Evening Concert, Saint-Chapelle: Analysis

John Updike – born March 18, 1932 in Shillington, Pennsylvania – commonly writes about the small American town and the Protestant middle-class (Wikipedia). Updike’s writing is greatly affected by his psoriasis, a disease which he has had since childhood and which causes red spots to erupt throughout his body (Wikipedia). The self-consciousness caused by Updike’s psoriasis is a predominant theme in many of his literary works and is also the reason behind Updike becoming an author (Wikipedia). In his poem “Evening Concert, Saint-Chapelle”, Updike utilizes vivid imagery to emphasize the enchanting nature of music.

“Evening Concert, Saint-Chapelle” opens with a vivid description of the concert hall at Saint-Chapelle as the “windows [are] flamed with light (Updike 1).” Updike then describes the music which “vaunt[s] Vivaldi’s strident strength (Updike 4)” and “suck[s] with [its] passionate sweetness (Updike 5).” As the poem progresses, Updike briefly depicts the effect the music has on the members of the orchestra. Lastly, as the poem closes, Updike gives a final description of the music echoing in the hearts of the member of the orchestra.

The chief purpose for Updike writing this poem is to emphasize what Updike see’s as the captivating nature of music. Updike attempts to do so illustrating the impact the music has on the members of the orchestra. Moreover, the fact that many of the literary devices Updike employs are based on rhythm and meter, demonstrates that he is attempting to associate music with harmony and order. In essence, Updike employs various sound devices to highlight what he sees as the enchanting nature of music.

Updike utilizes many sound devices to emphasize the effect music had on the audience. For instance, Updike’s repeatedly use of alliteration creates a beat and rhythm which in turn creates an aesthetic effect on the reader. In particular, the phase “violins vaunting Vivaldi’s strident strength (Updike 4)” demonstrates this affect. The alliteration in this line creates a somewhat music quality to the poem which fits perfectly with the theme of the poem – the enchanting effects of music. Another sound device Updike employs is euphony. Words such as “glow (Updike 11),” “whisper (Updike 12),” and “light (Updike1)” all have soft-sounding phonetics which adds to the awe-stricken tone of the poem. This is not only because these soft sounding words create a solemn tone, but “glow” and “light” are often associated with objects that amaze and shine through the darkness. This connotation combined with the euphonic quality of the words creates a powerful, awe-inspiring effect.

As well as sound devices, Updike also utilizes other literacy devises. For example, the allusions to Vivaldi and Brahms serve to demonstrate the power of the music being performed. Vivaldi and Brahms, renowned composers of the eighteenth century, both connotate powerful and energetic music (Wikipedia). By alluding to two well known composers, Updike links the music described in his poem to their music. Another literary device Updike employ’s is Synesthesia. Both examples of synesthesia in the poem – “listening eye (Updike 7)” and “whisper to the eye (Updike 12)” – demonstrate that not only was the setting pleasing to the ear, but to all the senses, including sight. Updike depicts how the setting is both literally and figuratively grand ‘sight’. That is, the stained glass, along with the “blazing blue (Updike 7)” light, create a wonder physical spectacle for the eyes, while the enchanting music figuratively glows like a “whisper to the eye (Updike 12)”. The synesthesia adds to the theme by claiming the music is so captivating that hearing is not the only sense inspires by it.

Although I do not personally agree with Updike’s assertion regarding captivating nature of music, Updike does adeptly express his point of view. I believe the rhythmic effect created by the alliteration is one of the chief reasons this poem creates such a striking impression on me. Furthermore, I believe the synesthesia was a clever method of hinting at how music can affect more than one sense. However, I believe that the allusions to Vivaldi and Brahms take away somewhat from the poem, especially for those who may have to do research to completely understand the allusion. In essence, “Evening Concert, Saint-Chapelle” is an interesting poem that makes excellent use of sound devices as well as some other literary devices.