Jae Hyun Ko Professor Bain-Conkin Rhetorical Analysis 2013-04-24 Edvard Munchs The Scream Many times in paintings, viewers

need artists brief background to grasp the purpose of the paintings. Nonetheless, the spectator, ignorant to the author s background, can easily understand the meaning The Scream 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. 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. All these specific portrayers were there to eventually lead up to his purpose. Munch had done a 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 her. The question is how he had achieved his purpose so well. The drastic use of color has been used to depict the mood of the subject, with greens and intense reds contributing to a sense of chaos and disorder, which helps to reinforce the expression of the figure. The lone emaciated figure stands on a bridge and is used to display the emotion he has. The green hue of the character s face and his grey clothing is symbolic of sickness and death in regards to his psychotic mental state. It is very significant that even his lips are painted in a dark color. A black is usually associated with a dark feeling and therefore

lips colored in black elevates the feeling of despair. Also, the red sky at the background creates a sense of alarm and highlights the intensity of the character s experience of despair. The sky is usually depicted in the color of blue or the bright colors, so we can infer that the sky in The Scream serves the purpose of emphasizing the feeling of the figure. It is the inner mood of the figure that made the sky looks like a bloody red. 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. However, in all these elements of despair, Munch showed a tiny sense of hope by giving a touch of blue in the skies. Overall, throughout the piece, every object is associated with the color that is closely linked to gloomy feelings. The usage of color to show and reinforce Munchs purpose is just the start. The way the persons and the objects are expressed in a certain form serves an important role in this masterpiece. Except for the floor of the bridge, no other element in the painting speaks of any linearity. Everything is a ripple. The centered figure is painted in an odd way. The strange shape of ghoulish head emanates, like a ripple, from the open mouth. This way of painting really struck viewers since it gives an impression that the face does not scream, rather it is a scream. Not only the person but also the nature itself seems to scream since they both are drawn in a same manner. Viewers will not picture the sound effect coming out from the painting but will feel the silence echo of scream. Also, since the centered figure is depicted in a ripple shape throughout the body, 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. Another noticeable feature of this figure is that he is depicted as a hairless man. A man with no hair makes him look more powerless and helpless in what he is going through, despair. The sky is also the feature with a ripple shape. It is easily recognizable that the brush-stroke is rough in the sky. It is to show the similarity between the figure and the sky. Like mentioned above, the similar way the elements are painted show the mirrored image of

the centered figure in the sky. The most important feature that highlights the usage of certain form to express the author s intention is the pool of water. The swirls of the sky are not as dizzying as the swirls of the pool of water underneath. On one hand the water appears stagnant, poised to thwart all chances of growth and ideation of mankind. In this stagnant water, there is one dark and gloomy boat to denote the carrier of death and destruction. One the other hand, the curvature of the brush strokes representing water seem to denote that it is gradually encroaching upon all life forms. So, the sea looks very calm in a disturbing way and also reflects the centered figures feeling by being depicted in a restless manner. The combination of two opposite elements, silence and turbulence, highlights the feeling of despair even more than just using one element by creating juxtaposition. Just the way of painting the elements in the Scream strengthened the feeling that the author intended to convey to the audiences. Munch uses a shallow pictorial space and has utilized frontal figures. First off, the most important feature in this painting, the hairless man, is placed 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. Also, what is means by utilizing frontal figures is that the centered figure is juxtaposed with the people on the bridge giving a sense of segregation and isolation. Only feature depicted in a linear shape is the bridge, and it is done intentionally by Munch. The racy, linear, and three dimensional angle of the bridge provides perspective and depth. Munch employed the power of the space to give a difference in a degree of emotion felt by the each person in the painting. An unbalanced perception of space hurtling from the centered figure induces uneasiness. Also, staring at the image of The Scream can give an viewer an illusion that the bridge is like a slow moving ground escalator which is pulling the centered figure toward the insanity of the human condition. It is also depicted with the usage of space by making the end of the bridge hurtling from the centered

figure. 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 it 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.