What the Pluck? Hermes’s Joke: The Image of the Harp in the Cinema

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What the Pluck? is a study of the harp as a powerful visual cue in the cinema. From Walt Disney to the Marx brothers, Gone with the Wind to The Wedding March and Small Time Crooks, this ancient instrument has acted as a symbol of immortality, transcendence, love, high culture, sexuality, comedy and fantasy since the earliest eras of film making.

In its examination of the harp as a storytelling device, this study draws on archival research, examining film theory, psychological theory, history and philosophy to give context to centuries of symbolism of this magic instrument. What the Pluck? notably examines the harp's broader use as a symbol for the classical god Hermes, the inventor of the lyre, messenger, trickster, the lord of harmony and speech; the harp's Hermetic overtones resonate through the -bardic tradition to the present day.