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Salomé = Salome, Oscar WildeSalome is a tragedy by Oscar Wilde. The original 1891 version of the play was in French. Three years later an English translation was published. The play tells in one act the Biblical story of Salome, stepdaughter of the tetrarch Herod Antipas, who, to her stepfather's dismay but to the delight of her mother Herodias, requests the head of Jokanaan (John the Baptist) on a silver platter as a reward for dancing the dance of the seven veils.تاریخ نخستین خوانش: سال 1972می...
(Reread, with a friend)A one-act play not nearly as famous as Wilde’s other plays, it is nevertheless fascinating. From what I gather, during the time Wilde wrote this, there was a Salomé craze going on. Wilde put his own interpretation on the story, as well as being influenced by a painter; a poet; Flaubert; and a novel (not Flaubert's) he adored. Though not written in his ‘typical’ style, his wit can be discerned; and though his use of repetition may at first sound childish, he makes effective...
''I am athirst for thy beauty; I am hungry for thy body; and neither wine nor apples can appease my desire. What shall I do now, Iokanaan? Neither the floods nor the great waters can quench my passion. I was a princess, and thou didst scorn me. I was a virgin, and thou didst take my virginity from me. I was chaste, and thou didst fill my veins with fire . . .”“Ah! ah! wherefore didst thou not look at me? If thou hadst looked at me thou hadst loved me. Well I know that thou wouldst have loved
So this has to be one of the oddest, most oddly enthralling things I've come across in a while. Taken on it's own, Wilde's play isn't much: ponderous, dull. But combine it the whimsical illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley, and through some kind of alchemical wizardry a rather extraordinary intertextual experience is created. The text itself seems kind of antithetical to what we now associate with Wilde: nowhere to be found is anything resembling wit, snap, humor, double-entendre. Wilde apparently
“The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death.”Wilde's Salome was weird and disgusting and also a little satisfying. I can't really talk about any biblical, historical or political backgrounds, but it makes for an entertaining and unusual play that I'd love to see on stage some day.Find more of my books on Instagram
a gothic classic. particularly pleasing if you are now, or have ever been rejected by a man who thought he was better than you. off with their heads!
well that was... weird. i feel like oscar wilde was really high.i read this play in three languages: french, english and spanish and in any of those languages i understood the mean or purpose of this... i was asking myself the entire time "what's the fucking purpose of this? why's salomé acting this way? is she really kissing a dead man's head? WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?"and i know i will probably fail my exam of this play, JAKJSHKJHDF wish me luck!
Oscar Wilde's one-act tragedy that he wrote in french is a wild(e) ride. 🤦♀️😆It depicts the events leading to the execution of Iokanaan (John the Baptist) at the instigation of Salome, step-daughter of Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Judea, and although Wilde changed minor details, most of the plot stays loyal to the original biblical story. The most interesting aspect of Wilde's version is the sense that everyone is under some kind of spell, except Herodias, Salome's mother. She is logical and calc...
...the mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death. I bow to the greatness of Oscar Wilde. This was the strangest work of his that I have read and trust me I've read almost everything that this man has written. It lacked the distinguishable witty, sarcastic style of his and most importantly his quotes, but that didn't make it any less interesting. Salome is a play based on biblical figures and many symbols can be found here. It's short and clever. I repeat this isn't the typical Osc
Salome is the daughter of Herodiade, Herod's new wife, Galileo's tetrarch. She's beautiful; she dances well, she charms. In a shaft well kept, she hears the voice of Iokanaan, imprisoned because he says very disgusting things. Some say he's the messiah. Salome wants to see him. And despite the reluctance of the soldiers, despite the threats of Iokanaan himself, despite the horrors that he prophesies and which everyone says concern Herodiade the mother of Salome, she wants to see him, talk to him...
Interesting read, I wish I knew Oscar Wilde has written this play in French originaly, I would not have bought this in English. Not my favorite of Wilde's work but the biblical and symbolical themes are quite fun to dig into. I'm very curious to see how this translate on the stage, as it gives a very unusual atmosphere. The illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley are intriguing (to say the least) and contribute to the confusing vibe. It is worth taking some time to really research about, and I believ...
This play is very different from the other plays by Wilde that I've read. It's a tragedy based on a biblical story, and the writing is accordingly serious. There was no trace of what I came to associate with Wilde's writing - short and profound phrases that make you stop and question the truth of their meaning. In Salomé the dialogue is very repetitive, the characters often set off ranting and raving almost madly, or speak in almost purple prose. I've seen this play performed in a theater last y...
Salomé needs therapy, hell everyone in this play needs therapy 🙄
This one was kind of odd. Very short, it’s hard to imagine it being performed as an actual play. It must have been an incredibly short play. The story was a bit strange but apparently it is adapted from, or at least inspired by, a particular biblical story that I’m not familiar with so I guess that’s why. It was definitely interesting though.
