Eurydice Research Paper

If you met a man named Orpheus who had a girlfriend, would you assume her name was Eurydice? Many people would, because the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is from “many, many thousand years ago” and is still passed on today, verbally and through works of literature. In his 1959 film Black Orpheus, Marcel Camus interprets this well-known myth, making changes to the story to make it more dramatic and interesting. Black Orpheus is substantially different from the original myth because Orpheus has a girlfriend before meeting Eurydice, Hermes plays a different role, Orpheus kills Eurydice, Orpheus cannot bring Eurydice back from the underworld, and Orpheus’ death

The skeleton character in the film Black Orpheus is Death, who personifies the immortal concept of death which eventually claims Eurydice before her time and kills her. This character is very important to this movie, which offered a modern day update of the myth (a legend or story used to explain things such as nature or aspects of gods) of Orpheus when this film was initially created in 1959 (No author, 1958), because he serves as the antagonist. An antagonist is an adversary. It is due to the pursuit and the machinations of the skeleton character that Eurydice even travels to Brazil. And, it is due to the skeleton character's relentless pursuit that Eurydice is eventually destroyed by Orpheus, although she compromises her safety by hanging from a power line in order to escape from Death.

Orpheus is doing this exactly same thing in the movie. He is trying to save Eurydice overcoming anything or one that comes in his way.

Sarah Ruhl’s play, Eurydice, is a devastating story battling love, grief, life, and death. Although it is set during the 1950’s, the play manages to encompass the ancient Greek myth of Eurydice and Orpheus. The three most evident themes of this play are recurring death, fleeting happiness, and the power of love. The main conflict in this play is ultimately about the painful choice that comes with death; this is often caused by the King of the Underworld. One of the most impressive parts of this play is the ability to change the way the play is perceived through design.

Olympias is definitely one of the better known ancient Macedonian women, however, her control was opposed, not only by men, but by another woman. Born Adea, then changing her name to Eurydice, Adea-Eurydice’s importance rested highly on her royal blood. She combined the lines of Perdiccas and Philip and achieved power through her royal marriage to Arrhidaeus, or Philip III. Adea-Eurydice’s mother, Cynane, was an Illyrian princess, who continued with Illyrian tradition and taught her daughter the arts of war. Cynane attempted to marry her daughter to Arrhidaeus but was murdered in an attempt to prevent this from happening. The Macedonian army was so enraged that Perdiccas was forced to carry through with the marriage, anyways. Unlike nearly any woman for the time, Adea-Eurydice was extremely knowledgeable in battle and in her ability to sway the Macedonian army to her side. The soldiers were loyal to the family of Philip and Alexander regardless, however, women could have easily inspired different reactions from the army. The Macedonian army was already beginning to lose favor with Alexander’s generals and Adea-Eurydice quickly began to take control over the army (Carney, 1987, p. 498).

Orpheus was the Beethoven of the Greek world, everybody loved his music. Everywhere he went, people listened to his music and loved it. Eurydice was Orpheus’ number one stalker/fan. They fell in love but Eurydice died one day, from a snake bite. Orpheus’ mad love for Eurydice ended up sending him to Tartarus and all he had to do was to bring Eurydice out of the underworld without looking at her. However, he was filled with doubt and he turned to look at her, losing her forever.

Black Orpheus like its original is a tale of love two people who meant for eachother, but in the end death takes one away from the other. A marble Greek bas relief explodes to reveal black men dancing the samba to drums in a favela. Eurydice arrives in Rio de Janeiro, and takes a trolley driven by Orfeu . He is engaged to Mira, but Orfeu is

