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Kindle Notes & Highlights
Written in French in 1892 it was in full rehearsal by Madame Bernhardt at the Palace Theatre when it was prohibited by the Censor.
"Salomé" was translated into English by Lord Alfred Douglas,
Aubrey Beardsley, shared some of the obloquy heaped on Wilde.
The amusing caricatures of Wilde which appear in the Frontispiece, "Enter Herodias" and "The Eyes of Herod," are the only pieces of vraisemblance in these exquisite designs.
colophon
Which is that?
The bias of personal friendship precludes me from praising or defending "Salomé," even if it were necessary to do so. Nothing I might say would add to the reputation of its detractors. Its sources are obvious; particularly Flaubert and Maeterlinck, in whose peculiar and original style it is an essay. A critic, for whom I have a greater regard than many of his contemporaries, says that "Salomé" is only a catalogue; but a catalogue can be intensely dramatic, as we know when the performance takes place at Christie's; few plays are more exciting than an auction in King Street when the stars are
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in mediæval mystery plays Herod is taken for a type, not an historical character,
ROBERT ROSS.
an ebullition of rancour and deliberate misrepresentation
Wilde used to say that "Salomé" was a mirror in which everyone could see himself. The artist, art; the dull, dulness; the vulgar, vulgarity.
Bought for a dollar on May 28, 2020, for Alan Stanford’s lectures 5/29 and 6/5. See Osher 3 for notes. For the Biblical story see Matthew 14.1–12; Mk 6.14–29; Lk 9.7–9.
My review on Goodreads:
Rich and evocative, surprisingly (perhaps not - it *is* intended for, and succeeded at, dramatic performance, after all) accessible, the language pulses with simile and repetition. Gorgeous at times, harrowing at others (e.g., when the besotted Syrian officer commits suicide and then Herod enters and slips in the blood, not to mention Salome finally gets her demand to kiss the lips of the Baptist), when Salome demonstrates her control over everyone, including over the Baptist, and over the Tyrant himself, her end is assured. The Kindle edition I bought for a dollar has the Aubrey Beardsley illustrations, which is particularly fun.
Look at the moon!
Herod comments on the moon as strange, like a mad, naked, woman, loc. 343
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dead ...
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looking for dead...
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She is like a princess who has little white doves for feet.
Herod says this at loc. 562
She is like a woman who is dead.
The language forces us to go slowly.
You look at her too much.
Something terrible may happen.
Herodias, the Tetrarch's wife.
In my country there are no gods left. The Romans have driven them out.
I think they are dead.
You must not look at her.... Something terrible may happen.
Do not look at her. I pray you not to look at her.
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Why do you speak to her? Why do you look at her? Oh! something terrible will happen.
She has never abandoned herself to men, like the other goddesses.
THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN
The...
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The son ...
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The ce...
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the s...
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All religions. Higher power.
He of whom the Tetrarch is afraid?
Rhy!
Rhy!
THE VOICE OF JOKANAAN
I would speak with him.
I desire to speak with him.
I will speak with him.
thing
hand of a dead woman
JOKANAAN
Where is he
Where ...
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Where is she
JOKANAAN
