Swinburne, Pater, and the Cult of Strange Beauty

Abstract

This article explores how Walter Pater’s conception of ‘strange beauty’ is integral to Victorian decadence and is a legacy from his immediate and most influential precursor, the poet and essayist Algernon Charles Swinburne. After tracing the personal connections of these two writers, the article examines the complex literary intersections of their texts with specific reference to ‘strange beauty’ and concludes with a short summary of its impact on later aesthetic and decadent authors.