by Elizabeth Pugh Salome by Richard Strauss is an operatic retelling of the Biblical story of John the Baptist’s martyrdom, which focuses on the daughter of Herodias. Her strange fascination with John the Baptist ultimately leads to the demise of her and her father in this tragic opera. Strauss based his opera on the one-act… Continue Reading Salome
Tag: 1905
The Joy of Life
By Pericles Lewis Like the poet W. B. Yeats, the painter Henri Matisse found in dance and dancers a source of inspiration for his work, which sought to achieve rhythmic effects similar to those of the dance, as in Joy of Life (“Le Bonheur de vivre”; 1905–6). Here, the joy of lovemaking, piping, and… Continue Reading The Joy of Life
De Profundis
by Elyse Graham First published in 1905 by an arrangement between Oscar Wilde and Robert Ross, who visited Wilde at Reading and later became his literary executor, De Profundis was written in prison over three months in 1897. It is a curious document: part apologia, part aesthetic discourse, part religious testimonial, part retort to religion,… Continue Reading De Profundis
Where Angels Fear to Tread
by Sam Alexander Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905) is E.M. Forster’s first novel. With its action split between England and Italy, the novel raises questions about national character the possibility of personal connection across social differences that would occupy Forster throughout his career. Like Lucia di Lammermoor, the tragic opera that becomes raucously entertaining… Continue Reading Where Angels Fear to Tread