Contrapasso Analysis
In my contrapasso assignment, I have created my own version of hell where musical sinners are punished. In this version of hell, there are 12 circles to represent the 12 keys in the musical circle of fourths. Each circle contains individuals who are bad at music for a specific reason such as bad rhythm, or bad pitch. Although these are not necessarily, horrible sins, being bad at music can cause others to become annoyed or even subjected to pain as a result.
This “canto” picks up at the tail end of my journey, where my guide/teacher “Doc” who is Dr. Shewan, and I have journeyed through the previous 11 circles and ended up in the final circle of musical hell. Unlike the previous 11 circles who punished individuals who were bad musicians, this …show more content…
circle focuses on the greedy motives that some in the music industry have when it comes to music. Once some artists in the music industry become big in the music industry, they neglect their fans and their artwork focusing on the monetary gains of making music rather than making good music. In my opinion, this is the greatest sin involving music where someone abuses the artform for his or her own gain.
The sinner I chose to focus on was Iggy Azalea, Australian rapper/pop artist. Back in 2014, Azalea burst onto the musical scene with smash hit “Fancy.” Although this music wasn’t very good, she garnered a significant following. She followed this first single was a series of lackluster hits to put it nicely. It seemed as if she was attempting to milk her “5 minutes of fame” and produce as much money as possible by releasing horrible songs. For her actions, I decided it would be fitting to place her in my 12 circles of hell for her greed.
In this version of hell, sinners instinctively swim toward an island through a sea of wine attempting to reach the island of riches. “Moose,” who protects the riches from my playing Apollo’s legendary lyre that prevents the sinners from reaching the island. I chose this as the primary punishment because these sinners pursued wealth over producing good music so as I result in the afterlife, they pursue unattainable wealth. Allegorically, my piece is attempting to convey the that success should come after making great music and you should make music for the sake of pursuing success.
In addition for constantly struggling to strive for unattainable success, we also see
1. Brass Doors --Brass is a commonly used metal in musical instruments so it’s fitting that the doors to the final circle are made of the metal.
2. Fenced in by bars-- a bar in music are vertical lines that denote a certain amount of time in music. The walls to this final circle are essentially jail bars.
2. Last of Twelve Circles -- the circle of fourths is the relationship of the twelve tones in the chromatic scale. Since my hell is circular, it reflects this principle by containing the twelve circles that represent the twelve tones or keys.
3. My teacher whom they call Doc-- When creating this canto, I thought of no better guide for my journey thank Dr. Shewan. He has literally been my teacher for the past 4 years musically. Beyond the classroom, he is someone I look up to. His dedication to teaching, music, and learning is extraordinary. He has certainly motivated me to not only accel musically but also as a person.
5. The air was heavy, “Alcohol,”-- Since this canto focuses on individuals, primarily celebrities who have allowed fame and fortune to come before making good music, it's only fitting to have them swimming in wine to reflect “party-animal” stereotype of many artists.
6 and 15 horde -- This horde of bad musicians both describes the massive number of individuals that inhabit this last circle, but also the mindless nature of their pursuit. Like zombies who do nothing but attempt to kill and infect living beings, these musicians pursue nothing but wealth rather than making great music. 6-7.
an antlered creature...“Moose,” -- This “antlered creature” is, of course, Mr. Moose. He is both a tormentor for the sinners who are bad at music and a guardian for the island of riches. I felt it was fitting to have Mr. Moose guard the riches on the island because of his high standard in real life when it comes to music. In the past, he has criticized pop music for its over-simplification. 9. height of 88 men -- This is both musical and number symbolism. The number 88 is significant in music because there are 88 keys on a standard piano.
13-14. The instrument I describe Mr. Moose playing is Apollo’s lyre which was crafted by Hermes from tortoise shell and reeds. The messenger god Hermes attempted to steal 50 cattle from Apollo and when Hermes was caught, offered Apollo his legendary lyre. This allusion is symbolic because the moose had been blessed with a mythical object to uphold high standards of music.
21. My heart beating louder than the living ground beneath me. -- This line references not only the fear and anxiety my character was feeling at that moment, but also points out the hell feels like its living. Being the center/ bottom of hell, the circular shape of the area makes it almost seem like a drum, so the earth beneath my character’s feet beat along like a bass drum. This also ties the idea that the bass drum drives the tempo of a song, like how the heart drives
life.
23. The woman, squatted with her feet planted and hands on her knees. -- Iggy Azalea was infamously bad at twerking and was often booed during performances because of it. In hell, she is punished with permanently squatting in a position as if she was twerking since she used the dance to attempt to sexualize herself for monetary gains.
24-25. This line is all lyrics sung by pop star Iggy Azalea in her various pop hits. This is another punishment that faces the sinners in this circle. Pop stars are known to create extremely catchy songs that become stuck in listeners heads. In hell, these “artists” eternally experience their songs replaying in their minds, slowly driving them toward insanity.
26. Has fate cursed you in life and death? -- Despite her fame, it was short lived once most listeners realized she had not actual talent was an awful rapper. She crashed from fame as fast as she rose to fame. I point out how fate had dealt her a poor hand in life and in the afterlife.
29-30. In these lines, we see my character finally maturing and learning from his mistakes after being punished for sympathizing with sinner earlier on in his journey. Like Dante in Inferno, he has matured as a character.
