Satire in the Enlightenment

I wish that we had spent more time in class studying the satirical pieces in the book like Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal," which is one of my favorite works not only of the Enlightenment period, but ever. I feel that "A Modest Proposal" displays unique characteristics that unite the ideals of the philosophes and romantics. While Swift's essay is educational in that, through attempting to "rationalize" a solution for a problem caused by absurd and unfair treatment of the Irish by the English, Swift's engagement with his subject matter also shows clearly throughout the essay and while it is not a spontaneous work, it is sincere.

The playfulness of Vivaldi's music

In many of Vivaldi's composition's, such as The Four Seasons, the listener hears an almost play tone in the music. In the concerto, he is able to break through the formal and rhythmic structure by giving brightness to it, which really highlights the quality of his work. He is able to impress the listener with a variety of innovative melodies which were quite pleasing for the listener to hear. He was also among the first to compose music that was meant to be heard by a wide majority of the public, instaed of simply by the minority of educated people who had for so long been the desired audience for composers. His popularity among people of all educations may in fact come from this joyous and playful quality that his music contained. He was one of the most influential composers, and helped bring Baraoque music into the classical style.

Rococo

The rococo period of art was an interesting subcategory of French art that gave a bit of insight into the tastes and activities of the French nobility at the time. The delicate nature of rococo art indicates that the nobility of France had begun to move past the richness of baroque art and were embracing a more natural, floral type of art. Baroque art was created during a time of philosophical upheaval and religious revival, so it was appropriately bold and passionate. Baroque art was characterized by bold contrasts, depictions of religious and mythological figures, and strong strokes and accents. As the nobility in French centered around Louis XV, their lofty status, isolation from the people of France, and Louis XV's own excesses allowed them to cultivate a more delicate art form. Rococo art had an element of playfulness to it that matched the spirit of the nobility at the time and notably appeared in paintings depicting people performing everyday tasks in a lighthearted manner. Rococo art also drew influences from foreign cultures, such as Oriental artwork and German baroque. The nobility were well-cultured in foreign arts, unlike the lower classes, and they utilized their knowledge of these other cultures in the creation of Rococo art.

Rousseau's Lack of Evidence

Rousseau's largest flaw was his lack of evidence in his arguments. His views on education were basically unfounded, as well as his views on the role of women and family units. His claims were basically supported by his insistence that nature dictated these rules, and that disobeying nature leads to failure. However, Rousseau had no actual evidence to support his theories on the supposed rules of nature. His views on women were probably based on the established attitudes at the time among men, which were inherently sexist. His views on education were also relatively unfounded. While he did challenge the concept of universal education as indoctrination, his foundation for his views is flawed.
Rousseau did have some ideas that were good. His "Contract Social" was a forerunner of many treatises of the same spirit. While this work did not contain much evidence, it was based more on original observation and was quite progressive. While Voltaire avoided the question of racial equality, his statement implied that racial equality was an issue for him.

Surprise Symphony

When i heard about Haydn's Surprise Symphony(Symphony No. 94), I wanted to learn more about the intentions that Haydn had when he composed this particular work. After some investigation, I learned that what we learned in class was not 100 percent accurate. It was never Haydn's intention to include the "surprises" as a means of keeping his audience awake. According to Haydn's biographer, Haydn simply wanted to surprise the public with something new which they had not experienced before, and make a brilliant debut that would outdo his student Pleyel. The supposed awakening aspect the symphony has on the audience is merely a side effect.

Rococo

The Rococo period marks a movement in art towards subjects that exist in nature and their ability to bring pleasure the observer. Personal pleasure after all was the whole purpose of Rococo art. In rococo paintings, bright pastels are used to create an air of happiness, and the subject matter doesn’t usually stray far from human sexuality, the depiction of human sexuality in painting actually lead to some criticism from people who found it immoral. With ornamentation and sculpture there was an effort to recreate nature, in some sense the outdoors was brought indoors. This was not the first time in history where an emphasis was put on finding personal pleasure. This was also found during the Greek Hellenistic period where written works shifted away from profound topics and dealt with nature and human sexuality. Philosophies of the time such as Epicureanism encouraged people to seek pleasure in their everyday lives. This shift came as a result of the political turmoil of the period. Is it possible that the same thing is true with the Rococo period?

