Wackenroder frames his tale at the beginning much like a fairy tale in that the setting involves an indeterminate time and place. He also introduces a sort of magic into the story by describing the naked saints as “the wondrous recipients of a higher genius, who have taken on human form after having drifted from the realm of the firmament and consequently do not know how to act like human beings” (296). However, much like other fairy tales, Wackenroder does not try to explain this phenomenon any further to the reader. The naked saint is also subject to some sort of a curse because “the constant roar of the wheel of time did not allow him to rest and do anything on earth – to act, to effect, to be productive” (298). Much like curses in other fairy tales, the naked saint’s spell was broken through the fulfillment of a longing, which in his case was to hear music. Then after the spell is broken, in the tradition of fairy tales, the naked saint undergoes a transformation through which he becomes a spirit “woven from a soft vapor” (299).
I think that both music and poetic language can be very powerful but in different ways because they appeal to different senses. Music appeals to our sense of hearing in a way that I do not think poetic language can, even if it is read aloud. The fact that music can affect us even without words makes it very powerful in a way different from poetic language. Poetic language can also be very powerful and can display musical qualities in the meter, diction, and so on, yet it can never take the place of music. I think Wackenroder’s attempt to show the transformative power of music in this tale falls short of his intentions. I am not sure that poetic language could ever be successful in demonstrating the power Wackenroder believes music holds. The difference between hearing beautiful music and reading beautiful poetic language is best demonstrated by Wackenroder’s description of the music in the story. He writes, “Sweet horns and countless magical instruments enticed a whirling world of tones to ring forth, and a song arose from the undulating music” (298). This sentence provides an excellent example of beautiful prose and sets the scene nicely, however it cannot create the actual music for the reader and thus remains less powerful than to the music itself. The transformative power of the music for the monk is quite obvious from Wackenroder’s description but with only words to describe it the music cannot have the same effect on the reader as it does for the monk.
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I absolutely agree with your description of the poetry in relation to music. The quote you gave may even contribute to the "music" he attempts to portray, as opposed to just setting the scene.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your description of beautiful poetic language versus music. Although both evoke emotions, music is much more powerful in doing so. This is not to say that the poetic language does not have any value, it clearly does. The emotional impact of music is just much more significant.
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