The Music On The Hill Analysis

In “The Music on the Hill” by Saki, the protagonist, newly-wed townswoman Sylvia

Seltoun, has come to live in the country of Yessney. While at the beginning she is

convinced that having married Mortimer and having compelled him to leave Town with

her was the “concluding stage” (14) of her victory, Sylvia soon regrets her efforts to

persuade her husband to go rural, where she had hoped to have more control over him.

Saki portrays Sylvia ironically like a general undertaking a campaign. She does not only

see her marriage to Mortimer as a drive against his family (11), but also the change of

venue as a tactical move (27-30). Hence, Saki employs dramatic irony to reflect Sylvia

Seltoun’s desire to control her surroundings. Although Mortimer’s comments to Sylvia

and her actions themselves foreshadow the outcome of the story, Sylvia fails to heed

these warnings, making her death all the more tragic.

Sylvia herself is an ironic character: she is unaware that her situation is one of

ironic contrast, and her overconfidence foreshadows her loss of control. In the hope of

dominating her spouse, Sylvia convinces him to move to Yessney, where she believes

she can keep him under her thumb (14-5). It quickly becomes clear, however, that

Sylvia’s victory is short-lived, since she sees little of her husband (65-6). Even though

she rightly observes that she should not tempt fate (25-7), she does not trust her instincts

and even assumes that she has the