , 165 H.D. (Mrs. A l d i n g t o n ) , 217 H(ab e r l y ) , L(oyd), 217 Halevy, Ludovic, 172 Haug, Hans, 173 Hamilton, George R.., 216 Handel, George P., 166,186, 187 Haydn, Franz Joseph, 165,170 Hearne, John, 218 Henryson, Robert, 104-6,124, 219 Herder, J.G> von, 175,176 Hermesianax, 26-8,45-6,54 Herodicus of Peri n t h u s , 12 Herrera, F r a n c i s c o de, 127 H e r r i c k , Robert, 121-2 Heywood, Thomas, 114-5,124-5 H i s t o r i a Augusta, 8 l H 8 l d e r l i n , F r i e d r i c h , 177, 179-80,183,210,213,235 Homer, 3,50 Hopkins, Gerard Manley, .210 Horace, 6,8,9,35-6,46,55,76, 86,9.1 298 Housman, A.E., 206,212,237 Housman, Laurence, .216 Hovhaness, Alan, 1'71 Hugo, V i c t o r , 197 Hu l l e y , L., 217 Hurtado de Mendoza, D., 127 Hyginus, 8,44 Ibycus, 11-12 Ir w i n , Thomas, 198 I s i d o r e of S e v i l l e , 85,86 I s o c r a t e s , 7,25-6,45-6,54 Jauregui, Juan de, 128-9,130, 236 Jenns, E.A., 204 Johnson, Samuel, 189 Jonson, Ben, 107,120,125 Joyce, James, .214 Jung, C a r l G., 1 Keats, John, 192-3,236 K e i s e r , Reinhard, 163 Kendon, Frank, 217 King, W i l l i a m , 185 King Orfeo, 103 K l i n g e r , F.M. von, 177 K l op stock, E.G., 176-7 Krenek, E r n s t , 173 K r o l l , E., 218 Kyd, Thomas, 118 L a c t a n t i u s P l a c i d u s , 75 La Fontaine, Jean de, 137 La Grange-Chaneel, 138 L a i de 1'Espine, 93 Lamherti, L u l g i , I65 Lampe, J.F., 165 Landi, Stefano, 162 Landor, Walter S,, 190-1 Lang, Andrew, 198 Lay of A r i s t o t l e , 90 Lazarus, Emma, 201 Lee, Vernon, 199 Lessi n g , G.E, , 176 L i n t o n , W. J . , 194 L i b e r Monstrorum, 40 L i s z t , Franz, 171,183 Loewe, J.J.., 163 Lope de Vega, 129,130 Lovelace, Richard, 121 -Lo w e l l , James R u s s e l l , 200,237 299 Lucan, 40,45-6,55,77 Luclan, 7,44,45-6,49,50,54,55 L u l l y , Louis de, 163 Lydgate, John, 102-3,124 L y t t o n , Lord, 196 Macaulay, Thomas B., 175 MacKay, E r i c , 200 Malherbe, Francois de, 136 M a l i p i e r o , Gian Francesco, 173 Mallarme, Stephane, 207-8 M a l l i u s Theodorus, 8 Malone, Walter, 202 Mandel, E l i , 219 M a n i l i u s , 37,45-6,54 Marie de France, 93 Marino, Giovanni B., 136,148,149-50, 152 Marks, Herbert H., 218 Marston, John, 119 Martinet, Jean L o u i s , 171 M a r z i a l s , Frank T., 202 Map, Walter, 92 Massenet, J u l e s , 148 Massinger, P h i l i p , 118 Mesomedes, 152 Metastasio, P i e t r o , 166 M i f f l i n , L l o y d , 2.03 300 Milhaud, Darius, 173 M i l t o n , John, 79,107,122-4., 139 Monck, Lady, 131,185 Monta1ban, Juan Perez de, 128-9 Monteverdi, Claudio, 11,87,137, 148,150,151,152,155-61,162, 166,172-3,174,23757239 Montiano y Luyando, A. de, 184 Moore,. Thomas, 190 Moore, T. Sturge, .203,204, 205,238 Moraes, V i n i c i u s de, 228 More, Brookes, 216 More, Thomas, 111 Morri3, S i r Lewis, 195 Mo r r i s , W i l l i a m , 197,204 Moschus, 29,, 45-6,54,136,198 Moussorgsky, Modeste, 