A simple analysis on Oscar Wilde’s Salome
Oscar Wilde was an Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet. Scintillating with wit, he has left many talented works, and he was famous for his poems, fairy tales, novel and plays. First written in French, Salome was a single-act tragedy, which became his representative work of aestheticism. Originally, the story of Salome was come from the Bible (the New Testament: Mark 6:17-29 and Matthew 14:3-11), in which the name Salome wasn’t even mentioned. Salome was the stepdaughter of Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Judaea, who killed his brother, Salome’s father and married her mother Herodias. John the Baptist condemned the marriage of Antipas and marriage and abused them, so he was imprisoned by the Tetrarch. …show more content…
In the writing of Oscar Wilde, Salome was distinctive female character with complexity and contradiction. She was a chaste virgin and beautiful princess, but her beauty was erotic and seductive. The young Syrian, Captain of the guard, fell in love with her, and he kept looking at her and praising her with passion and nearly mania; the guests at the banquet was enthralled by her and even her stepfather the Tetrarch fastened his eyes on her with desire. However, Salome hated everything in the palace and was sick of those gazes full with lust. When hearing of the voice of Iokanaan (John), the Prophet, Salome was attracted by him. He was so special and holy that Salome fell in love with him immediately. However, she was rejected ruthlessly for she was the daughter of Herodias, the women of iniquity and sin, though Salome herself was sinless and her love to Iokanaan was pure. The lonely princess yearned for love so dearly, and the love bred a strong desire that she wanted only a kiss on Iokanaan’s mouth. The wish, which was morbid and crazy, was met by her stepfather. She managed to use her seven veil dance to change the head of Iokanaan, and she finally got what she wanted. She also died for this maniac love. Herod commanded the soldiers to kill her in the …show more content…
The moon was mentioned many times in this one-act play, so its significance was obvious. As the play began, the first thing that came to the audience’s eyes was the moon. The page of Herodias described the moon: “She is like a woman rising from the tomb. She is like a dead woman. One might fancy she was looking for dead things.” He regarded moon as ominous, and the play was set the tone of death. Salome described the moon as “cold and chaste”, “I’m sure she is a virgin. She has the beauty of virgin”, “She has never defiled herself. She has never abandoned herself to men, like the other goddesses.” Here Salome related herself to the moon, and she herself was chaste and pure that she detested those men who were looking at her with filthy lust and desire. And she also compared Iokanaan as the moon, which suggested she regarded Iokanaan as the symbol of her holy and pure love. However, the page of Herodias kept saying that the moon was like a dead woman, which might be indicating the destiny of Salome. And in the eyes of Herod, the moon was like “a mad woman, a mad woman who is seeking everywhere for lovers”, “she is naked too. She is quite naked. The clouds are seeking to clothe her nakedness, but she will not let them. She shows herself naked in the sky…” His description suggested his inner desire of Salome’s beauty, and the lust had driven him crazy and thoughtless, thus he promised to
Oscar Wilde was an Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet. Scintillating with wit, he has left many talented works, and he was famous for his poems, fairy tales, novel and plays. First written in French, Salome was a single-act tragedy, which became his representative work of aestheticism. Originally, the story of Salome was come from the Bible (the New Testament: Mark 6:17-29 and Matthew 14:3-11), in which the name Salome wasn’t even mentioned. Salome was the stepdaughter of Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Judaea, who killed his brother, Salome’s father and married her mother Herodias. John the Baptist condemned the marriage of Antipas and marriage and abused them, so he was imprisoned by the Tetrarch. …show more content…
In the writing of Oscar Wilde, Salome was distinctive female character with complexity and contradiction. She was a chaste virgin and beautiful princess, but her beauty was erotic and seductive. The young Syrian, Captain of the guard, fell in love with her, and he kept looking at her and praising her with passion and nearly mania; the guests at the banquet was enthralled by her and even her stepfather the Tetrarch fastened his eyes on her with desire. However, Salome hated everything in the palace and was sick of those gazes full with lust. When hearing of the voice of Iokanaan (John), the Prophet, Salome was attracted by him. He was so special and holy that Salome fell in love with him immediately. However, she was rejected ruthlessly for she was the daughter of Herodias, the women of iniquity and sin, though Salome herself was sinless and her love to Iokanaan was pure. The lonely princess yearned for love so dearly, and the love bred a strong desire that she wanted only a kiss on Iokanaan’s mouth. The wish, which was morbid and crazy, was met by her stepfather. She managed to use her seven veil dance to change the head of Iokanaan, and she finally got what she wanted. She also died for this maniac love. Herod commanded the soldiers to kill her in the …show more content…
The moon was mentioned many times in this one-act play, so its significance was obvious. As the play began, the first thing that came to the audience’s eyes was the moon. The page of Herodias described the moon: “She is like a woman rising from the tomb. She is like a dead woman. One might fancy she was looking for dead things.” He regarded moon as ominous, and the play was set the tone of death. Salome described the moon as “cold and chaste”, “I’m sure she is a virgin. She has the beauty of virgin”, “She has never defiled herself. She has never abandoned herself to men, like the other goddesses.” Here Salome related herself to the moon, and she herself was chaste and pure that she detested those men who were looking at her with filthy lust and desire. And she also compared Iokanaan as the moon, which suggested she regarded Iokanaan as the symbol of her holy and pure love. However, the page of Herodias kept saying that the moon was like a dead woman, which might be indicating the destiny of Salome. And in the eyes of Herod, the moon was like “a mad woman, a mad woman who is seeking everywhere for lovers”, “she is naked too. She is quite naked. The clouds are seeking to clothe her nakedness, but she will not let them. She shows herself naked in the sky…” His description suggested his inner desire of Salome’s beauty, and the lust had driven him crazy and thoughtless, thus he promised to