Introduction This study guide “Salomé: A Tragedy in One Act,” in The Plays of Oscar Fingal OFlahertie Wills Wilde, Introduction by Edgar Saltus, The Modern Library, Random House, 1967. Please click on the literary analysis category you wish to be displayed. Back and Next buttons can guide you through all the sections or you can choose to …
Oscar FingalO’Flahertie Wills Wilde was born on October 16, 1854, in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Sir William Wilde and Jane Francesca Wilde, Dublin intellectuals. He was the second of three children. His mother wrote revolutionary poetry and was an Irish nationalist. Lady Wilde gave Oscar his love of the arts, and he grew up …
“How strange the moon seems! She is like a woman rising from a tomb” (p. 1) The Page of Herodias sees the moon as a dead woman, a fearful omen, while the Syrian sees the moon as a princess in a veil, an omen of his love for Salomé. “Go, bid her rise up from …
Religion vs. SensualitySalomé and Jokanaan represent two human impulses—sensuality and religion. Salomé has been brought up as a Princess in Herods court, given all the luxuries she could want. She expects to get whatever she wants, to have her whims fulfilled, and to pursue her pleasure wherever it leads her. This is obvious in her …
EyesThe play involves the extremes of human emotions and experience, especially the sensations around love and death. One metaphor for love or attraction is the glance of the eyes. Looking on another person is a dangerous act. The characters are especially warned against looking at Salomé and Jokanaan, as though looking at them will bring …
The Cappadocian The Cappadocian, a guest at Herods banquet, is from an area in Turkey. He complains about Roman rule there. The King of Cappadocia is a rival of Herods. Herod Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Judea (ruler of a quarter of the land), was the son of Herod the Great, and ruled for forty-two …
Summary of PlayThe scene is set on a great terrace of the Palace of Herod Antipas, above the banquet hall. Soldiers are leaning over the balcony, watching Herods birthday banquet and the night sky above. There are stairs going up on the right and to the left, a deep pit or cistern, a palace well …
