According to the Oxford dictionary, Melancholy is a feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause. Melancholy can be seen as a positive feeling, a moment of self-reflection, allowing us to be sad. It is also often seen as a culturally endorsed performance of narcissism. In many contexts melancholy is understood as a mental condition, a form of major depressive disorder. So what is exactly melancholy? Is melancholy the right word for what most of us are feeling during the pandemic?

In this episode of 5 Things About we hear from four University of Melbourne scholars, Professor Véronique Duché, Dr Vivien Gaston, Professor John Griffiths and Dr Mark Nicholls. The Melbourne Melancholic team reflect on the changing nature of melancholy and how they understand the idea in literature, art history, music and film. Their discussion highlights keys theorists from the ancients to Freud and Kristeva, and a range of melancholic art works by artists such as Gérard de Nerval, Francisco de Goya, John Dowland and Alfred Hitchcock.