Homophobic Discourse in the Press Coverage of the 1895 Trials of Oscar Wilde

Abstract

A BSTRACT By means of implementing the instruments of Critical Metaphor Analysis (Charteris-Black 2004), the following study analyses an excerpt of the late Victorian homophobic discourse on the basis of the press coverage of the 1895 Oscar Wilde trials. The analysis of the source made it possible to distinguish two categories of conceptual metaphors prevalent in it. The first category highlights the emerging image of a late 19 th -century Victorian homosexual. The second category concerns conceptual metaphors regarding emotions, feelings, and attitudes that surrounded the scandal. The study shows that homophobic discourse present in the examined press publications was rich in conceptual metaphors and that homosexuality evoked mainly pejorative associations. Homophobia relied on objectification and dehumanisation of non-heteronormative individuals by constructing them as, e.g., POISON, DIRT, DECAY and DESTRUCTIVE FORCE.