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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
A very decent neo-classical play that became the libretto for one of the greatest operas ever composed. This doesn't really feel like Wilde to me besides the surprising amount of lasciviousness present for a Victorian writer, but perhaps that is a consequence of Wilde's choice to write the play in French rather than English - although the English translation is his own.
This is still one of my favourite plays of all time. Salomé's hypnotic evil is so potent it rises off the page. I have yet to encounter a monster half as formidable or cunning or perverse. She is absolutely magnificent. As for the writing itself? All I can say is that it's among the most opulent and sensually charged texts to have been written.
Bare Bones Edition
Review of the HarperPerennial Classics Kindle eBook (November 25, 2014) of the English language translation (1894) of the French language original (1893).
I read Oscar Wilde's Salome as background for my current reading of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's upcoming [b:The Seventh Veil of Salome|199927990|The Seventh Veil of Salome|Silvia Moreno-Garcia|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1698338881l/199927990._SY75_.jpg|109650400] (currently available as a NetGalley ARC, expected publication July 16, 2024). Although published under the HarperPerennial Classics imprint there was no introductory essay or background to provide any historical context which you would normally expect in a "classics" edition. A reader interested in those things will have to do a considerable amount of research.
The history of the play can be read on Wikipedia. The (mostly) mythical history of Salome can also be read on Wikipedia. The main points of interest about the play were that it was originally written in French, and even after translation it could not be performed in England (supposedly because of a ban on portraying Biblical characters on stage) due to the public censors. Although the English translation was published in 1894, the translation had to wait until 1931 to be performed.
The other curious thing is the use of the name Jokanaan for John the Baptist. Introducing the letter "k" into the name is odd, as the Biblical version (Biblical Greek: Ἰωάννης / Iōánnēs) doesn't have anything like it. Presumably it comes from the occasional Hebrew spelling as "Jochanan" with the "ch" pronounced as a "k"?
Title page of the original French language edition (1893). Image sourced from Wikipedia.
The Salome portrayed in Wilde's play is an exaggerated fictional figure used to convey various degrees of lust and depravity. Character motivation is slim. Salome lusts for John the Baptist and when he rebuffs her, she takes her revenge by demanding his beheading so that she can finally kiss his lips. Her stepfather, the Tetrarch Herod Antipas, horrified at the blood-drenched spectacle, orders his soldiers to end the play. The real life Salome went on to marry 3 times, finally becoming the Queen of Armenia.
The Biblical references (Mark 6:25–27; Matthew 14:8–11) do not give her name, but they do say that it was a daughter of Herodias (wife of Herod Antipas) who brought about John's execution. The later account by Roman/Jewish historian Josephus in [b:Antiquities of the Jews or Jewish Antiquities|20429475|Antiquities of the Jews or Jewish Antiquities (Classics)|Flavius Josephus|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388793274l/20429475._SX50_.jpg|743201] (A.D. 94) became the source for associating the name of Salome as the previously unidentified daughter.
Original full painting of “Salome” by Juana Romani (1867-1923), cropped for the HarperPerennial Classics cover. Image sourced from Wikipedia by Carolina Carlesimo - Transferred from it.wikipedia to Commons. 20 October 2011 (original upload date). Original uploader was Gabriele Romani at it.wikipedia, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17083490.
Trivia and Links
Salome is in the Public Domain and can be read online at various sites such as Project Gutenberg.
The original French language Salomé is also in the public domain and can be read online at various sites such as Project Gutenberg.
Oscar Wilde's Salome has been the inspiration and source of the plot / libretto / screenplay for various ballets, operas and films which are too many to list here. See a list at the Wikipedia for Salome (Play): Themes and Derivatives.
Review of the HarperPerennial Classics Kindle eBook (November 25, 2014) of the English language translation (1894) of the French language original (1893).
Ah! I have kissed thy mouth, Jokanaan. I have kissed thy mouth. There was a bitter taste on thy lips. Was it the taste of blood…? But perchance it is the taste of love…They say that love hath a bitter taste…But what of that?
I read Oscar Wilde's Salome as background for my current reading of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's upcoming [b:The Seventh Veil of Salome|199927990|The Seventh Veil of Salome|Silvia Moreno-Garcia|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1698338881l/199927990._SY75_.jpg|109650400] (currently available as a NetGalley ARC, expected publication July 16, 2024). Although published under the HarperPerennial Classics imprint there was no introductory essay or background to provide any historical context which you would normally expect in a "classics" edition. A reader interested in those things will have to do a considerable amount of research.
The history of the play can be read on Wikipedia. The (mostly) mythical history of Salome can also be read on Wikipedia. The main points of interest about the play were that it was originally written in French, and even after translation it could not be performed in England (supposedly because of a ban on portraying Biblical characters on stage) due to the public censors. Although the English translation was published in 1894, the translation had to wait until 1931 to be performed.
The other curious thing is the use of the name Jokanaan for John the Baptist. Introducing the letter "k" into the name is odd, as the Biblical version (Biblical Greek: Ἰωάννης / Iōánnēs) doesn't have anything like it. Presumably it comes from the occasional Hebrew spelling as "Jochanan" with the "ch" pronounced as a "k"?
Title page of the original French language edition (1893). Image sourced from Wikipedia.
The Salome portrayed in Wilde's play is an exaggerated fictional figure used to convey various degrees of lust and depravity. Character motivation is slim. Salome lusts for John the Baptist and when he rebuffs her, she takes her revenge by demanding his beheading so that she can finally kiss his lips. Her stepfather, the Tetrarch Herod Antipas, horrified at the blood-drenched spectacle, orders his soldiers
Spoiler
to kill herThe Biblical references (Mark 6:25–27; Matthew 14:8–11) do not give her name, but they do say that it was a daughter of Herodias (wife of Herod Antipas) who brought about John's execution. The later account by Roman/Jewish historian Josephus in [b:Antiquities of the Jews or Jewish Antiquities|20429475|Antiquities of the Jews or Jewish Antiquities (Classics)|Flavius Josephus|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388793274l/20429475._SX50_.jpg|743201] (A.D. 94) became the source for associating the name of Salome as the previously unidentified daughter.
Original full painting of “Salome” by Juana Romani (1867-1923), cropped for the HarperPerennial Classics cover. Image sourced from Wikipedia by Carolina Carlesimo - Transferred from it.wikipedia to Commons. 20 October 2011 (original upload date). Original uploader was Gabriele Romani at it.wikipedia, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17083490.
Trivia and Links
Salome is in the Public Domain and can be read online at various sites such as Project Gutenberg.
The original French language Salomé is also in the public domain and can be read online at various sites such as Project Gutenberg.
Oscar Wilde's Salome has been the inspiration and source of the plot / libretto / screenplay for various ballets, operas and films which are too many to list here. See a list at the Wikipedia for Salome (Play): Themes and Derivatives.
dark
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
what a strange little play. queers religion wonderfully. strange and sensual and enrapturing all in one
Well we can definitely say “she will kiss his mouth”