Fitzgerald’s painting allows the reader a deeper understanding of Ariel in a way words cannot perform. Without context, the painting resembles a girl swinging in a tree; one might even consider the figure to be an angel. The figure has feminine features, including long blonde hair, a lean body, and bright wide eyes. Flowers and birds, more feminine details, surround the character. Finally, the color scheme is light and dewy. It resembles a spring day. This scene can be interpreted to represent Act V Scene 1, in which Ariel describes a time in which he is laying on a branch of flowers. He sings, “Where the bee sucks, there suck I, In a cowslip’s bell I lie; There I couch when owls do cry. On the bat’s back I do fly After summer merrily. Merrily, merrily, shall I live now, Under the blossom that hangs on the bough,” (Shakespeare, 269). In this scene, Ariel is dressing Prospero as he sings; he is performing an act of servitude. However, he is singing about his desire of freedom. He wants to be able to do as he please, which in this scenario is lie on a branch enjoying the scenery as the painting displays. The next line after Ariel’s song is yet another reference to Prospero’s promise of freedom, which he never blatantly fulfills. Prospero states, “Why that’s my dainty Ariel! I shall miss thee, But yet thou shalt have freedom,” (Shakespeare, 269). The painter chose this scene in order to show the reader how Ariel would live if he were exempt from servitude, and he illustrates the false hopes and dreams held by Ariel. Through the details of the painting, and the scene in which it relates to, the reader just only begins to understand the longing for freedom Ariel has, and then develops a sympathetic feeling for him, as the reader understands this may never come true.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
April 2024
Categories
All
|