Musical Offerings, Fall 2017

42 Sulka ⦁ Shakespeare’s Philosophy of Music by Pythagoras around 600 BC. In his time, the prevailing belief was that there were literal, concentric, clear spheres that held the observable universe. Pythagoras discovered that musical intervals were based on mathematical ratios and that the same ratios could be found in astronomy. According to Pythagoras, each of these spheres completed a rotation in a twenty-four hour day, and their movement caused sound: one tone for each sphere. As each sphere moved, their individual tones harmonized. 2 Humans could not hear this harmony, however, because they were imperfect and therefore not in harmony with the perfect spheres. As time went on, prevalent thinkers began editing and adding to the theory, but in his book, Boethius works from the theory that the ratios among the heavenly spheres mirror musical intervals. In contrast to musica mundana (music of the cosmos) and musica instrumentalis (instrumental music), Boethius defined musica humana as a “reflection of the indivisible human essence and…the expression of man’s inner world.” 3 Music was related to order in both the universe and humanity, and this order was another major part of the theory. Since philosophers believed that the entire universe was constructed of the same mathematical and harmonious ratios which caused the music of the spheres, every aspect of the universe was ultimately meant to be ordered. As a result of this philosophy, many works of art and literature reflected balance and symmetry. Though Shakespeare wrote over one thousand years after Boethius, his trust and belief in order and ultimate simplicity can be found alongside the idea of the spheres in many of his works. According to Claudia Olk, music and language were considered by late medieval and early Renaissance writers to be “two manifestations of one harmonic language of creation.” 4 Olk finds that this is evident in The Merchant of Venice , which “creates an unheard music of musical ratios.” 5 Many lines are framed in such a way that the audience can see echoes of the same motif throughout the play, and while at first this seems to be simply a literary device that many authors use, it is greatly influenced by the theory of the spheres. However, the way that Shakespeare draws such connections can be missed easily. For example, Portia’s line, “Since you are dear bought, I will love you dear” (3.2.326), 2 George Rogers, “The Music of the Spheres,” Music Educators Journal 103, no. 1 (2016): 43, do i: 10.1177/0027432116654547 . 3 Prozorova, “Philosophy of Music,” 39. 4 Claudia Olk, “The Musicality of The Merchant of Venice ,” Shakespeare 8, no. 4 (2012): 389, do i: 10.1080/17450918.2012.731705 . 5 Ibid., 390.