When Orpheus is being done inside the novel, an actor plays his part: “And as though the singer had been waiting for this cue…he chose this moment to stagger grotesquely to the footlights, his arms and legs splayed out under his antique robe, and fall down in the middle of the property sheepfold” (201). In this case, the actor playing Orpheus can be seen as the actual Orpheus in the myth because he goes to do what he loves, acting, even though it is risky for him because it is assumed that he is sick with the plague. Although the actor does die from the plague, he still went to dangerous lengths to achieve his passion, like Orpheus actually does in the myth when he goes to retrieve Eurydice. In addition, the reader can now see that Orpheus and Eurydice represent all of the couples throughout the novel, and is able to see examples earlier in the novel of characters going against extreme conditions, and the possibility of death because of circumstances against their will, to be with their love. An example of this is when the town is first closed off, because citizens are not allowed to leave, only come in, and only one person does decide to enter: “At the height of the epidemic we saw only one case in which natural emotions overcame the fear of death in a particularly painful form…The two were old Dr. Castel and his wife...But this

In Orpheus, by Franz Von Stuck of 1891, he is holding the lyre close to him and is playing for the animals in a soothing manner, which gives the essence that Orpheus is calm and even happy. Then, as previously stated, in Orpheus Leading Eurydice he is holding out in front of him in a more outstanding manner, showcasing the instrument in his heroic moment. Compared to Orpheus Laments, by Alexander Seon of 1886, where Orpheus as laying on the floor cradling the lyre. It is very obvious to tell he is upset, not only by the way he is clenching the instrument but also by the way his head is rested on his arm and he is hiding behind it, with a mournful tone. This would make sense because this painting is supposed to depict how Orpheus falls into this deep depression about losing his wife for eternity.

The story of Orpheus and Eurydice can entertain many readers. In this case, it can also teach a valuable lesson about controlling your temptations. When Orpheus, a skilled musician, went down to the underworld to save his wife, Eurydice, he made

This myth began when Orpheus rejected the advances of the Ciconian women. He did this because he had rejected the advances of all women because he was still in love with his late wife. He was distraught over the fact that he could not save her from the Underworld and therefore, swore off all women (Metamorphoses 10.82-86). Because of this, the Ciconian women found Orpheus performing one of his songs and decided to get their revenge. They first began killing the animals that had been enthralled by Orpheus’ song and then turned on Orpheus. They murdered him viciously and savagely, using stones and the earth to kill him (Metamorphoses 11.20-44). Orpheus then descended into the Underworld to join his late wife. Orpheus was mourned by a lot of beings, including the god Bacchus. He was angry that the Ciconian women had murdered Orpheus and transformed them into trees

For Orpheus the people did not like that he was not playing music anymore and they got mad at him (Pg.668). For the origins the people did not like that she was not growing the crops and all the flowers, and also making it cold.(Pg.658-659).

After her strange and untimely death, Eurydice cannot remember much of anything, including her own husband's name. She runs into her father whom she has no memory of whatsoever. When her father reads her a letter Orpheus has written her, she suddenly recognizes him. This is one of the happier moments in the play; Eurydice and her father are finally reunited. They immediately begin to bond, and her father tells her stories of his childhood. As the father tells these stories the audience gets a picture of what their relationship was like when they were alive. They sing together, “Da da Dee Da” to the tune of “I Got Rhythm.” It is a heartwarming moment to see Eurydice and her father having fun together just like old times. While she is happy she has been reunited with her father, Eurydice still

Doolittle starts the poem by setting a new attitude for Eurydice, showing the shift from the perceived passivity of Eurydice to a new, more assertive character. It’s important to note that Eurydice is reflecting upon what happened before she became a prisoner of hell for eternity. Where the poem starts is where her growth starts, not her final stage of growth. The poem starts in medias res, showing that this is indeed a continuation of the Orpheus myth and also shows that a lot has happened before the speaker has spoken. Eurydice, the speaker, says, “so you have swept me back”(H.D. 1), referring to when Orpheus came down to the underworld to rescue her. While many readers of the myth may have thought that is was romantic and heroic of Orpheus to come rescue her, the speaker thinks otherwise. She

Ecclesiastes means “the preacher”, “the teacher”, or “assembler.” While the author is not identified by name he does identify himself as “the preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem”(1:1); “I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.”(1:12) It is a widely held belief that Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes as well as other wisdom literature in the bible. Scholars assume it was written during the reign of King Solomon a little before Solomons death from 970-935 BC.