Amadeus: Influential Values Essay, Research Paper
Peter Shaffer?s Amadeus presents to the reader many human values. The most prominent being envy, deceit and self-sacrifice. During the course of the play these features are displayed through Salieri?s actions, emotions and dialogue.
The relationship between Salieri and Mozart is like a painting, commencing with splattered envy after Mozart?s extordinary musical talents disrupt Salieri?s clean, white, sanity. Splatters become blotches when Mozart uses Salieri?s ?prize pupil? (33), Katherina Cavalieri, to fulfill his professional and sexual aspirations. Covered in thick, black envy, Salieri seeks lust to better himself than his opponent: ?As I watched her walk away on the arm of the creature, I felt the lightning thought strike ? ?Have her! Her for Katherina? ? Abomination! ? Never in my life had I entertained a notion so sinful!? (39). The paper then turns black as Salieri?s ?wanted fame? (16) is enveloped by Mozart?s egotistical and immature personality. As a piece of recycled paper, Salieri begins his murder ?at least not in life. In Art it was a different matter? (35).
The buildup of Salieri?s destructible envy is used to sculpt his evil character and ultimately lead to his master plans of deceit. But not all of Salieri?s deceit is put together into one action, it is portrayed through several evil schemes that end up composing the murder of Mozart. Salieri treats Mozart as a friendly individual from the start and even compliments about how his music ?at its best is truly charming? (37) and what a ?remarkable memory? (34) he has. This only tricks Mozart and allows for Salieri to proceed with his first step of deceit, sleeping with his lovely wife, Constanze. Although he never does in fact sleep with her, the mere fact that he had broken his vow of sexual virtue triggers his lust for deceit even more.
Salieri trying to interfere with Mozart?s opera, The Marriage of Figaro displays his second step of deceit. Upon hearing that Mozart?s new opera contained ballet, which is verboten in the Emperor?s operas, he wickedly conveys this information to his colleagues and attempts to destroy his opera. Although Mozart is distressed when approached by this fact, he still manages to work through his deceit and is able to achieve the emperor?s consent of the dance after being harassed and mentally walloped on from Salieri and his colleagues. Mozart accuses Salieri at the beginning of this uproar but is then altered after hearing this following quote from Salieri displaying his feign concern for the stressed fellow: ?Mozart, permit me. If you wish, I will speak to the Emperor myself. Ask him to attend a rehearsal? (70).
Salieri?s third step of deceit is illustrated by having the Baron attend a small opera hosted by Mozart that mocks modern day opera themes. This of course enrages the Baron and causes Mozart to be shunned by all men of influence and leads him deeper into depression. Salieri ?had of course suggested it? (92), for the Baron to come but keeps his amity with Mozart by expressing that ?all is not lost? (93).
The final step of deceit is exhibited by way of Salieri appearing ?to the demented creature as ? the Messenger of God!? (94) And scaring him to death by forcing him to write his own requiem. With Mozart at his weakest state, Salieri attacks him face to face: ?Ten years of my hate have poisoned you to death? (96), which causes Mozart to die shortly after. After his deed his done, Salieri speaks in victory: ?Reduce the man: reduce the God. Behold my vow fulfilled. The profoundest voice in the world reduced to a nursery tune? (97).
Salieri lost in his own mind of hate and envy sacrifices himself to rid god of the world. Salieri begins by blaming Mozart for all of his problems but later turns on god: ?From this time we are enemies, You and I! I?ll not accept it from You ? Do you hear? ? They say god is not mocked. I tell you, Man is not mocked! I am not mocked! [?]. You are the Enemy! I name Thee now ? Nemico Eterno!? (56). At this point, Salieri begins breaking his vows to god, which ultimately is the collapsing of himself: ?So much for my vow of sexual virtue. The same evening I went to the Palace and resigned from all my committees to help the lot of poor musicians. So much for my vow of social virtue? (60). Self-sacrifice is clearly demonstrated throughout the course of Salieri?s identification ordeal and is the main theme that promotes the conflict between Mozart and Salieri. Lost in his own enigma, Salieri projects a clear look at the downfall of his sacrifice upon Mozart: ?He sat at home preparing his own destruction. A home where life grew daily more grim? (86).
The three primary human values in this play, envy, deceit and self-sacrifice are the clay of the story. Salieri takes this clay and uses it as a weapon to destroy Mozart in several different ways. This is clearly shown through his lies, passive-aggressive attacks and cunning tricks that slowly deteriorate Mozart?s small barrier of protection and lead to his death. After Mozart was deceased, the clay did not disintegrate as expected, but instead it expanded and clung to Salieri with such force that it ended up killing him as well, rather than molding him in to a better being.
