English Literature / Unit 15 ENL 1446 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The End of the Century: Decadence
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The idea
The Decadent movement of the eighteen eighties and nineties, the fin de siècle, saw art and books as creators of new worlds. Its leading British figures were Wilde, Swinburne and the illustrator Aubrey Beardsley. Dorian Gray is poisoned, as by a drug, by a book.
In practice
Fin de siècle, art over life.
Where people slip
Decadence extends Aestheticism.
Your place on the trail
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