Music: A Connection to the Divine

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer maintains that one could say that the written and spoken word describe the foreseen and that music describes the unforeseen. This relationship between music and spirituality is explored using two famous works. The first, Dante's "Paradise", is from Western culture and the other, "The River Sutra" by Gita Mehta, is from Eastern culture. The writer explains that both of these works describe a spiritual journey into the unknown. The writer notes that music is used to reference that which cannot be truly described using words alone. The essay supports the thesis that music is used as a means to connect the reader to the spiritual world in these two works. The writer concludes that one can learn much about the spiritual worlds of the East and West by examining the use of music in their works.

Outline:
Dante and Signaling the Eternal
The Boy Singer and the Path to Enlightenment
The Musician's Story
Transcendence
Works Cited

From the Paper:

"Dante uses music to announce a holy event of great importance. The appearance of the divine is often signaled by music. One might notice that it is never Dante himself who is singing or making music, although in the opening Canto he does refer to his work as his song. Song and music are used to signal the appearance of the divine. Dante uses the imagery of music sparingly. Only a few of the heavenly beings that he encounters are heralded by song."
"Structurally, the appearance of music is carefully placed in such a way to give it an even greater meaning of importance. Paradise, like hell, is comprised of layers. Just as the layers in Hell become increasingly more evil, the three layers of heaven become more divine. One might notice that music is hardly mentioned in the first two Cantos, except when referring to his work as his song. When we examine the use of music in the remainder of the piece, this two may have been purposeful and an attempt to attach importance to the work itself."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Aligheri, Dante. Paradise. The Divine Comedy. Tanscribed by Judith Smith and Natalie Salter. Project Gutenburg. Trans Rev. H.F. Cary. Online at http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1007/1007.txt.
• King James Bible. Ezekiel I (17-2210.
• Mehta, Gita. A River Sutra (New York: N. A. Talese, 1993)

More papers on Music: A Connection to the Divine:

• Essay # 44617 : "A Lamb to the Slaughter"
• Analytical Essay # 65684 : "A Reaction to "The Storyteller"
• Dissertation or Thesis # 145628 : "Medical Ethnomusicology"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: