Dasmariñas North National High School

MAPEH

Grade 10

The Sound Of Music:

An Analysis

Sandow, Mary Jhane S.

G10 – Rizal

02 – 23 – 18
 I. Plot

Characters

Maria Rainer is a postulant at Nonnberg Abbey who is characterized as young, free-

spirited, warm, gentle and kind woman with much determination.

Captain Georg von Trapp is a retired Austrian naval captain. He is described as a

polished yet very military in the way he runs his life to repress his sadness over the

death of his wife, but once he met Maria Rainer he came back to his original self: a

warm, understanding, determined man and a loving father to his children.

Elsa Schrader is described as a noblewoman, elegant, sophisticated, dignified and a

mature type of woman.

Mother Abbess is characterized as a motherly type especially to the postulates like

Maria. She is understanding, strong and authoritative but warm and kind.

Von Trapp’s children:

Leisl von Trapp is the oldest child of Georg. She is blossoming yet into a young lady

who has very big interest in love. She is described as a very caring eldest to her

younger siblings.

Friedrich von Trapp is next to the oldest child of Georg. He is described as having a

tough exterior since he is trying to act like a ‘man’ in the family.

Louisa von Trapp is described as the type of child who has this rebellious attitude

without having any reason at all.

Kurt von Trapp is described as a mischievous but gentle type of kid.

Brigitta von Trapp is described as the smartest out of all the siblings and she reads

books a lot.

Marta von Trapp is described as a very sweet and gentle kind of child.

Gretl von Trapp is the youngest child of Georg who is described as an adorable and

sweet type of child since she’s only 6 years old.

Summary:

Maria Rainer, a young and free-spirited woman who is studying to become a nun

in an abbey in Salzburg was singing at the top of a hill. She has been the topic of the

four mistresses in the abbey since she seems to be too playful and too free-spirited to

become a nun. Also, her liking for life and music was getting in the way of her spiritual

duties, so the reverend mother of the abbey suggested Maria to try to do something

else. Her plan was to send Maria to become a governess to the seven von Trapp

children since Captain Georg von Trapp is a widower and a busy type of man. And

Maria, with half agreement and half doubt in her heart agreed and went to the family’s

house.

There, Maria saw for the first time a kind of house that only seemed like a

battleship. The father, Georg von Trapp, being the captain demanding order and control

and the children are the soldier, being called only by a whistle.

At first, the children doesn’t seem to want Maria as their governess, just like how

they felt for every governess their father sent to the house. But one night, a

thunderstorm came and this made all of them realize that Maria is full of fun and she’s
also a motherly type of governess. Then their father had gone and Maria taught the von

Trapp children how to have fun and actually act like how normal children would do.

When Captain Georg came home, he got angry at Maria for not seeing the

children to be a very-well-disciplined like a soldier anymore. He fired her immediately

but he heard the children singing from a far. And there he realized and remembered the

times when he and his children used to sing before his wife died. He thanked Maria for

she brought back the joy in the house and let her stay.

Maria and Georg seems to have developed their feelings for each other when

Elsa Schrader, a baroness was already dating the captain. The baroness kept

reminding Maria of the captain’s feelings for her, and Maria, not knowing anything about

love, got scared with her developing feelings for the captain and fled back to the abbey

at the night of the party inside von Trapp’s house, without any proper farewell at the

children and the captain.

At the abbey, Maria talked to the reverend mother once again. But she was only

told to go back and not run from her feelings. So she came back.

Unfortunately, Captain Georg and Schrader got engaged already. But Schrader

wasn’t a fool. She knew what the captain really felt for her and for Maria. She knew that

his love was actually for the governess, and they also found out they couldn’t really go

the same way. So she broke their engagement, and with her out of their way, the two

confessed their feelings for each other and became husband and wife, and Maria

became the official mother for the seven von Trapp children.
 They returned back from their honeymoon and found out that Germany had

taken over Austria, their homeland. Half an hour, just after they’ve arrived, Georg

received a telegram demanding that he must hang Nazi flags on his house and take a

position in the German Navy. But Georg didn’t like Nazis and the offer so he decided to

escape the country with his family immediately. But their plan was stopped when a Nazi

leader, Herr Zeller visited their house. Maria immediately told Zeller that they were just

on their way to a concert to sing at that night.

And so they sung and performed. But at the time of awarding, they were being

called out at the stage but nobody appeared. So the Nazis realized that the von Trapp

family had sneaked their way out from them. They searched for them. The family was

hiding at the abbey, being helped by the nuns. They were found by Leisl’s suitor but he

chose not to tell them, maybe because for his love for Leisl, or just mercy for the family

since they’re also his countrymen.

After the Nazis had left the abbey, they started fleeing and climbed their way to

the hill of freedom.

