The Gilded Age by CreativeOne
CreativeOne

The Gilded Age

by CreativeOne in Macro with a Twist

The term "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book, The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873).

The term originates in Shakespeare's King John (1595): "To gild refined gold, to paint the lily... is wasteful and ridiculous excess."

The Gilded Age, like gilding the lily (which is already beautiful and not in need of further adornment), was excessive and wasteful -- it was a period characterized by showy displays of wealth and excessive opulence.

However, it is important to consider that the Gilded Age was not nearly as wonderful as a flower; a time of despair and dirt was "gilded" by the image of the rich who benefited from industrialization.

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