The Oath of Horatii

This post deals with The Oath of Horatii. I wanted to make a post about this painting because when I was examining it for aspects of the Enlightenment period, I noticed something strange. In the back part of the painting, a woman is covered in a blue cloth which is most likely her clothing. She is not watching what is going on with the three brothers and their father because she is clearly upset that they are going to battle. She also is shielding two children from what is going on. She manages to cover the eyes of the little girl, but not the young boy. Why is the young boy so interested in what is going on? I came up with an idea. I think that the young boy wants to watch what is going on because it is in his blood. Basically, he is a boy and one day will be a strong man. He wants to see what the three brothers are doing so that when he becomes that age, he will be as strong, curageous, and loyal as them.

The Farewell Symphony

When we learned about "The Farewell Symphony," I was really interested in why it received the name it did. It is really called Symphony No. 45 in F-sharp minor by Joseph Haydn in 1772. The symphony was written for Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy. Well, the symphony received its name because one summer, Haydn and the orchestra were staying at the prince's summer palace. They weren't there by choice, but they were forced too. They ended up staying a lot longer than they were supposed to. They all wanted to go home to their wives but they couldn't. Haydn, being the smart and genuine man, decided to hint to the prince that this was unacceptable. During the last movement, each musician of the orchestra left one by one and blowing their candle out as they left. By the end, there were only two musicians left: Haydn himself and the concertmaster. The Prince got the hint and let everyone leave the next day. One other interesting thing I found out was that in Haydn's Symphony No. 85, he references The Farewell Symphony. It is referenced in the first movement. I wonder why he wanted to reference it in this symphony?

On my mind

Hey! Whoever is reading this I would just like to say I had a great time in this class. I did learn quite a bit about the French, thanks to Professor Matthews. Even though at first I thought the class would be horrible because we had to sing the first few classes, I kind of thought that is what Dr. F was going to have up do every time we talked about music. But over all this class was a good course to talk as a freshman and I ended up enjoying more than I thought I would.

Mozart's Formula

Despite the impression of Mozart's music on people, his music did have a more casual tone than composers such as Bach and later Beethoven. Mozart's music is rife with self-plagiarizing and formulaic use of musical form, as well as a strict adherence to tonal rules and basic counterpoint. It is reasonable to assume that Mozart held a less adventurous view of music than other composers.
However, this strict adherence to tonality suggests that while Mozart may not have been terribly creative, he was very skilled in the mass production of well-written music. He knew exactly what he was doing as he was writing. This strict adherence to the rules, of course, did not allow him the creative freedom that other composers took, which led to the aforementioned self-plagiarizing and use of formula.

Freemasons in Music

I thought it was very interesting how much music was inspired by or contained characteristics of the Freemasons. Some of the major elements/ideas include equality, love, forgiveness, tolerance, and brotherhood. 

Haydn included some of these elements in his music. He is credited with creating the string quartet, which is meant to be musically equal. Each instrument (two violins, a viola, and a cello) has its own "big moment" and the music flows like conversation; there is never a fight between two parts for the spotlight. Mozart's opera, The Magic Flute, is known as the Masonic opera. Many of the Freemason elements are themes in the opera: love, enlightenment, truth, and wisdom.

The number 3 also appears a lot in music inspired by the Masons. For example, Haydn's Opus 33, number 3 ("the bird movement") lasts 3 minutes and 33 seconds. In The Magic Flute, the opera opens with 3 chords in E flat major (which has 3 flats). There are 3 ladies, 3 boys, and 3 tests. 

Voltaire's Candide

Voltaire's Candide, being a satire, comments and pokes fun at society. One of the things I found most interesting was how revolutionary his views were. We discussed how the book gives evidence to Voltaire being a feminist. All of the female characters (the Old Woman, Cunegonde, Paquette) undergo terrible treatment. They raped, treated like property, shared between two men... Voltaire seems to sympathize with the women and promote equality between the sexes. In the play, Dr. Pangloss is seen educating both young men and women in the same classroom.