Conflict

I think the main conflict in this story is choosing what is accurate over a two very

different choices. The one being easy and not risky, while the other is very hard to do,

risky, and needs a lot of courage to be done. Just like Maria choosing to leave the

abbey and going to the von Trapp family; Schrader choosing to let go of her love for
Georg and letting him love Maria; and Georg choosing to leave his country instead of

bowing his heads to the Nazi conquerors, risking his and his family’s lives.

Resolution

The resolution of the characters in this main conflict is choosing the hard choices.

Since choosing this kind of choice always seemed to bring the best outcomes in this

story.

For justification, let’s see what happened when Maria Rainer agreed to get out of

the abbey and became a governess of the von Trapp family. Her small world became

wider. Though it was scary for her since she didn’t have any experience in this kind of

job, it helped her become stronger as a woman, she learned how to love, and she

became a wife, which seemed to be what really her fate was according to God, and

what suited her traits, like the reverend mother said.

As for Elsa Schrader choosing to let go of her engagement with Georg, it was

really a better choice. And she knew this. She knew that Georg’s love for her wasn’t

true, that his true love wasn’t for her and it was for Maria, and she knew they couldn’t go

the same way. And since she had this ‘mature woman’ character, she decided to let go,

she knew Georg and she wouldn’t be happy with their life if they were to become

spouse to each other.

And as for Captain Georg von Trapp, he chose not to bow down to the Nazis and

stood for Austria, risking his life and his family’s lives. Though it was easier to just obey

the Nazis, he still didn’t think it would be the right thing to do and he says, “You can’t

save yourself by giving up, and you don’t outweigh a lion by putting your head into a
lion’s mouth.” Since he knew that the conquerors, as we all know, were too strict and

too authoritative, and since he was an Austrian Naval Captain, he is always going to be

watched if they were to stay there, meaning one wrong move his and his family’s life

would always be put to an end without even knowing it. So yeah, maybe he thought

escaping was the better one.

II. Structure

Number Structure

The songs written for The Sound of Music is credited to Oscar Hammerstein for

lyrics and Richard Rodgers for the melodies.

For the opening number, the setting was at the abbey, the postulates and the

nuns walk with their heads bowed down solemnly and they were singing Preludium

namely: Dixit Dominus, Morning Hymn, Angelus Bells and Alelluia. After they sung, the

four mistresses/sisters, looked for the missing postulate, Maria.

For the I Want Song number, Maria Rainer, a postulate, was at the top of the hill

singing The Sound of Music. This song tackles about how Maria really loved the hills

that she still wants to stay there and doesn’t want to leave it yet. She tells how she

wants to be free in life and laugh uncontrollably and just sing with all of her heart. This

song just shows how Maria is a free-spirited kind of woman. Which is kind of ironic for

her wanting to be a nun.

For the Eleven o’clock number, Captain Georg von Trapp sung the song entitled

Edelweiss which was included on their performance of the von Trapp family that night at

the concert. This song shows how Georg realized that his country, Austria, was lost with
the battle against Germany, that they were unfortunately successfully conquered by the

Nazis. So he used this song to show patriotism for his country and to say farewell too.

(Edelweiss is a white flower that grows mainly in Austria and Switzerland, and its

meaning is “white and noble”)

And for the Finale number, Climb Every Mountain was sung by the reverend

mother for Maria and Georg while they were leaving the abbey to go at the top of the

hill. This song tells us how we mustn’t give up with our dreams when obstacles get in

our way, be strong and be brave in facing them. Which is the main theme of the whole

story. Just like how the main characters, Maria Rainer and Georg von Trapp did with the

obstacles that came through their lives.

Show Structures

(The play doesn’t have an Overture)

In Act 1 of The Sound Of Music, the protagonist Maria Rainer was introduced.

Where she lived: at the Nonnberg Abbey, what she was: a postulate, and who she was:

a young, and free-spirited woman. Alongside her, there is Reverend Mother Abbess

who helped her with some of the important decisions in her life. She also helped in

developing the character of Maria. She was the one who sent her to the von Trapp

family who greatly influenced and developed Maria’s character too.

The von Trapp family was then introduced. The father, Captain Georg von Trapp

and his seven children. At first, their house was filled with order and control, like in

military. But when Maria joined their home, everything changed. The children, and also
Captain Georg’s character development were greatly seen. From a lifeless, boring

home into a joyful and warm home all because of her.

Georg’s and Maria’s character relationship were developing more intimately with

the help of the von Trapp children. But then the conflict for Maria arises. Elsa Schrader,

a baroness gets in their way. She scared Maria by reminding the governess that what

she was feeling was very wrong, so she made her come back to the abbey. But the

reverend mother helped Maria’s character to be braver in facing what she feels.

