Research Article
BibTex RIS Cite

“HER SPEECH IS NOTHING”: THE COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTION OF SONGS IN OPHELIA’S MAD SCENE

Year 2020, Issue: 39, 105 - 116, 14.04.2020
https://doi.org/10.30794/pausbed.684026

Abstract

Music and drama are known to have a close relationship since the birth of Greek tragedy. This study suggests that Ophelia uses songs and singing as an alternative language in communicating her emotions. In IV.v, which is also referred to as Ophelia’s mad scene, she comments upon her personal experiences concerning her relationship with Hamlet and the death of her father Polonius through singing. This paper aims at displaying the reason why Ophelia requires a different mode of communication other than verbal language. After discussing the submissive and silent role that is attributed to Ophelia in Hamlet, the fragments of songs she sings in IV.v are analysed through a close reading of the text. While investigating what these songs indicate in this particular context, musical conventions of Shakespeare’s time are also discussed.

References

  • Davis, A. (2006). “Shakespeare’s Clowns”, Shakespeare and Elizabethan Popular Culture, (Ed: S. Gillespie and N. Rhodes), London: Bloomsbury, pp. 67-91.
  • Duffin, R. W. (2004). Shakespeare’s Songbook. New York, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
  • Dunn, L. C. (1994). Ophelia’s Songs in Hamlet: Music, Madness, and the Femnine., Embodied Voices: Representing Female Vocality in Western Culture, (Ed: L. C. Dunn and N. A. Jones), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 50-64.
  • Field, A. & Scoble G. (2001). The Meaning of Herbs: Myth, Language & Lore. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
  • Foucault, M. (2005). Madness and Civilization (Trans: R. Howard). London and New York: Routledge Classics.
  • Grindon, L. H. (2005). The Shakespeare Flora: A Guide to All the Principal Passages in Which Mention is Made of Trees, Plants, Flowers, and Vegetable Productions; with Comments and Botanical Particulars. Manchester: Adamant Media Corporation.
  • Kristeva, J. (1989). Language The Unknown: An Initiation into Linguistics (Trans: A. M. Menke). New York: Columbia University Press.
  • Lindley, D. (2006). Shakespeare and Music. London: Arden Shakespeare.
  • Long, J. H. (1971). Shakespeare’s Use of Music: The Histories and Tragedies. Gainesville: University of Florida Press.
  • Mithen, S. (2006). The Singing Neanderthals. London: Phoenix.
  • Nietzsche, F. (1995). The Birth of Tragedy (Trans: C. P. Fadiman). New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
  • Ortiz, J. M. (2011). Broken Harmony: Shakespeare and the Politics of Music. Ithaca & London: Cornell University Press.
  • Seng, P. J. (1967). The Vocal Songs in the Plays of Shakespeare. Cambridge & Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
  • Shakespeare, W. (1997). The Arden Edition of the Works of William Shakespeare: Hamlet (Ed: H. Jenkins). Surrey: Thomas Nelson & Sons Ltd.
  • Showalter, E. (2014). “Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism”. Projekt Ofelia. Retrieved February 2, 2020 from http://projektofelia.blogspot.com/2014/11/elaine-showalter-representing-ophelia.html
  • Smith, B. (2006). Shakespeare’s Residuals: The Circulation of Ballads in Cultural Memory., Shakespeare and Elizabethan Popular Culture, (Ed: S. Gillespie and N. Rhodes), London: Bloomsbury, pp. 193-218.
  • Sternfeld, F. W. (1963). Music in Shakespearean Tragedy. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
  • Wilson, C. R. (2011). Shakespeare’s Musical Imagery. London: Continuum.

“SÖZLERİNDE BİR ANLAM YOK”: OPHELİA’NIN DELİLİK SAHNESİNDEKİ ŞARKILARIN İLETİŞİMSEL İŞLEVİ

Year 2020, Issue: 39, 105 - 116, 14.04.2020
https://doi.org/10.30794/pausbed.684026

Abstract

Müzik ve tiyatronun antik Yunan tragedyasının doğuşundan bu yana yakın ilişki içinde oldukları bilinmektedir. Bu çalışma Ophelia’nın duygularını karşı tarafa iletmek için şarkıları ve şarkı söylemeyi alternatif bir dil olarak kullandığını iddia etmekte. Ophelia’nın delilik sahnesi olarak da tanımlanan IV. Perde V. Sahne boyunca Ophelia, Hamlet ile olan ilişkisine ve babası Polonius’un ölümüne ilişkin deneyimlerini şarkılar aracılığıyla yorumlar. Bu makale Ophelia’nın neden sözlü dile alternatif bir dil kullanmaya ihtiyacı olduğunu gözler önüne sermeyi amaçlamaktadır. Hamlet oyununda Ophelia’ya yüklediği itaatkar ve sessiz rolün tartışılmasının ardından Ophelia’nın IV. Perde V. Sahnede söylediği şarkılar yakın okuma tekniğiyle incelenir. Bu şarkıların söz konusu bağlamda ne anlama geldiklerinin incelenmesi sürecinde Shakespeare’in dönemindeki müzikal uzlaşımlar da tartışılmaktadır.