Candide also reveals Voltaire's views on slavery. In Chapter 19, Candide meets a slave on the road. The man is missing both a hand and a leg; his master had cut them off. The slave tells Candide about his horrible living and working conditions, and mentions how all mankind is related, no matter what skin tone. Candide is deeply affected by what he sees and cries. He even renounces Pangloss's ideas about optimism. This scene clearly shows that Voltaire was against slavery.

The Sorrows of a Young Werther

Goethe's Sorrows of a Young Werther are profoundly sad. Yet, his style of writing allows the reader to truly see the world through another person's eyes. Werther looks at the world in a far different manner than I do and more than likely, different than many people do. Reading this story allowed me to see life, love, hapiness, and the arts in a different light. Although the novel was written in 1774, there are so many things that a reader can relate to, even if you're from the 21st century. Goethe has so much to say about life, love, literature, music, and relationships. Here are some quotes involving the afore mentioned which the modern day reader can relate:
"...those people are happiest who live for the moment" (29).
"And I like those writers the best who help me find my world again...and the story is interesting and sympathetic as my own life at home, which may not be paradise but is, on the whole, a source of inexplicable joy to me" (37).
"Distance is the future" (43).
"One this is certain---nothing justifies a man's existence like being loved" (63).
"A man who is never satisfied with himself and can therefore never be satisfied" (73).
"To think that there are people who have no feeling at all for the few things on this earth that are of real value" (91).
Goethe creates a highly passionate and emotional character, Werther. This characer is someone everyone can relate to in even just the slightest way. From his sheer joy for learning, to the pains of unrequited love. The Sorrows of a Young Werther explores the vast depths of human emotion.

Goethe and Towns and Country

I have been struck by Goethe's view of towns.  Throughout this semester we have found philosophers trying to explain the state of nature and people living as closely to nature as they can.  In The Sorrows of a Young Werther, Goethe gives the opinion of the town being an example of people not living in a natural state.  The town is not an attractive thought because it is a group of people living together and making rules.  Rules seem to be where conflict starts, people trying to tell other people what to do.  But he finds "indescribable beauties of nature surrounding it," it being the town.  This is the country, which, to Goethe, is an example of people living in the closest state of nature.  It is untouched by man, no thought put into it, no scientific interference, so civilization has ruined it.  The country is where people should live if they want to living in the closest state of nature that they can.  I'm not sure why, but this view has stuck with me since we talked about it in class.  I think that it makes sense with the views of the time.  People living together in a place created by humans isn't as natural as living a more isolated life in an area that has been left untouched seems more natural to me. 

Music and Autism

I don't think that it would be too bold to call Mozart one of the greatest composers to ever exist.  He was a child prodigy and wrote some of the best music in history.  He covered the bases when it came to writing in different genres.  He wrote concertos and operas and his Requiem Mass is, in my opinion, one of the best and haunting masses ever written.  You would expect a figure this great and this historical to be serious and stoic.  You would expect them to act appropriately and be an example to the people of his time (not just the musicians).  However, with historical evidence to back this up, Mozart was quite the opposite.  He would act inappropriately and would make rude comments to his employers and would joke around all the time.  Just watch the movie Amadeus which is, for the most part, pretty historically accurate.  There is a reason for Mozart's behavior and this is because he was high functioning autistic man.  While it may come to a shock that one of history's greatest musicians could be autistic, it does not to me.  There is a proven link between autism and music.  Many people who are autistic are actually musical geniuses, no matter how high or low functioning they are.  They have a remarkable ability to remember and repeat rhythms and melodies.  Many times they have perfect pitch, where if someone were to play any note on the piano they would be able to say what that note is just by listening to the pitch.  Mozart being autistic doesn't surprise me as much as it might knowing this link between autism and music.

