Decadence and Literature / edited by Jane Desmarais, David Weir.
Decadence and Literature explains how the concept of decadence developed since Roman times into a major cultural trope with broad explanatory power. No longer just a term of opprobrium for mannered art or immoral behaviour, decadence today describes complex cultural and social responses to modernity...
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Full Text (via Cambridge) |
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Other Authors: | , |
Other title: | Decadence & Literature |
Format: | Electronic eBook |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Cambridge :
Cambridge University Press,
2019.
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Series: | Cambridge critical concepts.
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Subjects: |
Summary: | Decadence and Literature explains how the concept of decadence developed since Roman times into a major cultural trope with broad explanatory power. No longer just a term of opprobrium for mannered art or immoral behaviour, decadence today describes complex cultural and social responses to modernity in all its forms. From the Roman emperor's indulgence in luxurious excess as both personal vice and political control, to the Enlightenment libertine's rational pursuit of hedonism, to the nineteenth-century dandy's simultaneous delight and distaste with modern urban life, decadence has emerged as a way of taking cultural stock of major social changes. These changes include the role of women in forms of artistic expression and social participation formerly reserved for men, as well as the increasing acceptance of LGBTQ+ relationships, a development with a direct relationship to decadence. Today, decadence seems more important than ever to an informed understanding of contemporary anxieties and uncertainties. |
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Item Description: | Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 29 Aug 2019). |
Physical Description: | 1 online resource (430 pages) |
Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
ISBN: | 9781108550826 1108550827 |
DOI: | 10.1017/9781108550826 |