Salomé: A Tragedy in One Act

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

42704

Title

Salomé: A Tragedy in One Act

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

Oscar Wilde's tragic one-act play, originally written in French, follows Princess Salomé as she obsessively pursues the prophet Jokanaan. When he rejects her advances, she demands his head from her father, Tetrarch Herod. The story explores themes of forbidden desire, religious fanaticism, and the destructive power of obsession, culminating in a shocking climax that challenges Victorian sensibilities.

Summary up to 500 words

Set against the backdrop of Herod's palace, Oscar Wilde's *Salomé: A Tragedy in One Act* unfolds as a psychological and spiritual drama centered on the obsessive love of Princess Salomé for the prophet Jokanaan. The play opens with courtiers and soldiers discussing the prophet, who preaches of a coming savior and warns of impending doom. Salomé becomes fixated on Jokanaan, viewing him as the only man worthy of her affection, despite warnings from her mother, Herodias, and the young Syrian captain, who tragically takes his own life out of despair over his feelings for her. Herod, the Tetrarch, is initially amused by Salomé's fixation but grows increasingly uneasy as the prophet's presence brings ominous signs, including a mysterious wind and the captain's death. When the prophet is delivered to the Jews, Salomé demands his head as a token of her love. Pressured by his wife and his own fear of divine retribution, Herod agrees to the request. The executioner brings the severed head to Salomé. In a moment of twisted triumph, she kisses the head, declaring her enduring love even in death. She describes his beauty and the mystery of their connection, noting that while he rejected her, she loved him. The play concludes with Herod realizing the horror of what has transpired. He orders the torches extinguished and the moon hidden as a great black cloud covers the sky. As Salomé reflects on the bitter taste of love and death, soldiers rush in and crush her beneath their shields, bringing the tragedy to a violent close. The work explores themes of forbidden desire, the conflict between spiritual and carnal love, and the destructive power of obsession, culminating in a dark, surreal vision of death and redemption.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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Categories

• Classics
• Drama