Reflection 4, 10/11/09

This week in class we went over Daphne and Apollo, like usual. We discussed how Apollo would have acted, spoke, and gestured during his speech to Daphne. I figured that Apollo would have gotten the point most effectively to Daphne that he is pursuing her as a lover and not an enemy when he said that he was Jupiter's son. Jupiter is a god and Daphne, like everyone at the time, would have known who Jupiter was. Once Daphne saw that Apollo was Jupiter's son and therefore a god himself, I believe that she would be more likely to soften up to him and trust him. Of course this doesn't happen and she just continues to run, but I felt that if any part of the speech seemed like it would pacify her at all, it was that part. I envisioned Apollo's speech like a theatrical performance, with the spotlight shining on Apollo, who would be standing in the center of the stage. As he walks, the spotlight would follow him, and he'd be speaking to Daphne with his eyes wide open, in a loud, clear, and passionate voice. Meanwhile, Daphne would be fleeing and Apollo would be chasing her, and I imagined they'd be positioned on the stage in such a way that both of their facial expressions could be seen by the audience, so we would know exactly how they were feeling.

Of course I am no theater expert but this is what my mind envisioned.