The Monster by Deems Taylor p. 693	DEADLINE 11:59 PM TUE MAR 02 (That's just before Midnight)

 

Richard Wagner was undoubtedly a musical genius, but that didn't make him pleasant to live with or befriend. Among other things, Deems Taylor tells us in "The Monster," Wagner was an unbearable "know-it-all." That's hard enough to accept in mediocre people to whom we can at least feel superior in some way, but it's intolerable in someone who, as Taylor describes it "was right all the time ... He was one of the world's great dramatists; he was a great thinker; he was on of the most stupendous musical geniuses ... the world has ever seen"

 

This essay explores so many wonderful themes, I think I'll just let you roam through it for awhile and pick up ideas at you r own pace. But I would certainly like to hear from you about several of my favorite ideas from these pages.

 

• Is genius incompatible with decency? It certainly seems from the stories of the lives of great artists that they have difficulty maintaining good relationships with anyone.
• Are big thinkers simply incapable of understanding the needs of smaller minds?
• Do they feel their intellectural superiority entitles them to satisfy their whims and run up big debts they have no intention of paying?
• Is there no room in one brain forgrand creations and at the same time emotional maturity?
• And what about the trade-off? Would we want to sacrifice great art, literature, and music just to have a few more pleasant people around?

 

          Have fun, 5! I can't to hear what you have to say.