Music has been a gift belonging to the gods. Few mortals possess such a gift, but of the few with the gift of music, Orpheus, the Thracian prince, is one of the greats. His music enchanted all who heard it and no one could resist his sweet notes; however, only one person was ever able to enchant the musical prince herself, a woman by the name of Eurydice. The two were married but as the bride walked through a meadow, she was bitten by a snake and immediately died. At that moment, Orpheus decided to travel to the Underworld to appeal to Hades and Persephone for his love’s life. His story can be described on three different levels: natural, social, and psychological.
The simplest level or the natural level is where the story can be described through the physical world. One might make a note of the fact that Orpheus is a prince; music plays a role in the story, and a brief marriage leading to death and the resulting death of Orpheus after his failed journey to the underworld. These symbols or events are things that could show how one could always be tempted by what appears sweet and beautiful, but one should not give into impatience.
After the natural level, the reader of myths should then move on to analyze such a tale on the social level, where the story is related to society. Music played by Orpheus also might explain entertainment in a society. Orpheus and Eurydice’s story tells of marriage and death, events that are usually part of a healthy society. Although, love was not all that common in a marriage, love was found in this couple’s marriage. When a loved one dies, many people are thrown into a pit of depression but there is nothing that can be done to undo what has already happened. Yet, Orpheus attempted just that and ended up back in that same pit of depression because he tried the unimaginable by using his music to convince the gods to undo a death.
Finally, readers should relate the myth to themselves on the psychological level. How could this myth relate to an average Joe? Among the deeper feelings of the tragic tale, a person realizes how Orpheus became too impatient after traveling to the underworld and successfully retrieving Eurydice that when he had turned, Eurydice had not made it completely out of the Underworld herself. This, thus, resulting in his lost love’s death all over again and forcing him to go on without ever seeing her alive again. He returned to his music as he simply wandered the earth in his pit of darkness, but as he played, he was attacked by a pack of wild women who dismembered his body.
Stretch your mind and analyze stories on these three levels. Perhaps, by doing so, you might learn something new about the world or even yourselves. The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is that of love, death, and adventure. Their story should teach about a few of the tests each person must pass throughout life.
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