First of all, I had no idea this was a one act play. Then I found out it was originally written in French (while Oscar Wilde was in exile in Paris) to avoid the Victorian censorship.Salome is a tale of complex passion. Oscar Wilde's Salome is not an instrument of Herodias. She's a a sensual, sensitive lover who turns into a vengeful executioner. Her mother, Herodias and the present King had imprisoned and put to death, her father, the former king making her a "Hamlet". She falls in love with Joh...
Oscar Wilde's vibrant descriptions, monologues, and symbolisms + Aubrey Beardsley's fascinating illustrations = perfection. I like how this was banned back then because of its sexual perversity lmao Wilde was ahead of his time.
After finishing "Salomé", I laughed out loud. That doesn't seem unusual. Oscar Wilde is renown for his witty dialogue and snarky social commentary, so why not laugh? Well, I didn't laugh because of the play's humor, I laughed because I was weirded out. There was one thought that dominated my thinking, and that thought was: What the fuck did I just read?I was taken aback by this play, I was surprised to learn that Oscar didn't solely write Society Plays. I was accostumed to his depiction of an up...
Ah, I'm revisiting this Oscar Wilde's awesome works about death, madness, twisted passion, blood and...last but not least, beauty. Alice Poon's review for this masterpiece: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Definitely not my favourite Oscar Wilde play. An interesting but odd read.
My senior year of high school, I read this play as part of an independent course study of Oscar Wilde. My first impression upon completing it was: "Wow. That Salome is seriously f----d up!" However, four years later while I was searching for a one-act play to direct for my college thesis - and having no particular luck - I remembered this play. Reading it again produced in me quite a different reaction: if Salome is crazed (I was more discreet in my thoughts at that time), then she is so because...
[Note: this is a combined review of "Salome" the play and the opera.]It has been said often enough that music has no nationality. Sometimes, a piece of art can transcend culture and language to reach an apex of perfection, in which music and story fuse to produce a stunning art form that grips the heart and mind of the audience. Richard Strauss’ operatic gem “Salome” in German, based on Oscar Wilde’s French play, perhaps deserves to be counted amongst such pieces.Oscar Wilde, the Irish poet and
"I have kissed thy mouth, Jokanaan, I have kissed thy mouth."So exhales Salome in OWs famous-awful play after she receives his head on a silver platter. With his religio rants, Jo was a tiresome bore. Eve, Delilah, Lot's wife -- the Bible views women brutally while serving sex & sadism girdled with inspirational asides. OWs extravaganza is wittily adapted by Ken Russell as "Salome's Last Dance." I got tangled in this Salome mischief after seeing Rita Hayworth's titular calamity in which she danc...
Dancing with FateLately I have been listening to Richard Strauss's opera 'Salome' so I felt a sudden urge to learn more about Salome through Oscar Wilde's play. Previously I have very much enjoyed his "The Importance of Being Earnest" as well as "An Ideal Husband". Both made me laugh and appreciate Wilde's brilliant wit. The play "Salome" was a very different experience as it focused on a very different type of event. I mostly appreciated the poetic language and Wilde's strong use of similes. Th...
Never before has a work so flawed been so perfect. Death and whim at their best.
I love Beardsley's illustrations (more so than he himself liked the play or its author).
The Tragedy of Herod1 July 2019 This is certainly quite different, though the suggestion was that Wilde wanted to try something a little more challenging, and he certainly did do that – a play in French. Actually, it is more than just a play in French namely because it is also a drama, and one that has clearly been modelled on the plays of the Ancient Greeks – namely that it is basically a one act play, and deals with a character with a tragic flaw, namely Herod the Tetrach. The story is probabl...
Picked up to read after reading Coelho's The Spy which is a retelling of Mata Hari which was explained was based off of Wilde's play Salome. So I went for it, reading this play originally written in French and translated (and in this edition also includes CRAZY illustrations) about a woman and her wishes and desires. Herod wants her to dance and tells her he will give her whatever she wishes, she wishes for the head of Iokanaan and then Herod in turn takes her life.
(Straight to my Favs shelf)(That Moreau painting!)" I am amorous of thy body! Thy body is white like the lilies of a field that the mower hath never mowed. Thy body is white like the snows that lie on the mountains, like the snows that lie on the mountains of Judæa, and come down into the valleys. The roses in the garden of the Queen of Arabia are not so white as thy body. Neither the roses in the garden of the Queen of Arabia, the perfumed garden of spices of the Queen of Arabia, nor the feet o...
I love how this book was censored back when it was published because Salome's actions were caused by her female sexual desires, which was difficult to imagine back then. Wilde was really ahead of the times in a lot of ways. ♥
In the hands of Oscar Wilde, a Biblical account is turned into a prayer in the name of death, desire, and beauty (pleasure). Salomé exists to prove how brave the playwright was to take a sacred text and remold it, this way.I must say this has been a verily odd, yet valuable read. Especially that it feels different from the Oscar Wilde style I am familiar with.---Salomé, step-daughter of Herod the Tetrarch, a man of frightful authority, and daughter of Herodias, an epitome of abominations and sin...