32-33. These final two lines are Doc reiterating the importance of not only learning but also taking what you learn and applying it to your life. He wants me to love music for what it is, and as long as I love music, it will reward me with unimaginable treasures.
This “canto” picks up at the tail end of my journey, where my guide/teacher “Doc” who is Dr. Shewan, and I have journeyed through the previous 11 circles and ended up in the final circle of musical hell. Unlike the previous 11 circles who punished individuals who were bad musicians, this …show more content…
circle focuses on the greedy motives that some in the music industry have when it comes to music. Once some artists in the music industry become big in the music industry, they neglect their fans and their artwork focusing on the monetary gains of making music rather than making good music. In my opinion, this is the greatest sin involving music where someone abuses the artform for his or her own gain.
The sinner I chose to focus on was Iggy Azalea, Australian rapper/pop artist. Back in 2014, Azalea burst onto the musical scene with smash hit “Fancy.” Although this music wasn’t very good, she garnered a significant following. She followed this first single was a series of lackluster hits to put it nicely. It seemed as if she was attempting to milk her “5 minutes of fame” and produce as much money as possible by releasing horrible songs. For her actions, I decided it would be fitting to place her in my 12 circles of hell for her greed.
In this version of hell, sinners instinctively swim toward an island through a sea of wine attempting to reach the island of riches. “Moose,” who protects the riches from my playing Apollo’s legendary lyre that prevents the sinners from reaching the island. I chose this as the primary punishment because these sinners pursued wealth over producing good music so as I result in the afterlife, they pursue unattainable wealth. Allegorically, my piece is attempting to convey the that success should come after making great music and you should make music for the sake of pursuing success.
In addition for constantly struggling to strive for unattainable success, we also see
1. Brass Doors --Brass is a commonly used metal in musical instruments so it’s fitting that the doors to the final circle are made of the metal.
2. Fenced in by bars-- a bar in music are vertical lines that denote a certain amount of time in music. The walls to this final circle are essentially jail bars.
2. Last of Twelve Circles -- the circle of fourths is the relationship of the twelve tones in the chromatic scale. Since my hell is circular, it reflects this principle by containing the twelve circles that represent the twelve tones or keys.
3. My teacher whom they call Doc-- When creating this canto, I thought of no better guide for my journey thank Dr. Shewan. He has literally been my teacher for the past 4 years musically. Beyond the classroom, he is someone I look up to. His dedication to teaching, music, and learning is extraordinary. He has certainly motivated me to not only accel musically but also as a person.
5. The air was heavy, “Alcohol,”-- Since this canto focuses on individuals, primarily celebrities who have allowed fame and fortune to come before making good music, it's only fitting to have them swimming in wine to reflect “party-animal” stereotype of many artists.
6 and 15 horde -- This horde of bad musicians both describes the massive number of individuals that inhabit this last circle, but also the mindless nature of their pursuit. Like zombies who do nothing but attempt to kill and infect living beings, these musicians pursue nothing but wealth rather than making great music. 6-7.
an antlered creature...“Moose,” -- This “antlered creature” is, of course, Mr. Moose. He is both a tormentor for the sinners who are bad at music and a guardian for the island of riches. I felt it was fitting to have Mr. Moose guard the riches on the island because of his high standard in real life when it comes to music. In the past, he has criticized pop music for its over-simplification. 9. height of 88 men -- This is both musical and number symbolism. The number 88 is significant in music because there are 88 keys on a standard piano.
13-14. The instrument I describe Mr. Moose playing is Apollo’s lyre which was crafted by Hermes from tortoise shell and reeds. The messenger god Hermes attempted to steal 50 cattle from Apollo and when Hermes was caught, offered Apollo his legendary lyre. This allusion is symbolic because the moose had been blessed with a mythical object to uphold high standards of music.
21. My heart beating louder than the living ground beneath me. -- This line references not only the fear and anxiety my character was feeling at that moment, but also points out the hell feels like its living. Being the center/ bottom of hell, the circular shape of the area makes it almost seem like a drum, so the earth beneath my character’s feet beat along like a bass drum. This also ties the idea that the bass drum drives the tempo of a song, like how the heart drives
life.
23. The woman, squatted with her feet planted and hands on her knees. -- Iggy Azalea was infamously bad at twerking and was often booed during performances because of it. In hell, she is punished with permanently squatting in a position as if she was twerking since she used the dance to attempt to sexualize herself for monetary gains.
24-25. This line is all lyrics sung by pop star Iggy Azalea in her various pop hits. This is another punishment that faces the sinners in this circle. Pop stars are known to create extremely catchy songs that become stuck in listeners heads. In hell, these “artists” eternally experience their songs replaying in their minds, slowly driving them toward insanity.
26. Has fate cursed you in life and death? -- Despite her fame, it was short lived once most listeners realized she had not actual talent was an awful rapper. She crashed from fame as fast as she rose to fame. I point out how fate had dealt her a poor hand in life and in the afterlife.
29-30. In these lines, we see my character finally maturing and learning from his mistakes after being punished for sympathizing with sinner earlier on in his journey. Like Dante in Inferno, he has matured as a character.
32-33. These final two lines are Doc reiterating the importance of not only learning but also taking what you learn and applying it to your life. He wants me to love music for what it is, and as long as I love music, it will reward me with unimaginable treasures.