148 Mozart, Wolfgang A., 174 Muir, Edwin, 219 Mulgrave, Lord, 184 M u l l e r , P.. Max, 1,9,117,200 Naumann, Johann, 1,65 Nicander, 32 Nietzsche, P r i e d r i c h , 17.7, 213 No v a l i s (P. von Hardenburg), 177-9,183,210,213,232, 235,237 Noyes, A l f r e d , 203,204 Offenbach, Jacques, v,121, 171-2,236 Or f f , C a r l , 172-3 Orpheus an_d Hecate, .186 Orpjieus, king_ of_ P o r t i n g a l , \" 1 0 4 Orpheus, p r i e s t of nature,189 Orpheus of Camarina, 12 Orphica, 7,12,31,50,51-2,54, 175-6,193,201 Ossian, 191 Ovid, 3,7,8,37-8,39,42,45-6, 55,60,74-_7,T9,86,87,90, 92,93, 9B\"-100,102,104,105, 124,145,149,153,184,200, 216,236 Ovide M o r a l i s e , 98-100,105, 115,2347237 Paer, Ferdinando, 185 Palaephatus, 26,45-6,54 P a l e s t r i n a , G.P. da, 151 Patmore, Coventry, 194 Pausanias, 6,7,9,4_3_,45-6,49, 54,55 P e r g o l e s i , Giovanni B., 164 P e r i , Jacopo, 148,153-4,-158,.l6l P e t r a r c h , 134,140 Phanocles, 8 Phelps, E..S., 202 P h i l e t a s , 32 P h i l l i p s , Stephen, 205 P h i l o s t r a t u s , 6 ,8 Photius, 36 B h r y n l c u s , 48 P i c k e r i n g , C.J., 202 P i e r c e , H.N., 202 Pindar, 6-7 Pindemonte, I p p o l i t o , 184 Planche, J.R., 199 P l a t o , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 1 6 , 2 J = ^ 4 5 - 7 , 50 ,54 ,74,112 ,153 ,204, 225,2.37 P l u t a r c h ? , 42 ,45-6 ,54,55 P o l i t i a n (Angelo Ambrogini), i i , 107,12 6 ,141- 9,151,152, 158,166,172,1747232,235, 236 Polygnotus, 13,47 ,54 Pope, Alexander, I87/I88-9 P r i s c i a n , 11 P r o c l u s , 8 Prodicus of Sarnus, 12 P r o p e r t i u s , 76 Prose Tale of Lancelot, 93 - 301 P u r c e l l , Henry, 110,187 Pythagoras, 85 Quevedo, Don Francesco de, .130-1,136,177,182,185 Quires', Bernaldo de, 130 R a b e l a i s , F r a n c o i s , 134 Racine, Jean-Baptiste, 137 Radford, Mrs. E., 202 R a l e i g h , S i r Walter, 107 Rameau, Jean P h i l i p p e , 164 Ramsay, A l l a n , 185 R a n d a l l , J.W., 200 Rawlins, Roger, 110 Regnard, Jean-rFrancois, 138 Remiglus of Auxerre, 89 R i e t i , V i t t o r i o , 173 R i l k e , Rainer Maria, i i , 7 5 , 79,121,175,210-13,232, 236,237,238 Rimbaud, Arthur, 207,208 R l n u c c i n i , Ottavio, 152, 153-4 Roberts, E.M., 217 Robertson, L.A., 203 Rodd, J.R., 202 Rover-Ducasse, J.J.A.., 173 R o l l i , Paolo A . 1 6 4 302 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Roman de_ la_ Rose, 91 Ronsard, P i e r r e de, 134-5,236 Rosenberg, H i l d i n g , 173 Ro s i , Domingo, 184 R o s s e t t i , Dante G., 197,198 R o s s i , L u i g i , 136-7,162-3 Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 166,182 Rukeyser, M u r i e l , 218 Ruskin, John, 199 S a c k v i l l e , Lady M., 203 Sanazzaro, Jacopo, 126,l4l S a r t o r i o , Antonio, 162,163 S a r t r e , Jean-Paul, 228 Saxe, John G., 200 > Schikaneder, Emmanuel, 174 S c h i l l e r , J . F r i e d r i c h , 180,237 