Descartes

I was thinking back upon a discussion we had in class about which philosopher's views were most in line with our own, and I recall how many students discredited Descartes based on his principal of "cogito, ergo sum." However, this statement seems infallible to me. If you make the argument that this is just an assumption being made, then you are unable to assume anything at all in life, for if any assumption is true it is this one. Even by disputing the validity of Descartes statement, one is in a way reinforcing his belief. One has to think of an argument, and by this thinking it is quite evident that you exist in one form or the other. If you do not exist by thinking, then what would be the benefit of thinking of an argument to refute Descartes claim?

Alexander Pope

The enlightenment was a time of great discoveries and understanding.  Isaac Newton discovering gravity, while Locke and Hobbes passed their ideas of government on to the masses.  The enlightenment touched every aspect of humanity, even poetry.  Alexander Pope has been given the title of greatest poet in the eighteenth century as he captures all of the ideas of the enlightenment in his writings.  Being a student of ideas from the enlightenment Pope discovered and contributed great findings to poetry.  Pope wrote in his new device, which he called heroic couplets.  These couplets involved iambic pentameter and reach completion in structure at the end of each line.  Where as before the enlightenment poetry seemed with out aim and wandering, during the enlightenment, with Popes writings as an example, it is clear that poems of the enlightenment contained a solid purpose.  The poems by Pope argue about several issues of the 18^th century.  In his Essay on Man Pope argues the purpose of human kind, nature and god.  All of these thoughts would be considered thoughts of the enlightenment.  Alexander Pope may be the greatest poet of the enlightenment, but in my eyes he is, in general, one of the greatest contributors to the enlightenment.   

Crazy Mozart

Who would have thought that the composer of such great works as The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni was so goofy! I thought it was extremely interesting that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the absolute opposite of what i thought he was like in my mind. I also thought it was very interesting that many people believe that Mozart had Autism. This made me wonder why he seemed so extraverted in the film we watched. The Mozart that most people probably envision is a quiet genius that sits behind a piano in his secluded home in Austria like a hermit. In the film he is a womanizer, goofy and quite childish. Despite one might think about these qualities, they are what made Mozart so great. Mozart would not let anyone tell him what to do because he simply knew he was the best at what he did. The "freelancer" nature of Mozarts personality i thought was cruicial to his fame becuase it gave him the vast ability to do whatever musical pieces he wanted. If he did not like what one ruler was making him do he would simply leave. Although Mozart does not quite fit the stereotype for genius musicians his childishness and stubborness allowed him to be so famous.

Wollstonecraft vs Rousseau

I really enjoyed the way we went about learning the ideals of both Mary Wollstonecraft and Jean Jacques Rousseau. After listening to how devoted Mary Wollstonecraft was to the liberation of women, I was very suprised at what we learned Wollstonecraft did towards the second half of her life. I thought Mary Wollstonecraft really sold out on the ideals she discussed in her work The Vindication of the Rights of Women. Although Wollstonecraft once said that "Life did not depend on any 1 person" she tried to kill herself after she found out her husband Gilbert was cheating on her. I thought this to be extremely suprising because of the feminist views that Mary seemed to be so devoted to. On top of this, I thought it was also very suprising that Wollstonecraft got pregnant out of wedlock and then went on to marry Godwin. I was just wondering if anyone else had any ideas about this or comments on why they think Mary didnt quite live up to what she discussed in her vindication.

Locke

Of all the enlightenment philosophers, John Locke seems to be the most practical. His view of the world seems to most fit the way that things actually are. His metaphor for the infant mind being the empty chest of drawers just seems more logical than Descartes for instance who believed that people are born knowing certain truths. Simply observing the way that babies view the world should have clued Descartes as to the falseness of his theories. To an infant everything seems new and strange. Over time they start to understand the ways of the world. Descartes was not the only one who disagreed with Locke's philosophies. The Catholic church also believes that babies are born containing the original sin, which is why they are baptized so early in life. During the early stages of Christianity in the Roman empire it was common practice to be baptized shortly before death to absolve the person of their earlier sins. This seems to be very much in keeping with Locke's beliefs because it would seem to be saying that humans are corrupted over time rather than being sinners at birth. Overall, Locke's philosophy seems to be in keeping with basic logic, while other philosophers of the time seemed a bit abstract.