In Act 2 of The Sound Of Music, it starts by showing how the von Trapp children

were greatly influenced when Maria had gone. They couldn’t sing the right tune

anymore. But it wasn’t very long ‘till Maria came back and the children were very happy.

Captain Georg was especially very happy that he almost accidentally confessed her

love for Maria, if only not for Elsa Schrader. Schrader seems to be like the character

who reversed the development of Maria’s character and her relationship development

with Georg but surprisingly, she was also the one who helped in the development of the

relationship of the two protagonist: From a captain and a governess to husband and

wife.

All were fine ‘till another conflict for Captain Georg arises. When he and Maria

came back from their honeymoon, Germany had seized Austria, their country. And

since he was the Austrian Naval Commander, it was a big deal for the Nazis to make

him look like he was surrendering to them, so a telegram was sent to him demanding he

must hang Nazi flags and become an official in the German Navy. Because of that,

Georg’s character of being a patriot was greatly elevated. He refused the command and

the offer and decided to escape with his family and leave their country. But his plan was
stopped when two Nazi officials entered their house. Maria immediately told the two

Nazis that they were going to perform at a concert that night to help Georg get away

from them, and to resolve this conflict. Herr Zeller was suspicious but he let them

anyway since he was convinced with their statements. But little did the Nazis know that

that concert was von Trapp family’s plan to escape from them.

And so they got away from the Nazis, and they were being chased --which I think

is the climax of the story-- and was helped by the nuns to hide at the Nonnberg abbey.

But the eldest child of Georg, Leisl was found by her suitor who was an Austrian who

just sided Germany. His name was Rolf Gruber. A conflict shortly arose for Rolf and for

the family: Rolf couldn’t figure out if he will help the Germans find the family or let them

go. The von Trapp family too didn’t know if they were going to fail in their escape. But

thankfully, Rolf let them go. Maybe it’s his true love for Leisl that made him decide or it

was his Austrian blood that prevailed from him that moment to help him decide.

And when Rolf left them they continued their escape and started to climb the hill

which represents freedom.

Types of Songs

There are many types of songs in a musical play. In The Sound Of Music, there

are 3 types of songs used, namely: Ballad Songs, Comedic Songs and Musical Scene

which also has two types: I Am Song & I Want Song.

The ballad song composed for The Sound of Music are entitled, Edelweiss and

Climb Every Mountain. Edelweiss was sung by the character Captain Georg von Trapp.

This song shows the patriotism of the captain for his country, Austria. Edelweiss is
derived from a flower named edelweiss, and its meaning is “white and noble”. The

flower was used by the composers, Rodgers and Hammerstein to represent Austria

because, “despite the small size, it was strong enough to withstand the German army.”

This song is considered ballad since it’s a very emotional piece, with a deep, heavy

meaning, and also has a slow tempo. And Climb Every Mountain was sung by Mother

Abbess when Maria came back to the abbey and she advised her to go back. This song

was the finale number too, when the von Trapp family finally went to the top of the hill. It

is considered a ballad since it has a very strong and powerful emotions, has a deep

meaning and slow tempo too.

Comedy songs are simply comedic, light in meaning and it makes the audience

smile, giggle or laugh. It could be in any type of tempo as long as it sends humor to the

audience. The comedy songs composed in this play are entitled The Lonely Goetherd,

Do-Re-Mi and How Can Love Survive?

The Lonely Goetherd was sung by Maria and the children at the night when

thunder was very loud which made the children scared. It’s considered a comedy song

since it is very light in meaning and gives off a happy melody. Do-Re-Mi was also sung

by Maria and the children. Maria used this song to teach the children to sing since they

didn’t know how to. It’s considered a comedy song simply because it made the

audience laugh. And lastly, How Can Love Survive? Sung mainly by Elsa Schrader and

Max Detweiller, (some parts were given to Captain Georg also) is a song that shows

how Schrader and Detweiller was trying to figure out how she and Georg would

maintain their love when they’re both riches. This song is considered comedy since the
topic is humorous but actually has a point, so it somewhat makes the audience giggle a

little bit.

Now, for the musical scenes, there are two types. The ‘I Am’ Song and the ‘I

Want’ Song.

For the ‘I Am’ song, there are Maria, Sixteen Going on Seventeen, My Favorite

Things, No Way To Stop It and So Long, Farewell. Maria is considered ‘I Am’ song

since the four sisters were talking about her personality, being young, playful and free-

spirited as how they described her. Sixteen Going on Seventeen is also under this type

since Leisl and Rolf talks about themselves (but more about Leisl). They both agreed

Leisl was naïve and innocent and that she needs someone older and wiser like Rolf. For

My Favourite Things, the song shows how Maria has a light personality, how she’s

easily consoled by small things whenever she felt sad. In No Way To Stop It, this song

showed the difference of the ways of how Schrader, Detweiller and Georg dealt with

issues in life and it pretty much showed their personalities. According to this song,

Schrader and Detweiller seem to be the type to just ‘go with the flow’ of life, while Georg

seems to be very serious and likes to deal with the matters efficiently. And lastly, So

Long, Farewell, is under the ‘I Am’ song because it showed the personalities of each

von Trapp children based on the lines they each sung such as Brigitta’s line, “I’m glad to

go, I cannot tell a lie.”, which corresponds to her character being a bookish, introvert

person, so she’d read than be at the party. It also showed their juvenility with the

melody and the lyrics.

