The Elementary Analysis On Margaret Of Faustus, The Opera By Gounod

Faustus, the opera, is one of the most famous works of Gounod. The theme of the opera varies greatly from that of Faustus, the poetic drama. The latter, by the narration of the lifelong exploration and pursuit of Faustus, artistically epitomes and embodies the image of intellectuals when the bourgeois was on its raise and it also describes the development of bourgeois thoughts. The two-folded characteristics of Faustus, his spirit of constant pursuit and exploration represent the image of the enlightened intellectuals when the bourgeois was on its raise. Gounod's opera, however, focused at the romantic tragedy, ignores the philosophic and symbolic senses of the poetic drama, emphasizes on the figuration of the purity, crudeness and goodness of Margaret, her pursuit for love, her conflict with feudal morality and religious spirit thereof which leads to the tragedy.The thesis is constituted of four chapters. Chapter one, the introduction, generalizes the causes and ideas of the research. Opera is a comprehensive art while drama is the most important artistic element of opera and the basic character of opera as well. The basic elements of drama include plot, relations of dramatis personae, dialogues and poetic drama, etc. This is indispensable to the research of an opera. Therefore, chapter two and chapter three start to research mostly from the dramatic elements of the opera, it explores the theme of the opera and the causes of the romantic tragedy from the plot and the dramatis personae. It tries to analyze the shape of the theme, the relation of the dramatis personae and its relation with the development of the dramatic confliction, the causes of Margaret's tragedy from the approach of the context. Chapter four, starts with the elements of opera music, deals mainly with the musical description of Margaret's romantic tragedy and the musical embodiment of the characteristics of the dramatis personae. In this chapter, the writer further explains the image of the dramatis personae and the description of the romantic drama from the characteristics of lyrics, narration and confliction in accordance with the dramatic functions of opera music, thus goes further in grasping the theme of the opera.