The Muse: Difference between revisions
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[[File:The Kiss of the Muse.jpg|frame|The Dream of the Poet, or, the Kiss of the Muse (Paul Cézanne)]] |
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This concept is often invoked by many a real life creator by attributing a real life person special to them as their "personal muse". Usually occurs with a female muse for a male creator, but the inverse (or a combination thereof) is not too uncommon. If said woman is an actress, she'll be cast in the main female role in every one of the director's movies, at least until their relationship breaks down. |
This concept is often invoked by many a real life creator by attributing a real life person special to them as their "personal muse". Usually occurs with a female muse for a male creator, but the inverse (or a combination thereof) is not too uncommon. If said woman is an actress, she'll be cast in the main female role in every one of the director's movies, at least until their relationship breaks down. |
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Of course, art often mirrors life in this regard, and many fictional artists have muses of their |
Of course, art often mirrors life in this regard, and many fictional artists have muses of their own—sometimes, in fact, literal Muses from classical Greek mythology. |
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The magazine ''Strange Horizons'' mentions among a [http://www.strangehorizons.com/guidelines/fiction-common.shtml List of stories we've seen too often] "Creative person meets a muse (either one of the nine classical Muses or a more individual muse) and interacts with them, usually by keeping them captive." Neil Gaiman has [http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2004/05/happy-mothers-day.asp commented] in his online journal: "I have a fairly good memory, and don't recall ever reading any captive-muse-for-someone-with-writer's-block stories before I wrote mine." This would make Gaiman's story (detailed below) the [[Trope Codifier]], at least for the supernatural version of the trope. |
The magazine ''Strange Horizons'' mentions among a [http://www.strangehorizons.com/guidelines/fiction-common.shtml List of stories we've seen too often] "Creative person meets a muse (either one of the nine classical Muses or a more individual muse) and interacts with them, usually by keeping them captive." Neil Gaiman has [http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2004/05/happy-mothers-day.asp commented] in his online journal: "I have a fairly good memory, and don't recall ever reading any captive-muse-for-someone-with-writer's-block stories before I wrote mine." This would make Gaiman's story (detailed below) the [[Trope Codifier]], at least for the supernatural version of the trope. |
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* [[Milla Jovovich]] to Luc Besson until they divorced. Now she is Paul W.S. Anderson's muse in the ''[[Resident Evil (film)|Resident Evil]]'' [[Money, Dear Boy|series.]] |
* [[Milla Jovovich]] to Luc Besson until they divorced. Now she is Paul W.S. Anderson's muse in the ''[[Resident Evil (film)|Resident Evil]]'' [[Money, Dear Boy|series.]] |
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== Invocations to Muses == |
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* Homer invokes the Muse (probably Calliope) at the start of both ''[[The Iliad]]'' and ''[[Odyssey|The Odyssey]]''. |
* Homer invokes the Muse (probably Calliope) at the start of both ''[[The Iliad]]'' and ''[[Odyssey|The Odyssey]]''. |
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* [[Virgil]] invokes a muse both at the beginning and middle of ''[[The Aeneid]]''. |
* [[Virgil]] invokes a muse both at the beginning and middle of ''[[The Aeneid]]''. |
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Sing, muse, of the warning by the whistle... }} |
Sing, muse, of the warning by the whistle... }} |
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== Examples of muses to fictional artists == |
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* In [[E. T. A. Hoffmann|ETA Hoffmann]]'s story "The Jesuits' Church in G---", an artist catches a glimpse of a beautiful woman, which he believes to be a vision, and is inspired to paint a luminously spiritual picture of the Virgin Mary, his masterpiece. Unfortunately, before the painting is finished, he discovers the woman again, by chance saving her life, and marries her. Although he thinks she'll be a living muse, her earthly reality destroys his religious exaltation, and he's unable to continue the painting. He drives her away with their newborn child, and at first it seems that he'll now be able to paint again, but the guilt from his cruelty drives him mad. |
* In [[E. T. A. Hoffmann|ETA Hoffmann]]'s story "The Jesuits' Church in G---", an artist catches a glimpse of a beautiful woman, which he believes to be a vision, and is inspired to paint a luminously spiritual picture of the Virgin Mary, his masterpiece. Unfortunately, before the painting is finished, he discovers the woman again, by chance saving her life, and marries her. Although he thinks she'll be a living muse, her earthly reality destroys his religious exaltation, and he's unable to continue the painting. He drives her away with their newborn child, and at first it seems that he'll now be able to paint again, but the guilt from his cruelty drives him mad. |
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* Subverted (after a fashion) in ''[[The Picture of Dorian Gray]]'': ''Dorian'' himself is the muse for the painter Basil Hallward, which at once turns the concept of a muse on its head (he's a man!) and doesn't (Basil is gay, and Dorian is [[Bishonen|beautiful]] and [[Depraved Bisexual|ravenously bi]]). |
* Subverted (after a fashion) in ''[[The Picture of Dorian Gray]]'': ''Dorian'' himself is the muse for the painter Basil Hallward, which at once turns the concept of a muse on its head (he's a man!) and doesn't (Basil is gay, and Dorian is [[Bishonen|beautiful]] and [[Depraved Bisexual|ravenously bi]]). |
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