Abstract
Mary, Esmeralda, and Frollo: A Hermeneutic Reading of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame – The Musical”. This essay aims to analyze the multimodal storytelling involving songs in The Hunchback of Notre Dame – The Musical. Two songs, “God Helps the Outcasts” and “Hellfire”, are chosen to be analyzed hermeneutically. The primary analysis is done through the scrutiny over the juxtaposition of different musical styles in the said songs. Comparisons to Victor Hugo’s original text and the Disney animated version – in which the musical is based on – is also done to shed more light on the new layers of interpretation.
Highlights
As the writer began writing this essay, the news outlet from every corner of the world reported the big fire in Notre Dame, Paris
One online content creator was quick to juxtapose the image of Notre Dame Fire with the scene from one of the iconic songs in Disney’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, “Hellfire”
The dialogue around the source is continuously renewed. One such re-interpretation attempts are through songs and music, such as the two songs from The Hunchback of Notre Dame discussed in this essay
Summary
As the writer began writing this essay, the news outlet from every corner of the world reported the big fire in Notre Dame, Paris. The creepy nuance is elevated by the juxtaposition of Frollo’s words of desire and iconic pieces of liturgical songs. It marks the first attempt of Disney in incorporating liturgical music and composition in their soundtrack. When Disney re-wrote “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” into a musical performance, several other songs from the animated version received the same treatment as “Hellfire”. They were juxtaposed with notable pieces of liturgical music, such as Salve Regina in “God Helps the Outcasts” and Judex Crederis in “Finale”.
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