Several of the scenes bring the contrast of the two characters' personalities onto sharp contrast. By this I am speaking of the way Mozart is able to change Salieri's welcoming music without much thought, the stunned expression upon Salieri's face when he sees the genius in the unfinished manuscripts that Mozart has given to his wife, and Mozart's ability to internalize and visually recognize the music as he dictates the Requiem to Salieri on his death bed. These scenes show in their turn a movement from anger to amazement and jealousy to finally Salieri's growing realization that he sits in the company of a genius and he is overcome by the beauty of the music which he struggles to transcribe as Mozart ostensibly dies (Marshall, 1997). As we see this shift in Salieri, we also see a shift in Mozart from childish little boy to musical bad boy, to eventually...
[ View Full Essay]