Salome (drama)
The one-act play Salome (French Salomé ) by Oscar Wilde is considered to be one of the most important dramas of Anglo-French decadence .
The original language of the tragedy is not English, but French. On December 17, 1891, Wilde wrote to Edmond de Goncourt that he was "French at heart, but Irish by birth and condemned by the English to speak the language of Shakespeare."
The play caused a scandal , especially in England . It was censored and in some cases banned as an adaptation of biblical material. In addition, the portrayal of Salomé's sexual desire was considered intolerable. Today, the drama is one of the established, even if, because of its brevity, seldom performed plays in theaters, especially in Great Britain. The opera Salome by Richard Strauss , based on it, is part of the repertoire of opera houses all over the world.
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The scene begins on a very bright, moon-flooded night on the terrace of the palace of the tetrarch Herod Antipas . Herod has been holding the Jewish prophet Jochanaan ( John the Baptist ) captive in a cistern for a long time after he publicly denounced Herod's marriage to the wife of his deceased brother.
Narraboth , a young Syrian and captain of the guard, adores Salome , who is not yet on the stage. The page of Herodias advises the young Syrian against admiring Salome so much as it could be dangerous. Salomé takes the stage after “the tetrarch kept looking at her with his mole eyes under his twitching lids”. In doing so, she becomes aware of Jochanaan , who repeatedly proclaims prophetic prophecies from his cistern. Salome seems impressed by these calls and wants to speak to Jochanaan and look at him. In order to illegally get him out of his cistern, Salome beguiles Narraboth until he finally gives in and brings Jochanaan onto the terrace.
The following conversation between Salome and Jochanaan begins with Iokanaan cursing Herodias , Salome's mother. Salome is fascinated by Jokanaan, but his rejection makes her angry and she insults him.
“ Salomé : I am in love with your body, Jochanaan! Your body is white like the lilies in a field that has never touched the sickle. [...] Jochanaan : Back, daughter of Babylon! Evil came into the world through woman. "
She seems to be sensually attracted by Jochanaan, especially by his mouth, which she wants to kiss, which Jochanaan does not allow. The young Syrian, who apparently cannot stand the conversation between Salomé and Jochanaan, stabs himself. Jochanaan feels confirmed by the fact that he “ heard the beat of the angel of death in the palace. “He returns to his cistern and the court takes the stage.
Herod likes the "sweet air" outside and has carpets brought in to continue the feast on the terrace. But he also notices Narraboth's corpse and has it removed. Herodias , however, is not very fond of the idea of continuing the party on the terrace and reproaches her husband. He notices Salome and offers her something to eat, something to drink and a throne, which she refuses. Herodias sees her daughter's loyalty confirmed. But Jochanaan does not rest and, after the Jews had talked about Jesus' work, attacks Herodias again, whereupon she asks Herod to silence him and go inside. But Herod continues to stare at his stepdaughter and ask her to dance. Salome does not want this at first, but when Herod promises and swears to give her everything she wants, if she dances, she agrees.
Salome then dances the "Dance of the Seven Veils", which the company very much enchants. But now Salome demands the head of Jochanaan in a silver bowl, which Herodias welcomes very much, since she too had initially opposed Herod. (While in the biblical account Salome asks for the head of John at her mother's request, in Wilde's drama she does this on her own initiative: “ No, I don't listen to my mother's voice, for my own pleasure I want the head of Jochanaan! ")
Herod tries in vain to change Salome's mind and since he has sworn an oath, he finally has Jochanaan killed. Salome listens at the cistern from which the silver bowl with Jochanaan's head is being passed up, and kisses his mouth. The company withdraws, the Jews begin to pray, Herodias fans himself and Herod turns away. The stage and moon darken except for a ray directed at Salome:
“ Herod : You kill this woman! (Director: The soldiers rush out and crush Salome, the daughter of Herodias, Princess of Judea, under her shields.) "
place and time
Salome plays on the terrace of the Judean tetrarch Herod Antipas during the time of the Roman occupation of Palestine. The classic unity of time, place and action according to Aristotelian drama theory is given.
Formal structure
The drama is a classic one-act act without a change of scene and with a stringent striving of the plot towards catastrophe. According to Freytag's triangle, the following classification would make sense:
- Exposition : Conversation between the young Syrian and the page of Herodias.
- Exciting moment : the appearance of Salomé
- Climax and Peripetie : Conversation between Salomé and Jochanaan
- Retarding moment : Appearance of Herod and the court, dance of the seven veils
- Catastrophe : beheading of Jochanaan and catharsis
interpretation
The Heidelberg literary scholar Horst-Jürgen Gerigk interprets the piece Salome as the establishment of an implicit female consciousness that is based on purity and loyalty. The piece is therefore this girl's dream from the start. A young girl from the Victorian era dreams of a reality: the ideal lover, a saint who rejects her and thus proves to be proof against all temptation. She unites with him by claiming his severed head and kissing it.
reception
The story goes back to the biblical account of the execution of John the Baptist. He is said to have been beheaded, as described in the drama, after Salomé (whose name is not mentioned in the Bible) is said to have danced for Herod's birthday party. At Herodias' work, Salome is said to have asked for John's head for this dance, which she actually did not want to dance and for which Herod was to receive a reward (Matthew 14, 3–12). A somewhat more detailed story can also be found in Markus (6, 17-29), whereby Markus focuses more on the intrigue of Herodias.
The work was translated by Hedwig Lachmann in 1900 and set to music in an adaptation of this version by Richard Strauss in 1905, with main article: Salome (opera) . At the same time Antoine Mariotte composed his opera Salomé on an abridged version of the original French text. Alexander Konstantinowitsch Glasunow composed incidental music in 1908.
The best-known artistic representations of the Wilde drama come from Aubrey Beardsley , 1893 and by Marcus Behmer , 1903. The Société des amis du livre modern , Paris published in 1930 an edition with illustrations by Manuel Orazi .
Adaptation
The song Mysterious Ways from the album Achtung Baby by the Irish rock band U2 contains some lyrical references to Wilde's drama. Salomé is also the name of a song on the Grace / Wastelands album by British rock musician Pete Doherty , which also contains some textual references to the drama. The band Saltatio Mortis adapted this drama in the song of the same name Salome in the album Wer wind saet .
expenditure
- Oscar Wilde: Salomé. Drame en un acte . London: Elkin Mathews & John Lane, 1893
- Facsimile edition Paris 2008 ISBN 978-2-13-057046-2
- Oscar Wilde: Salome. A tragedy in one act . Translation. Illustrations Aubrey Beardsley. London: Elkin Mathews & John Lane, 1894
- Oscar Wilde: Salome: Tragedy in one act . Translation from the French Hedwig Lachmann . Drawings by Marcus Behmer . Leipzig: Insel, 1903
literature
- Clair Rowden: Performing Salome, revealing stories . Farnham: Ashgate, 2013 ISBN 978-1-4094-4567-8
supporting documents
- ^ "Français de sympathie, je suis Irlandais de race, et les Anglais m'ont condamné à parler le langage de Shakespeare."
- ↑ Horst-Jürgen Gerigk: Reading and interpreting. 2nd edition, UTB 2006, ISBN 978-3-8252-2323-6 , p. 55
- ↑ Wilde, Oscar (1854-1900). Auteur du texte, Wilde, Oscar (1854-1900): BnF Catalog général. 1930, accessed April 22, 2018 (French).
- ↑ Mark Wrathall: U2 and Philosophy: How to Decipher an Atomic Band. Open Court. 2012. ISBN 978-0-8126-9813-8 . Page 40.