For the ‘I Want’ Song, there is The Sound Of Music. Which is sung by Maria at

the opening of the play. This song tackles about how Maria really loved the hills that she
still wants to stay there and doesn’t want to leave it yet. She tells how she wants to be

free in life and laugh uncontrollably and just sing with all of her heart. And obviously it is

under this category because it showed what Maria wanted to do.

(Charm songs are the type of songs in a musical play that beguiles the audience.

It ought to connect the character to the audience. The characters says good things

about them, positively describing themselves so the audience would root them

throughout the entire play. It is normally sung by the major characters. Unfortunately, in

this play, no charm song was performed.)

 III. Reflection

 Which musical scenes or songs have helped in the development of the plot?

I think the songs, The Sound Of Music, Edelweiss and Climb Every Mountain played

a big role in developing the plot in The Sound Of Music.

The Sound Of Music is where Maria Rainer, the protagonist who had such great

influence in the whole story was introduced; Edelweiss is a song that was sung at the

part of the play where the von Trapp family were going to escape out of the concert as a

resolution to the conflict: being held by the Nazis. The melody kind of gave off the

feeling of falling action in the story; and Climb Every Mountain since it was sung at the

last part of the play and it was a powerful piece that signaled the audience that the story

had a successful ending.

 Which musical scenes or songs could be removed in order to make the story

more interesting?

I think the part where How Can Love Survive? was performed by Schrader,

Detweiller and Georg could be removed since the song doesn’t really have an important

topic that’ll help the story in any way.

Also the part where the three said characters also sung No Way To Stop It could be

removed. Though it might have been important for describing the difference of the three

characters with their personalities, but it didn’t help in developing the plot.
  Which songs gave you a recall?

There are three total of songs that always gives me the recall of the play.

The first one is The Sound Of Music. Other than it having the title of the play’s title

also, it was the very song that introduced and described the overall characteristics of

Maria Rainer, one of the major characters.

The second one is Do-Re-Mi and it’s simply because the melody is just way too

rhythmic for me not to take a liking for it. It’s also the first song Maria and the von Trapp

children ever sung.

And lastly, Edelweiss also gives me recall to the play because despite of its melody

being mild and moderate, once I understood the meaning of the song, it really gave me

a deep impression not just for the song itself but for the story, since the setting of the

play was at the time when Austria fought against the Germany, and this song really

conveyed a strong patriotism of a man for his country.

 How did the score move the story forward?

The supposed-to-be-dialogue scenes were replaced by songs that relate to every

scene so that it would enhance the mood, wouldn’t be too dead-aired or too boring, and

it also introduces, describes the characters and shows the characters’ inner feelings

more deeply than any words could do, which are originally the jobs of every musical

score not just in musical plays but also in movies too.

For justification, Do-Re-Mi helped in moving the story forward. It was the song that

helped the children learn how to sing, which eventually took an effect to change the
character of Captain Georg von Trapp and eventually the relationship of him and Maria.

If it was removed, how would the children ever learn how to sing if Maria just kept

talking to them?

IV. Conclusion and Recommendation

 Summary of Observations:

The Sound of Music is a musical play which teaches us how to survive hardships

in life.

In Act 1, all the characters were introduced and the problems arose. Then in Act

2, the resolutions and the character developments are greatly seen. It was a very

interesting play since it used three different types of songs that helped very much on

the enhancement of the moods and expressing the feelings of every character. All

the songs were composed by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. The three

types of songs are Ballad Songs, Comedic Songs and Musical Scene which also

has two types: I Am Song & I Want Song.

The songs were really important because it didn’t just enhanced the mood, nor

described or introduced better, it also helped in remarking the play and its story to

the memories of the audiences. If it wasn’t for the songs, the play wouldn’t be as

notable as it has become of today.

 Suggestion for improvement

Unfortunately, nothing is ever perfect. Even this play too. There could’ve been

songs removed like How Can Love Survive and No Way To Stop It so that they

could have a more interesting performance. There were also conflicts regarding the
microphones of the actors. It doesn’t work at times. And we all know that every line

they say is very important so the audiences could understand what the play wants to

convey. So they could’ve checked everything a hundred times first before

everything.