The Orpheus Figure: The Voice in Writing, Music and Media

This study traces a historical trajectory of the voice as it encounters the Orpheus figure in writing, music, and other media. Following a critical discussion of Auerbach’s literary figuration, the author questions certain aspects of phonocentrism in relation to opera and texts using the voice for authoritative or rhetorical purposes. Grounded in the prefiguration of opera’s earlier displacement of the singing voice, the understanding of mass media and digital media then developed is critical of theories of immersion in media. The analyses of the series of works and figures (Orpheus, Ossian, and Tristan) in this study lead the author to propose a threefold historical definition of the voice: the mimetic, the representational, and the expressive.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph D

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Theory and Criticism

Grantor dc:publisher

The University of Western Ontario

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• D'Aoust, Jason R.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Pero, Allan

• Aura
• figuration
• media
• opera
• videocentrism
• voice.

Language dc:language.iso

en_ca

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/36887

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/36887