A Catch-Up: Independance

.:.Prompt.:.

Declaration of Independence, by Thomas Jefferson (Course Pack).
Synopsis of The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart (Course Pack).
Act 1 – Opening duet: Cinque, dieci, venti, trenta [“Five, ten, twenty, thirty”] – Figaro measures the bed where he and his bride will sleep.  No lyrics posted; we’ll watch this in class.
Act 2 – Voi che sapete che cosa è amor  [“You ladies who know what love is…”] and
Act 3 – Dove sono i bei momenti [“Where are they, the beautiful moments?”] (Course Pack).
    In class we’ll watch three scenes from the opera and discuss them. (Listen on E-study).
BLOG: A characteristic of the Enlightenment is that the common man is elevated. Earlier periods focused almost entirely on the nobility and/or aristocracy. How are the Declaration and Figaro alike as Enlightenment texts? Why do we consider both Jefferson and Mozart as Enlightenment thinkers? Include pictures of Mozart and Jefferson, as well as an image of an opera poster for The Marriage of Figaro.

.:.Blog.:.      

  The Declaration of Independence goes into great detail of how the thirteen colonies of the United States declared independence from Britain. Britain had possessed an unfair hierarchy system and tried to rule the Americans on their own land without even being present. As for the story of Figaro, the Count continues to try and claim dominance, as if he had complete control of everything. Although the Count had power, Figaro had a plot to act against the Count with the other characters, which leads to his downfall, and the rejoice in the other characters. This story correlates well with the Declaration of Independence in which the people who are under restriction and rule, eventually find joy and freedom amongst themselves by overcoming the suppression. This is why Jefferson and Mozart are such great enlightenment thinkers.Even though The Marriage of Figaro is much different than The Declaration of Independence, it is also the same; this is because of the enlightenment they use within their texts.