Q&A #4: Question 2

The second question I considered this week was wheteher the emotion we feel in reponse to literature is similar to those we have in other artistic mediums. I am basing my understanding of emotion of one used by Malcolm Budd in invetsigating the realtionship between music and the emotion. He states that an emotion is a "positve or negative response to the content of a thought". In litertature the thought we are reacting too seems more obvious than in other forms of art, we are explicitly told what the characters do and feel and thus react to the state of affairs stipulated by the text. However in music, the case seems to be not so clear as to what exactly a partciular song references in terms of a concept or thought is often difficult to discern. Most would say that our recognition of an emotion within the song itslef causes an emotional reaction within the listener, however as some of you may already know I am skeptical of such a claim. Thoughts, opinions, and criticisms are always welcome so please comment away.