To most people, the idea of the simple life is one of fantasy. It seems as if people want to take a break from their busy and stressful lives and just relax. This in essence represents the lifestyle of the pastoral, which depicts shepherds and others in rural society in an idealized and simple manner. It represents the simple life that many people can only dream of. Common throughout the 18th century, many literary, artistic and musical works were created with this pastoral idea in mind, and these works were immensely popular. Perhaps one of the most famous examples of Pastoral Arts is George Friedrich Handel’s Acis and Galatea, a tragic love story between the semi-divine sea nymph Galatea and shepherd Acis. The oratorio depicts the simplistic …show more content…
Polyphemus odd and grotesque looks and personality disturb and destroy the seemingly calm love story between both Acis and Galatea when he is introduced in the second act, with Polyphemus himself embodying unrefined nature. Dianne Dugaw from the University of Oregon believes that “…words and music create a socially resonant portrait of Polyphemus that parodies, then destroys this order.” As previously mentioned, Polyphemus represents an unrefined nature, and brings this nature into his role, thus providing a sense of self-parody. The same can be said for his aria’s and recitatives. For instance, the recitative “I Rage, I Melt, I Burn” contains the same unrefined and grotesque nature found in Polyphemus, with such lines as “Bring me a hundred decent reeds of growth to make a pipe for my capacious mouth!” In turn, Polyphemus is once again shown as one of an unrefined nature: “A multimedia synecdoche, the figure encircles all who listen, treating us…to the sight and sound of a very silly cyclops.” This unrefined nature represented through Polyphemus creates the sense of self-parody common to