Decadent movement: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 16:45, 8 January 2018

Transitory, yet considerable late 19th-century literary style and movement, associated with decadence, i.e. "process, condition, or period of deterioration or decline, as in morals or art; decay" ("decadence"). Decadent writers wrote about taboo topics (such as sex and immorality) and in uncommon, very elaborate styles. Some writers of the Decadent Movement called themselves "decadent", but more often than not, the label was used by critics.

The probably most famous British Decadents were Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley. Decadence was not only present in Britain though. It also existed in Germany, France, USA and some other countries. In France, for instance Decadence was at least as influential on literature as it was in Britain. Famous French Decadents were, among others, Charles Baudelaire.

Most Decadents were influenced by Gothic novels and by the works of Edgar Allen Poe. The Decadents favored art and artifice over the natural world, and in this respect were closely aligned to the Symbolist and Aesthetic movements of the same period.

Sources

"decadence." American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. 2011. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, https://www.thefreedictionary.com/decadence.

"Decadence: The Theory of Decline or the Decline of Theory? Part I." Aufheben vol. 2, summer, 1993, http://libcom.org/library/decadence-aufheben-2.

"What Was the Decadent Movement in Literature?." wiseGeek, Conjecture Corporation, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-was-the-decadent-movement-in-literature.htm.

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-Decadence generally refers to a "process, condition, or period of deterioration or decline, as in morals or art; decay" (http://www.thefreedictionary.com).
+Transitory, yet considerable late 19th-century literary style and movement, associated with decadence, i.e. "process, condition, or period of deterioration or decline, as in morals or art; decay" ("decadence"). Decadent writers wrote about taboo topics (such as sex and immorality) and in uncommon, very elaborate styles. Some writers of the Decadent Movement called themselves "decadent", but more often than not, the label was used by critics.
-The Decadent Movement was a transitory, yet considerable late 19th-century literary style. In the decadent movement writers of the time expressed tabu-topics like sexual orientation or sex in general in their works, which was an absolutely new approach to literature in the negative sense.
-Some writers of the Decadent Movement called themselves "Decadent" but the term "Decadent" arose in the literary world as a disparaging assessment from critics, criticising and making fun of the repective writers.
-The probably most famous British Decadents were Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley.
-Most Decadents were influenced by Gothic novels and by the works of Edgar Allen Poe and were associated with Symbolism or Aesthetism.
-Decadent literature contained fiction, poetry and novels, so it basically covered all three literary genres.
+The probably most famous British Decadents were [[Oscar Wilde]] and [[Aubrey Beardsley]]. Decadence was not only present in Britain though. It also existed in Germany, France, USA and some other countries.
+In France, for instance Decadence was at least as influential on literature as it was in Britain.
+Famous French Decadents were, among others, Charles Baudelaire.
+Most Decadents were influenced by Gothic novels and by the works of [[Edgar Allen Poe]]. The Decadents favored art and artifice over the natural world, and in this respect were closely aligned to the [[Symbolism|Symbolist]] and [[Aesthetic movement|Aesthetic]] movements of the same period.
 '''''Sources'''''
-http://www.thefreedictionary.com/decadence
+"decadence." ''American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language'', Fifth Edition. 2011. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, https://www.thefreedictionary.com/decadence.
-http://libcom.org/library/decadence-aufheben-2
-http://www.english.uwosh.edu/roth/Decadence.htm
+"Decadence: The Theory of Decline or the Decline of Theory? Part I." ''Aufheben'' vol. 2, summer, 1993, http://libcom.org/library/decadence-aufheben-2.
-http://r.wisegeek.com/what-was-the-decadent-movement-in-literature.htm
+"What Was the Decadent Movement in Literature?." ''wiseGeek,'' Conjecture Corporation, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-was-the-decadent-movement-in-literature.htm.