In the broad sense, a
historical period marked by decline or decay (e.g. the fall of the Roman
Empire). In the 18th Century, the term became associated with a
model of history that postulated that periods of material success breed
leisure and luxury which produces salutary artistic genius, but also a
sybaritic life-style that inevitably leads to cultural and political
collapse. "Decadent" thus became a term for people who
live for pleasure rather than duty.
In the 18th Century, the
term was applied to libertines like the Marquis de Sade, and in the
19th, aesthetes like Oscar
Wilde were labeled decadent so often that "decadent" came
to be used interchangeably with "aesthete".
Denisof, Dennis, 1995.
"Decadence" in Claude J. Summers, ed., The Gay and Lesbian
Literary Heritage. New York: Owl.