Sc h l e g e l , F r i e d r i c h von, 175, 177 Schuck, J.F., 177 Schutz, H e i n r i c h , 162 Sco t t , W,B,, 202 Seneca, 6,7,38^40,45-6,55, Z7_-z8,82 Senece\", Antoine de, 131,182 Servius, 40,60-2 Seven Sages, Romance of_ the, 91 Sevigne, Madame de, 137 Shakespeare, W i l l i a m , 116-8 S h e f f i e l d , John, 184 Sh e l l e y , Mary, 192 Sh e l l e y , Percy B., 192,204 'Sidney, S i r P h i l i p , 110 Simcox, G.A., 198 Simonides, 6,15 S i r Orfeo, ii,91-7,102,103-4, 105,232,233723\"9 S i t w e l l , Dame E d i t h , 214-6, 237 S i t w e l l , S i r Osbert, 2l4 S i t w e l l , S a c h e v e r e l l , 214 Skelton, John, 109,133 Smith, E l i z a b e t h 0., 20 4 Smith, Sidney G., 219 S o i l s , Antonio de, 130 Southey, Robert, 193 S t a t i u s , 41,45-6,55,77-8 Stephanus, Charles, 125 Stephanus, Robert, 125 Stesichorus, 24 Stewart, H.F., 219 Strabo, 9 St r a v i n s k y , Igor, vi,173 S t r i g g i o , Alessandro, 156-8, 160 303 Strode, W i l l i a m , 121 Spenser, Edmund, 111-2,125 Suidas, 12 Sutherland, H.V., 203 Swinburne, A.C., 197,204 Tasso, Torquato, 148 Tebaldeo, Antonio, 149 Tennyson, A l f r e d , Lord, 192 Tennyson-Turner, Charles, 196-7 Themistius, 80 Theobald, Lewis, 165 Thicknesse, L i l y , 203 Th y l e s s i u s , Antonius, 110 T o z z i , Antonio, 165 Tree, S i r H., 203 Trench, Richard C-., 193 T r i s t a n L*Hermite, 136 T r i v e t , N i c h o l a s , 105,124 Tzetzes, Johannes, 101 V a l e r i u s F l a c c u s , 7 Val e r y , P a u l , 207,203 Van Slyke, B.K., 216 Vat i c a n Mythographers, 89 Vaughan, V i r g i n i a , 202 Vecchi, Orazio, 152 V e r d i , Giuseppe, 148 V i c o , Giambattista, 184 V i c t o r i a , Tomas L u i s de, 155 V i l l o n , F r a n c o i s , 134 V i r g i l , 1,7,31-7,42,45-6,49, 55,60-74,75,76,79-80,86, 87, \"89790,92,93,97, 9%, 104, 105,124,147,149,184,190-1, 216,232,233,238,240 V o l t a i r e , 167,182,189 Voss, Johann, 176 Wagenseil, Georg C.., 165 Wagner, Richard, 148,159, 170-1 Walton, John, 103 Warner, W i l l i a m , 111 Wasson, D.A., 202 Watson, E,.W., 202 Watson, Thomas, 108-9 Wharton, E d i t h , 203,204 Winch i l s e a , Lady, 187 Winckelmann, Johann, 167, 168,176 Wolff, Helmuth C., 173 Wordsworth, W i l l i a m , 191,198 Woty, W i l l i a m , I 8 5 Wiley, S., 202 W i l l i a m s , Tennessee, vi,227-8 231 Williamson, D.R., 217 W i l l s , A l i c e , 217 Winslow, A .G . . , 219 304 Winters, Yvor, 218 Young, Ruth, 203 Zaturenska, Marya, 218 "@en . "Thesis/Dissertation"@en . "10.14288/1.0105982"@en . "eng"@en . "Classics"@en . "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en . "University of British Columbia"@en . "For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use."@en . "Graduate"@en . "The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in Western literature"@en . "Text"@en . "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/39699"@en .