Metamorphoses Lesson Plan

The story of Orpheus has permeated Western art and literature. But what does this story say about the power of art itself?

In Orpheus's story, we see the supreme power of a master artist. Orpheus is so potent with his lyre that he is even able to convince Pluto to release his wife Eurydice from the underworld. But if art is Orpheus's power, his own human nature is also a weakness, as Orpheus cannot resist looking back at Eurydice as he leads her out of the underworld. Afterwards, Orpheus's music remains formidable, to such an extent that he can enchant birds, fish and wild beasts, alter the course of rivers, and bring alive inanimate objects. In this respect, Orpheus's...