References

  • Davis, A. (2006). “Shakespeare’s Clowns”, Shakespeare and Elizabethan Popular Culture, (Ed: S. Gillespie and N. Rhodes), London: Bloomsbury, pp. 67-91.
  • Duffin, R. W. (2004). Shakespeare’s Songbook. New York, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
  • Dunn, L. C. (1994). Ophelia’s Songs in Hamlet: Music, Madness, and the Femnine., Embodied Voices: Representing Female Vocality in Western Culture, (Ed: L. C. Dunn and N. A. Jones), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 50-64.
  • Field, A. & Scoble G. (2001). The Meaning of Herbs: Myth, Language & Lore. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
  • Foucault, M. (2005). Madness and Civilization (Trans: R. Howard). London and New York: Routledge Classics.
  • Grindon, L. H. (2005). The Shakespeare Flora: A Guide to All the Principal Passages in Which Mention is Made of Trees, Plants, Flowers, and Vegetable Productions; with Comments and Botanical Particulars. Manchester: Adamant Media Corporation.
  • Kristeva, J. (1989). Language The Unknown: An Initiation into Linguistics (Trans: A. M. Menke). New York: Columbia University Press.
  • Lindley, D. (2006). Shakespeare and Music. London: Arden Shakespeare.
  • Long, J. H. (1971). Shakespeare’s Use of Music: The Histories and Tragedies. Gainesville: University of Florida Press.
  • Mithen, S. (2006). The Singing Neanderthals. London: Phoenix.
  • Nietzsche, F. (1995). The Birth of Tragedy (Trans: C. P. Fadiman). New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
  • Ortiz, J. M. (2011). Broken Harmony: Shakespeare and the Politics of Music. Ithaca & London: Cornell University Press.
  • Seng, P. J. (1967). The Vocal Songs in the Plays of Shakespeare. Cambridge & Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
  • Shakespeare, W. (1997). The Arden Edition of the Works of William Shakespeare: Hamlet (Ed: H. Jenkins). Surrey: Thomas Nelson & Sons Ltd.
  • Showalter, E. (2014). “Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism”. Projekt Ofelia. Retrieved February 2, 2020 from http://projektofelia.blogspot.com/2014/11/elaine-showalter-representing-ophelia.html
  • Smith, B. (2006). Shakespeare’s Residuals: The Circulation of Ballads in Cultural Memory., Shakespeare and Elizabethan Popular Culture, (Ed: S. Gillespie and N. Rhodes), London: Bloomsbury, pp. 193-218.
  • Sternfeld, F. W. (1963). Music in Shakespearean Tragedy. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
  • Wilson, C. R. (2011). Shakespeare’s Musical Imagery. London: Continuum.
There are 18 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Literary Theory
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Fatma Zeynep Bilge 0000-0002-6217-8280

Publication Date April 14, 2020
Acceptance Date February 20, 2020
Published in Issue Year 2020 Issue: 39

Cite

APA Bilge, F. Z. (2020). “HER SPEECH IS NOTHING”: THE COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTION OF SONGS IN OPHELIA’S MAD SCENE. Pamukkale Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi(39), 105-116. https://doi.org/10.30794/pausbed.684026
AMA Bilge FZ. “HER SPEECH IS NOTHING”: THE COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTION OF SONGS IN OPHELIA’S MAD SCENE. PAUSBED. April 2020;(39):105-116. doi:10.30794/pausbed.684026
Chicago Bilge, Fatma Zeynep. “‘HER SPEECH IS NOTHING’: THE COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTION OF SONGS IN OPHELIA’S MAD SCENE”. Pamukkale Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, no. 39 (April 2020): 105-16. https://doi.org/10.30794/pausbed.684026.
EndNote Bilge FZ (April 1, 2020) “HER SPEECH IS NOTHING”: THE COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTION OF SONGS IN OPHELIA’S MAD SCENE. Pamukkale Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi 39 105–116.
IEEE F. Z. Bilge, “‘HER SPEECH IS NOTHING’: THE COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTION OF SONGS IN OPHELIA’S MAD SCENE”, PAUSBED, no. 39, pp. 105–116, April 2020, doi: 10.30794/pausbed.684026.
ISNAD Bilge, Fatma Zeynep. “‘HER SPEECH IS NOTHING’: THE COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTION OF SONGS IN OPHELIA’S MAD SCENE”. Pamukkale Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi 39 (April 2020), 105-116. https://doi.org/10.30794/pausbed.684026.
JAMA Bilge FZ. “HER SPEECH IS NOTHING”: THE COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTION OF SONGS IN OPHELIA’S MAD SCENE. PAUSBED. 2020;:105–116.
MLA Bilge, Fatma Zeynep. “‘HER SPEECH IS NOTHING’: THE COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTION OF SONGS IN OPHELIA’S MAD SCENE”. Pamukkale Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, no. 39, 2020, pp. 105-16, doi:10.30794/pausbed.684026.
Vancouver Bilge FZ. “HER SPEECH IS NOTHING”: THE COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTION OF SONGS IN OPHELIA’S MAD SCENE. PAUSBED. 2020(39):105-16.