Abstract

Oscar Wilde is one of the most famous British writers of the 19th century and is also one of the most controversial writers. As the frontrunner and practitioner of the aestheticism movement, the play Salome is his aestheticism Masterpiece. The story of Salome is drawn from the Bible, after Oscar Wilde's adaptation, Salome, whose name isn’t even mentioned in the Biblical story, becomes the center of the story. She becomes from Herodias's revenge tool to a woman with self-consciousness who pursues love audaciously for her own desire. Wilde's Salome has obvious Gothic features, such as the recurrence of death motif, gloomy and bleak background, bloody and horrible plot. Gothic features are widely found in English literature and root in Western culture, having a profound influence on aestheticism and romanticism. This thesis will analyze the Gothic features of Wilde's "Salome" from three aspects, the first chapter analyzes its Gothic theme, the second chapter analyzes the demonized character - Salome, and the third chapter analyzes the Gothic environment setting and Gothic images.

Key words: Oscar Wilde; Salome; Gothic features

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1.Introduction ..1 

2.The Gothic Themes3

2.1 The Religious Origin and paganism color..3

2.2Death and Desire4 

2.3Morbid love6

3.  The Demonic Character—Salome8

3.1 The Change of the Image of Salome...8

3.2 The Avatar of Dangerous Temptation....8

3.3 Salome’s Complex of decollation10

4.  Gothic Image and Gothic Atmosphere..11

4.1 The Significant Image—Moon.11

4.2 Gothic atmosphere.12

5.  Conclusion14

Bibliography.15

Acknowledgement16