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Metaphors
Definition of Mood
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect of a piece of writing... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes... read full definition
Act 1, Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis:
Despite some occasional moments of comic relief, the primary mood of the play is mournful, reflective, and somber. The main plot of the play involves the strong pressure placed on the friendship of Arcite and Palamon as they compete for the love of Emilia. As their conflict becomes a fight to the death, the mood of the story darkens. Other significant sub-plots, including the tyranny of Creon, leader of the city of Thebes, are similarly dark in mood. The first act of the play, in which three queens beg Theseus to avenge their slain husbands, reflects the mournful mood of the play more generally:
FIRST QUEEN
Think, dear duke, think
What beds our slain kings have!SECOND QUEEN
What griefs our beds,
That our dear lords have none!THIRD QUEEN
None fit for th’ dead.
Those that with cords, knives, drams, precipitance,
Weary of this world’s light, have to themselves
Been death’s most horrid agents, human grace
Affords them dust and shadow.FIRST QUEEN
But our lords
Lie blist’ring ’fore the visitating sun,
And were good kings when living.
The first queen encourages Theseus to imagine the muddy battlefield as a “bed” in which her husband now sleeps. The second queen adds that her husband’s suffering exceeded even her own, and the third queen further notes that they have not even been properly buried in accordance with Greek belief and custom. The first queen concludes their plea with some macabre imagery, describing the corpses of their husbands as “blist’ring” in the sun since they have not been afforded the privilege of burial. The mournful language of the queens sets the stage for the somber mood of the play.
