Romancing decay
Subtitle: ideas of decadence in European culture
By: edited by Michael St. John.
Contributors: St. John, Michael.
Series: Studies in European cultural transition ;; v. 3
Publisher: Ashgate
Published: 1999
Place of publication: Aldershot, Hants, England; Brookfield, Vt., USA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 280
Subjects: European literature -- History and criticism.; Decadence (Literary movement) -- Europe.; Decadence in literature.
Description: This collection of 15 essays looks at the theme of decadence and its recurring manifestations in European literature and literary criticism from medieval times to the present day. Various definitions of the term are explored, including the notion of decadence as physical decay. Some of the essays draw parallels between modernist and postmodernist notions of decadence. Similarities are detected between fin de siecle decadence at the end of the 19th century (which reaches its apotheosis in the character of Eugene Wrayburn in "Our Mutual Friend") and depictions of decadence in the current age as society approaches the new millennium.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [257]-271) and index.