The Social and Personal Impediments Against Which Genius Has to Battle."

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As a composer, and a performer, there can be no question of Mozart's genius, however, what is genius defined as? The main definition is that genius is a very great and rare innate ability or skill- it is a creative power. It is therefore clear that Mozart was in fact a genius in his music; it does no state anywhere, however, that a genius also has to have a divine personality and behaviour and this is clear as Mozart is shown in Amadeus as a silly, scatological, childish and "infantile" man. To be a genius in one aspect of the mind, such as music, could mean that other parts of the mind are inhibited, such as social skills. An evident and major theme in Amadeus is exploring how a genius functions in a society and how society hinders and suppresses the genius mind.

Salieri, was extremely competent but with no talent at all to contrast with a genius lacking social graces, namely Mozart. As Maurice Baring states, "In Mozart and Salieri we see the contrast between the genius which does what it must and the talent which does what it can." Mozart, though a genius musically was unable to further himself in the Court due to his personality and behaviour, Andreas Scachtner, a friend of the Mozart family said in a letter that ."..for as soon as he had become devoted to music, all his senses were as if dead to all else." Shaffer introduces Mozart as playing a game with his girlfriend, Constanze, "I'm going to bite you with my fangs-wangs! My little Stanzerl-wanzerl-banzerl!" which is then directly contrasted with Mozart's ability to create such powerful music, ."..high above it, sounded a single note on the oboe...till breath could hold it no longer." The two personalities shown seem incongruous, how could an "obscene child" create "the v...

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...e always stays in one place." Mozart, being aware of his genius and not being acknowledged by society, inevitably craved appreciation and was frustrated; therefore to say that a genius can survive in his society seems unlikely. Mozart is caught in the middle of what his society requires of him and what his genius demands of him and so he will only be appreciated by future societies as his thinking and creativity is too advanced and radical for the society he lives in. This frustration and the active hindrance of Salieri eventually lead to the breakdown of the genius who's most "profoundest voice in the world is reduced to a nursery tune." To conclude, Mozart metaphorically being the butterfly, "Non piu andrai farfallone amoroso/ Notte e giorno d'intorno girando", "You cannot fly beloved butterfly/ Night and day go around," and so society is victorious over the genius.

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