“Heiligenstadt Testament” by Beethoven, Essay Example

The main idea of “Heiligenstadt Testament” is that Beethoven is no longer able to communicate by hearing the spoken word, nor is he able to enjoy the sound of music anymore; he is very depressed as a result. Since Beethoven lived his life making music, he expressed that he was greatly saddened in this moment because he knew that he would no longer be able to listen to any of the songs he produces, nor would he be able to listen to the music that others put together for him to enjoy. Since music was Beethoven’s life, he now feels that his life is over. He uses this written work as a type of journal entry to allow him to begin to cope with this new fact of life. While the letter is addressed to his brothers, it is unclear if he truly intended to send it to them, or was just using this piece of writing for a form of therapy.

A supporting detail for this main ideas is as follows, “My misfortune is doubly painful to me because I am bound to be misunderstood; for me there can be no relaxation with my fellow men, no refined conversations, no mutual exchange of ideas.” He claims that he is no longer able to exchange ideas with others or have a conversation, which is a significant contributor to his state of depression. Overall, he isn’t sure how he will be able to deal with this. He is afraid of being misunderstood because he himself cannot fully understand. It is important to understand the challenges that Beethoven faces here because it is a problem that had a significant impact on the music he produced for the remainder of his career.