Work Cited
Shaffer, Peter. Amadeus. London: Penguin Books, 1993.
Другие работы по теме:
Philosophy Values Essay Research Paper VALUESEveryone has
Philosophy: Values Essay, Research Paper VALUES Everyone has their own set of values, ?socially shared conceptions of what is good, desirable, and proper or bad.? ? Our values influence our orientations, actions, reactions, and interpretations, so being totally objective is out of the question. But it is still important to keep an open mind.
Alexander The Great Essay Research Paper Peter
Alexander The Great Essay, Research Paper Peter Green Alexander the Great New York, NY. Praeger Publishers, Inc 1970 In Peter Green?s Alexander the Great he tells some of the story of Alexander and how one must know the story of Philip of Macedon in order to know the story of Alexander. Philip was a powerful leader and figure in mid 300 B.C.
Values Essay Research Paper A value is
Values Essay, Research Paper A value is a social principle goal, or standard held by an individual, class, or society. Values are shaped by the surrounding situations. The Industrial Revolution created new values in Western society, values that are central to our thinking today. Three things from the Industrial Revolution that directly affected people’s values were the creation of the middle class, the urbanization of cities, and the growth of rights for women.
The Vedlt Essay Research Paper The VeldtIn
The Vedlt Essay, Research Paper The Veldt In the book The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury, there are many short stories one of these being “The Veldt.” The story is told by tattoos on a traveling man’s body. Another man watches the stories occur during the night. Peter and Wendy are convinced that they can do anything to get what they want no matter what the consequences.
God And Gifts Essay Research Paper Amadeus
God And Gifts Essay, Research Paper Amadeus: God and Gifts Amadeus was a great film. The overall theme of the movie is a man vs. God. Antonio Salieri s started his life in music after his father died. He found that music was his passion. He devoted his life to writing music and to God. He was content with his music, and was considered a great Italian composer.
Influential Figure In My L Ife Essay
, Research Paper The person who has had the biggest influence in my life is my father Randy. Born during a time where family values and morals were of utmost importance, he tried to instill these same values into me.
Television Vs Reality Essay Research Paper From
Television Vs. Reality Essay, Research Paper From watching certain television shows I have learned that different T.V. families have different values. In this essay I will compare the values of the Brady Bunch to Malcom in the Middle, how they have changed, how it reflects our culture, and if the
Mozart Essay Research Paper The Life of
Mozart Essay, Research Paper The Life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91) is regarded as the greatest composer who ever lived. He began writing minuets
Beowulf Values Essay Research Paper Every culture
Beowulf Values Essay, Research Paper Every culture has distinctions that separate it from other cultures. That it what makes them so unique. The have different religions, foods, ceremonies, rituals, and holidays. The perceive the world in different ways, and also have certain values that they treasure very much.
SAINT PETER CLAVER Essay Research Paper Angel
SAINT PETER CLAVER Essay, Research Paper Angel Mendoza Saint Peter Claver St. Peter Claver was born at Verdu, Catalonia, Spain, in 1580. He descended from a very distinguished family . When
Humor In Acts Essay Research Paper On
Humor In Acts Essay, Research Paper On January 23, 2001 Professor Walker gave our class his presentation titled ?Humor in the Book of Acts?. Some of the things he said have caused me to look at the way I read the New Testament in a different light. Even though I had read it a number of times before I never realized some of the humor or funny situations that he pointed out.
Judy Blume Essay Research Paper Blume Judy
Judy Blume Essay, Research Paper Blume, Judy. SuperFudge. New York: Dell Publishing, 1980. This story is about a boy named Peter and his little brother Fudge. It is about the struggle that kids face growing up with other brothers and sisters. Peter constantly is fighting with his younger brother and is always annoyed with him.
On The Beach Essay Research Paper In
On The Beach Essay, Research Paper In the beginning of this story you meet Peter Holmes, who is a Lieutenant Commander in the RAN (Royal Australia Navy). Next, you meet Mary Holmes, his wife, and their baby daughter, Jennifer. Peter has to go to a city called Melbourne to have a meeting with the Admiral of the Navy.
Walkabout Essay Research Paper Walkabout14In this section
Walkabout Essay, Research Paper Walkabout- 1/4-In this section of the book Peter and Mary wake up to find themselves stranded in the Australian Outback due their plane crashing. The pilot and the other passengers were killed when the plane exploded, but Peter and Mary got out just in time. Then they began to wander in search of food in a nearby gully.
