Jae Hyun Ko Professor Bain-Conkin Rhetorical Analysis 2013-02-25 Edvard Munchs The Scream Viewers need a brief background

of Munch to grasp the purpose of The Scream. Nonetheless, the spectator, ignorant to the authors background, can easily understand the meaning the painting emits. To completely render the feeling of despair and death, Munch vividly painted The Scream with many elements such as colors, space, form, and expression. Under many misfortunes, especially the death of his family members, Munch painted to deliver his emotions, especially despair. As it is evident from the title of his masterpiece The Scream, Munchs purpose in drawing this piece is not to convey any bright feeling but to convey a dark and gloomy feeling. The scene in the painting shows a man in a great confusion and despair holding his head tightly while the background renders the feeling of destruction. Such scene did not spring out from his imagination, but Munch witnessed such scene with his eyes. Basically, one of the purposes in drawing this painting is to share the genuine experience he had. Munch had done perfect job on achieving his purpose since anyone, ignorant to the title, can infer from the painting that the man in the painting is experiencing some despair. Anyone who has seen this painting will never forget the strong impression it had on him or him. The question is how he achieved his purpose so well. The most important feature in this painting is the person, supposedly Munch, at the center of the painting. Just by placing him on the center, Munch compels the viewers to look at the figure first before every other constituents of painting like background. One noticeable feature of this person is that he is depicted as a hairless man. One usually relates hairless man as a person with a lack of vigor or a person who is old in his age. The centered figure does

not look old but young, so it is right to think that he is the former of those two assumptions. No hair in his head makes him look more powerless and helpless than the person who might have hair on with all the other appearances of that figure unchanged. Such depiction increases the tension of despair. Odd is not just the hairless head but the shape of it. The strange shape of ghoulish head emanates, like a ripple, from the open mouth. The centered figure is only colored with flesh-color and the dark-gray color. It is very significant that even his lips are painted in black. Black is usually associated with a dark feeling. Lips are usually distinguished with reddish color but Munch wanted to elevate the feeling of despair by painting lips in a dark color. One thing that really struck viewers is that the face does not scream, rather it is a scream. Viewers will not picture the sound effect coming out from the painting but will feel the silent echo of scream. The sound of scream, expressed as oval black lips, vibrates through every muscle turning the face and body in to an echo of that silent shriek. Just a single figure has expressed sufficient information about this piece, but there are other supplementary elements in this painting that made it a masterpiece. The second important feature in this painting is the sky. The sky tells viewers about the time setting in this painting. It is probably night-time since sun is setting down. The color of the sky is bloody red with mustard orange. The sky is usually depicted in the color of blue or the bright colors, so we can infer that the sky in The Scream is not realistic. However, such color usage was necessary to achieve the authors purpose in the painting. It is very easy to make a beautiful harmony out of using red and mustard colors, but author intentionally combined those two colors uneasily when he colors the sky that is fiery without being beautiful. Also, the sky is turbulent without being dynamic. Brush-stroke is very rough. It is because the sky and the centered figure have a similarity which is the style they are painted. The sky and the person are painted in the ripple shape. It is highly possible that sky is not there to present a literal sky but it is there to show the mirrored image of the centered figure.

It is the inner mood of the person that made the sky looks like a bloody color. Munch conveys the idea of the narcissism of despair that makes the normal sky to reflect the inner mind of the person who is viewing it. Then, it is easy to see why Munch made the sky look not beautiful and look turbulent when he could have made the oppositions of them. The supplementary effect that the sky plays is very important for giving a broader picture of the authors purpose. There are still many other things to look at. Right under the bloody sky, there is the eerie ship on the fjord. The ship is colored in black and gives an impression of the vessel that is usually depicted in the underworld. The ship looks like a coming death to the person and it also might be the imagination of the centered figure out of his despair. Also, the sea looks very calm in a disturbing way. Sea conveys the feeling of silent death since sea utterly looks like lifeless and still. However, right in front of the sea, the dark blue color of water is drawn in a restless manner, reflecting the centered figures feeling. The combination of two opposite elements highlights the feeling of despair even more than just by using one element, turbulence. The two companions in the painting are also playing a crucial role. They are far away from the centered figure. This space between centered figure and the two people increases the feeling of despair even more by making the centered figure alone. Even though two companions are not with the centered figure, they are sharing his feeling to some extent. It is easy to infer that since they are also colored in the same color as the centered one is colored. Not only the color of them, but also their motions and gestures, one leaning against the railing of the bridge and the other one showing his back, reveal the melancholy nature. However, it is obvious that the centered figure is suffering more than they do. Munch achieved it through the usage of the space. The rush of the railing away into the distance is very significant in this painting. Munch employed the power of the space to give a difference in a degree of emotion felt by

each person in the painting. An unbalanced perception of space hurtling from the centered figure induces uneasiness. The space also exaggerates the centered figures feeling while decreasing the emotion that two other companions are feeling. Also, such way of using the space makes the centered figure more prominent. Viewers who are first seeing this picture may not notice the people at the background at first sight of it. Munch concluded his masterpiece with the perfect usage of the space. Munch used an unharmonious combination of colors and just made everything seems disturbing; however, those unharmonious elements were all put together to make a harmonious piece at the end. The many aspects of this painting made this painting so successful at conveying the feeling of despair. All the constituents of the painting seem to indicate the scream of nature, the centered figure, or both. Munch did an excellent job of showing the inner feeling of human through the painting.