the bible
Salome is a biblical character who appeared in the New Testament (Mark 6:17-29 and Matthew 14:3-11 although her name is not directly mentioned).
She is known to be the daughter of Herodias (Herod's niece) and a step daughter of Herod Antipas.
In the bible story, Salome was asked to dance for Herod Antipas's birthday banquet. Herod was pleased by the performance that he offered to give her anything that she wished for and in response, Salome asked for the head of John the Baptist, which was requested by her mother. Herodias, her mother asked for the head by wearying against John because he mentioned that the marriage of Herod and her was unlawful.
For the actual bible story, click here.
The poem also mentions Jesus's deciples in line 14 "What was his name? Peter?" and in line 15 "Simon? Andrew? John?". These can be identified as allegories, identifying Salome as the biblical figure by the direct inference to the bible characters.
Peter / Simon: His real name was Peter, although he is referred to as Simon. He is known to be one of the first disciples of Jesus who was greatly committed to him and his missions. Despite this fact, he doubted Jesus at times and didn't place his full trust in him. Jesus, before being taken by the Romans to be crucified, predicted that Peter would deny that he knew him three times after a rooster crows. Although unfaithful at times, he became an apostle and was an avid advocate of Christianity and became the first known bishop. He was crucified in Rome but was put upside down on a cross, as Peter saw it unfit that he should be crucified in the same way as Jesus.
Andrew: Andrew, a sibling of Simon Peter, was a former disciple of ohn the Baptist, but left him to become a disciple of Jesus. He was desperate in discovering truth, which he found by becoming a disciple to Jesus. He became an apostle but was martyred in the city of Patras, in Archea by being crucified on a variation of a cross.
John the baptist: John the Baptist was a famous prophet who is well known for predicting the coming of and for baptizing Jesus. He lived in the desert wearing simple clothes or a loincloth, surviving on honey and locusts. He led the movement of baptism near the Jordan river, which was when he connected the ritual of bathing in "Holy Water" to relieve someone of their sins. In the book of Mark, John the baptist gets captured by King Herod because he denounced the King's incestuous marriage with Herodias (Herod's niece). It was when he was held captive by Herod that he was brought out, by the command of Salome (Herodias's daughter) to be executed. John the baptist is not only considered to be a religious figure in Christianity, but in Islam, the Bahái faith, and Mandaeism.
She is known to be the daughter of Herodias (Herod's niece) and a step daughter of Herod Antipas.
In the bible story, Salome was asked to dance for Herod Antipas's birthday banquet. Herod was pleased by the performance that he offered to give her anything that she wished for and in response, Salome asked for the head of John the Baptist, which was requested by her mother. Herodias, her mother asked for the head by wearying against John because he mentioned that the marriage of Herod and her was unlawful.
For the actual bible story, click here.
The poem also mentions Jesus's deciples in line 14 "What was his name? Peter?" and in line 15 "Simon? Andrew? John?". These can be identified as allegories, identifying Salome as the biblical figure by the direct inference to the bible characters.
Peter / Simon: His real name was Peter, although he is referred to as Simon. He is known to be one of the first disciples of Jesus who was greatly committed to him and his missions. Despite this fact, he doubted Jesus at times and didn't place his full trust in him. Jesus, before being taken by the Romans to be crucified, predicted that Peter would deny that he knew him three times after a rooster crows. Although unfaithful at times, he became an apostle and was an avid advocate of Christianity and became the first known bishop. He was crucified in Rome but was put upside down on a cross, as Peter saw it unfit that he should be crucified in the same way as Jesus.
Andrew: Andrew, a sibling of Simon Peter, was a former disciple of ohn the Baptist, but left him to become a disciple of Jesus. He was desperate in discovering truth, which he found by becoming a disciple to Jesus. He became an apostle but was martyred in the city of Patras, in Archea by being crucified on a variation of a cross.
John the baptist: John the Baptist was a famous prophet who is well known for predicting the coming of and for baptizing Jesus. He lived in the desert wearing simple clothes or a loincloth, surviving on honey and locusts. He led the movement of baptism near the Jordan river, which was when he connected the ritual of bathing in "Holy Water" to relieve someone of their sins. In the book of Mark, John the baptist gets captured by King Herod because he denounced the King's incestuous marriage with Herodias (Herod's niece). It was when he was held captive by Herod that he was brought out, by the command of Salome (Herodias's daughter) to be executed. John the baptist is not only considered to be a religious figure in Christianity, but in Islam, the Bahái faith, and Mandaeism.
The play
This is a play by Oscar Wilde, who is an Irish writer. The play was written in French in 1981.
The play goes on a journey of Salome dancing for her stepfather Herod and in return receives a head of John the Baptist. Herod is disturbed by the affection and love she has for the head that in the end, Salome is put to death by him.
For more information about the play, click here.
The play goes on a journey of Salome dancing for her stepfather Herod and in return receives a head of John the Baptist. Herod is disturbed by the affection and love she has for the head that in the end, Salome is put to death by him.
For more information about the play, click here.
The opera
It is an one-act opera, created by Richard Strauss in 1905 which was based on the play by Oscar Wilde. The opera illustrates the how Salome lives under horror by her stepfather Herod and asks for the head of John the Baptist as a reward for dancing in the dance of the Seven Vails.
For more detailed information, click here
For more detailed information, click here
Lamb to the Slaughter
"Lamb to the Slaughter" is a short story written by Roald Dahl about Mary Maloney, a woman who murders her husband with a leg of mutton after he proposes a divorce. After realizing what she has done, she sets up an alibi for herself and then destroyed all evidence of the murder by cooking the lamb and feeding it to the police officers who came to investigate the murder.
A very clear connection can be drawn between Mary and Salome, as they both killed a man and ostensibly "found" him like that. However, although Mary acted out of rage and had neither intention nor experience with killing, Salome was used to killing the men she slept with.
A copy of the short story itself can be found here.
A very clear connection can be drawn between Mary and Salome, as they both killed a man and ostensibly "found" him like that. However, although Mary acted out of rage and had neither intention nor experience with killing, Salome was used to killing the men she slept with.
A copy of the short story itself can be found here.
The Godfather
The line "I flung back the sticky red sheets" is a reference to a scene in The Godfather, a 1972 movie about organized crime among different mafia-involved families in New York. The scene in question is, most likely, one of the most famous scenes from the movie, due to its highly disturbing nature and the protests that it elicited form various groups.
This scene is a demonstration of the power that Italian mafia families held: in order to "persuade" a prominent and stubborn movie producer to cast his godson in a coming movie, the Don of the Corleone family has the producer's prize stallion decapitated and the head placed on his bed, as the image shows.
Both this scene and "Salome" have a distinctly dark tone: there is normalcy mixed in with a highly macabre happening. What differs between the two, however, is the way in which these characters react. Salome reacts nonchalantly and shows no emotion when confronted with the head of the dead man. John Woltz (IMDb) (the producer), on the other hand, reacts with horror and fear, much like any other person would.
This is the scene from The Godfather:
This scene is a demonstration of the power that Italian mafia families held: in order to "persuade" a prominent and stubborn movie producer to cast his godson in a coming movie, the Don of the Corleone family has the producer's prize stallion decapitated and the head placed on his bed, as the image shows.
Both this scene and "Salome" have a distinctly dark tone: there is normalcy mixed in with a highly macabre happening. What differs between the two, however, is the way in which these characters react. Salome reacts nonchalantly and shows no emotion when confronted with the head of the dead man. John Woltz (IMDb) (the producer), on the other hand, reacts with horror and fear, much like any other person would.
This is the scene from The Godfather: