preview

Balen The Sandman

Good Essays

The muses were often depicted in art as beautiful women, mystical and playful by nature. Women who were often seen dancing and entertaining humans. For example, the oil on wood painting done by Baldassare Peruzzi. In this painting the muses are represented very light heartedly. They are gracefully dancing with the God Apollo; with skirts swirling and a hop in each muses step it is clear to see that this is a joyous and carefree representation of them. However, paintings of the muses were not always concerned with amusement. Another painting done by Hendrick van Balen the Elder shows the nine muses with the Olympian Athena, goddess of wisdom and just war. In this portrayal of the nine, they are seen with the musical instruments they have created. …show more content…

Calliope was featured in a comic series called The Sandman written by Neil Gaiman. The soon to be graphic novel series chronical the story of the King of Dreams. The god of dreams that goes by many names such as Dream, Morpheous, the Sandman, and Oneiros for example. In issue 17 of The Sandman the muse Calliope is a featured character. In the comic, Calliope is a captive, kidnapped from Mount Helicon by a troubled writer named Erasmus Fry. He keeps her hostage making her his personal muse and once growing old he gives her to another troubled novelist, Richard Madoc. He takes her to his home and locks her way in a room. From then on the comic takes a dark turn as Madoc rapes Calliope in order to force her inspirations. A few years of this abuse goes on and Madoc becomes a famous writer. However, Morpheus comes to punish Madoc for his heinous crimes and ultimately wins Calliope’s freedom (Gaiman, 1997). This is a unique take on the character Calliope, it is a much sadder and vulnerable idea of the muse. In much of the comic, Calliope is depicted naked, covering herself only with her arms. She is very …show more content…

In the television series Grimm created by Stephen Carpenter, David Greenwalt, and Jim Kouf, the twentieth episode of season two is titled Kiss of the Muse. The episode uses a character who takes on the persona of a muse. Although this muse is anything but its classic counterpart. In the show the muses are referred to as Musai. They do not hold the classical appearance of a muse, rather they are blue-silver in complexion, with vibrant red hair, bright cyan eyes, and pointed ears much like a nymph (Carpenter et al., 2013). This variant of the muse does not inspire humanity, rather it feeds off the creativity of men. Grimm takes on a femme fatal approach to the character. Musai in the show kiss their victims, driving them mad with obsession causing them to become their devoted slaves. Often this results in men killing each other in devotion of their Musai. This contrasts highly with the story written by Gaiman. In Gaiman’s tale the muse was someone who was helpless and in need of a saviour, in contradistinction Carpenter, Greenwalt, and Kouf turn the muse into something much more dangerous. The men who fall under the spell of the muse’s kiss often fall into insanity or face death (Carpenter et al., 2013). In this tale the men are captives of the muse rather than it being the other way around. The writers use the myth of the muses as a

Get Access