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I got the opportunity to hear two speeches on Palmer Research day. I will be discussing the second because I believe it was more intuitive and it was my favorite.
The big picture here was to show the magic effect that myth and music have had on us. He went about this by breaking down the classic myth of Orpheus. He focused on common themes that included the power of love as a motivator, using music as a metaphor of hope and meaningful to life. He used one of two tellings of the myth that lead down the path until Orpheus had to save his love, his inspiration from the underworld. He ended up losing his musical gift for which he was known for when he lost his love. That took away part of Orpheus’s identity. It was on him for he lost confidence and therefore lost his love too. The speaker paralleled this to music as a whole. Music is a huge part of many of our lives. Music inspires and extends who we are. People who identity themselves with music go through a similar thing as Orpheus as they strive to perfect the art of music. Both Greeks and our present culture share this musical gift to guide parts of life. Our pop culture reflects that and especially in my favorite tv show, Glee. Music is hope and inspiration for the beauty of our lives.
I want to also point out a couple key parallels from the first speech to enhance both of them. The first one compared myths of old to our present day opera and the arts. In a way, she was saying that myths and plays of the past were like their motif of pop culture. The influence and love of music inspired by these ancient stories have become integral parts of current day pop culture. She pointed out an opera structured after the Orpheus myth. You can also see the workings of this in retellings of Romeo and Juliet, the Odyssey, and the Bible stories.