Equus 2 Essay Research Paper EquusEquus written
Equus 2 Essay, Research Paper Equus Equus, written by Peter Shaffer, the creator of plays such as Amadeus and The Royal Hunt Of The Sun creates a psychological thriller that probes deep in to the misguided intentions of religion in a boy named Alan Strang. The play does not stop with character development in him though; it also explores the doctor treating him, Martian Dysart, and even Alan s parents, Dora and Frank.
Peter Shaffer
’s Amadeus Essay, Research Paper I believe that there are two ways to critique Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus. The first, and the easiest for me, is as an artistic work only.
Technology 3 Essay Research Paper Influential TechnologyTechnology
Technology 3 Essay, Research Paper Influential Technology Technology in a sense is a great thing but can also be used as a weapon. Technological advances in our lifetime are not always helpful to the average American, like a nuclear warhead or something of that sort. Technology influences everything in our lives from our beliefs, values, and our norms.
The Eye Of The Dragon Essay Research
Paper Character Sketch In The Eyes of the Dragon, the author Stephen King shows that Thomas is more than just a character to us. Thomas shows his traits as being naivete, jealously, and low self-esteem in
Beowulf Values Essay Research Paper Some Things
Beowulf Values Essay, Research Paper Some Things Change But Most Remain the Same Masculine values have both changed and remained constant since the writing of Beowulf. The values that Beowulf and
A Comparrison Of Multi-Valued Orientation And Two
Valued Orientation Essay, Research Paper Multi-valued orientation and two valued orientation are two completely different thing. THey compare in only one way. This is the fact that they both have values. It could be said that a contrastment of the two would be more useful than a comparison. Two valued orientation is for extremists.
History Essay Research Paper 4 discuss the
History Essay, Research Paper 4. discuss the values which helped the Romans build an empire from a city-state.From a city-state to Roman Empire, the values such as individualism and Greek idea helped the Romans build an empire from a city-state. During a city-state period, the Romans were very concerned about maintaining the customs or traditions of their ancestors.
Mozart Essay Research Paper Mozart
Mozart Essay, Research Paper Mozart “The Composer” The youngest child and only surviving son of Leopold Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus was born in Salzburg in 1756, the year of publication of his father’s influential treaties on violin playing. He showed early precocity both as a Keyboard-player and violinist, and soon turned his hand to composition.
Influential Essay Essay Research Paper A lot
Influential Essay Essay, Research Paper A lot of people take their driver’s license for granted, and believe me I use to take it for granted too. But ever since I lost my license, I will never take it for granted again.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Essay Research Paper Wolfgang
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Essay, Research Paper Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart The remarkable musician and composer by the name of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria in 1756. At the early ages of three and four, Wolfgang exhibited extraordinary powers of music memory and ear-sophistication.
Conflict Management Essay Research Paper In the
Conflict Management Essay, Research Paper In the dictionary conflict is defined as a struggle, a battle, even mutual antagonism. Some people seem to thrive on creating conflict while others do their best to avoid conflict.
Fly Away Peter notes To Get Started
) Essay, Research Paper David Malouf was born in Brisbane in 1934 (he lived through WW2). The novel was written in 1982. He was a poet before a writer and this has had a strong impact on his style of writing. Malouf is fascinated by opposites, i.e. Australia and England.
Jane Eyre Essay Research Paper Jane Eyre 2
Jane Eyre Essay, Research Paper Jane Eyre of Charlotte Bronte?s Jane Eyre, develops drastically within the first few chapters of the novel. Her environment was a major influential factor in Jane?s development.
Mozart Essay Research Paper I
Mozart Essay, Research Paper I’m writing my paper on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. I will be talking about his life and his music. I will tell you a little bit about his father, wife, and
Peter Thegreat Essay Research Paper Peter I
Peter Thegreat Essay, Research Paper Peter I the Great 1672 – 1725 Russian Czar Peter was born in Moscow. He was joint czar with his mentally retarded half-brother, Ivan, under the regency of their sister, Sophia (1682-9). On Ivan’s death (1696) Peter became sole czar.
Peter The Great And Catherine The Great
Essay, Research Paper Peter was the first of the Romanov Czars. He ruled Russia for about 40 years. Peter?s most important contribution to Russia is his trying to westernize and modernize his country. He did that by traveling through Europe, and by that, learning new ideas and ways to modernize his country.
Peter The Great Essay Research Paper There
Peter The Great Essay, Research Paper There have been many very influential people throughout European history. Louis XIV of France, Frederick William of Prussia, Ivan the Great and Peter the Great of Russia, Charles I and James I all made great impacts in the development and progression of their countries.