Honors Theses
Date of Award
2011
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
English
First Advisor
Ivo Kamps
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
In evaluating song in early modem times we see the traveling of music through the culture, an omnipresent current that flow's through social strata and situations and can be interpreted to connect all. However, while music was pervasive in early modem society and the dominant theory of music w'as a totalizing one outlining a harmony inherent of and inspired by music, music in fact had a variety of uses among interests groups and could be a main indicator of social division. In this thesis I analyze song in Shakespeare within the frame of this seemingly paradoxical phenomenon of music as a unifier and a divider and examine how song could highlight division between the individual and society, but also how song could emphasize unity amongst individuals, as when song becomes a ritual event that synchronizes all the participants. An interesting dichotomy comes into perspective of music as a stable form of communication that nevertheless has capabilities for causing instability and turmoil, particularly in the interaction of individual with society and vice versa. I take this idea of the interaction of the individual w ith society further and examine song as a means of self-identification within the context of a larger collective and how use of and response to music reveals an individuafs relationship with the community. The response and use of music can show the way individuals are positioned in their society. I conclude that a song event focuses highly concentrated social energy, and its containment within Shakespeare's pla> s allows for an opportunity to unpack this energy and, in so doing, unpack the social complexities compressed to understand more about the workings and sociology of early modem culture.
Recommended Citation
Dhossche, Julie Marcia, "Shakespeare's Soundscape: Vocal Song in the Plays of William Shakespeare and in Early Modern Culture." (2011). Honors Theses. 2318.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2318
Accessibility Status
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