Interpretation of the plot about the barber in the poem "The barber" by John Gray and in "The ballad of a barber" by Aubrey Beardsley

The article is devoted to the comparative analysis of The Barber by John Gray and The Ballad of a Barber by Aubrey Beardsley. The poems are based on the interpretation of the criminal plot and ekphrasis of Martyr. Figure unknown master by Ch.Baudelaire. A.Beardsley and J.Gray interpret the motif of creation, which is related to the motif of sleep and death. Developing the French fine art and poetic tradition of Ch.Baudelaire (of all romantics) the authors of the "yellow 90-s" comprehend the plot of the villain barber Sweeney Todd as aesthetic and decadent. J.Gray's and A.Beardsley's lines show the merge of crime news and the ekphrastic tradition, naturalism and realism, grotesque and symbolism. J.Gray and A.Beardsley make an esthetic experiment with the analysis of the inner world of the lyrical subject and his passion.