Oscar Wilde writes French play Salomé in 1891.
Oscar Wilde writes play Salomé in 1891. A one-act tragedy play originally written in French and published in English three years later after having been translated by Lord Alfred Douglas, Salomé is accompanied by Aubrey Beardsly’s illustrations. Salomé was written, as Wilde describes, “to make his audience shudder by its depiction of unnatural passion.” Halted by the censor due to the biblical nature involved, the play tells the story of Salomé, princess of Judaea, daughter of Queen Herodias and step-daughter to King Herod. The play follows Salomé as she explores the moral boundaries and physical consequences associated with falling in love with the voice of a Iokanaan who is later found out to be John the Baptist. The first showing of the play took place in Paris in 1896 and was banned by Britain until 1931.