Introduction

In this chapter I will make a study of the structure of the verbal communication in some numbers from Sweeney Todd. I do this in order to investigate the relationship between the musical structure and the structure of verbal communication. How does music influence this structure, and in what ways can this relationship be characterized? This is one of the elementary questions in this thesis. In the previous chapter I did some analyses, but those were analyses where I emphasized merely one aspect of a verbal communication structure. In these analyses I will try to apply the whole of the theoretical framework I laid out in the last chapter onto the analyses of the differing songs.

The pieces I chose to analyze are chosen because they are either problematical when it comes to describe the communication structures involved, or because they are, in my opinion, the cornerstones of Sweeney Todd.

One thing that is immediately apparent in Sweeney Todd is that a song, or speech in general, never stops the action. There are no long soliliquies or lyrical songs. With every verbal utterance the drama progresses. That means that all songs and speeches are actional speeches.

Another aspect of the verbal communication in Sweeney Todd is that there are no real solo-songs. There is always at least one addressee, and as soon as some-one has sung a solo, there is an almost immediate reaction, either in speech or in song.

The pieces I selected to analyze are the following:

1. The Ballad of Sweeney Todd
2. The Worst Pies in London
3. Poor Thing
4. Pirelli's Miracle Elixir & The Contest
5. Kiss Me-sequence
6. Epiphany
7. Parlor Songs