User:Lundyne/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
(Lisztomania)

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
I chose this article because I found it intriguing and applicable to socializations we see in more modern years. Lisztomania, or rather Liszt fever refers to a collective 'craze' people felt towards the composer Franz Liszt and specifically the pieces he composed. It can be referred to as one of the first examples of 'celebrity' treatment we see commonly with mainstream pop artists. Essentially, Franz Liszt was the Harry Styles or The Beatles of the 19th century. Upon reading this article, I was shocked to see the actions people were taking towards the composer. It can be argued that most people have the connotation that most people who lived within the 19th century, were highly respected and highly mannered people. However, the actions people were taking, such as saving the composer's old cigar butts or fighting over his handkerchiefs tell a different story.

Evaluate the article
Lead Section:

The lead section of this article provides a concise and informative overview of what Lisztomania (Liszt fever) encompassed. The lead section written also does a nice job of connecting this concept to modern-day examples. However, it must be said the paragraph is a little small and does not reference other sections that are discussed throughout the article.

Content:

The information presented seems thoughtful and meaningful and relates back to the topic of Lisztomania. The article can be said to be up-to-date as it is being edited and reviewed in recent days; The last edit occured on January 26, 2023. The article does not discuss many other people besides Liszt and the person who coined the term Lisztomania (Heinrich Heine). It may be helpful to find primary sources and information from this period of time that support this idea of a collective hysteria.

Tone & Balance:

The article does not appear to be biased to one side or another. This is most likely due to the topic of Lisztomania being a fairly neutral topic. The article does not attempt to persuade the reader and rather acts as a source to inform. The claims found throughout the article are thoughtful and are backed up with thorough citations and references to the sources used.

Sources & References:

Throughout the article, many scholarly sources can be found. Most importantly, these sources and connected to facts, thoughts, and quotes throughout the article. However, most of the sources used are almost 40 years old, and there is only one source that was written within the last 5 years. It would be beneficial to the article for there to be more recent references and sources, as it would elevate the credibility of the article. Upon some searching, it was difficult to find recent articles that reference Lisztomania or the Liszt fever. With this, it could be said the sources used throughout the article may be the most reliable, until newer sources are written. The links provided throughout the article work as well, and it is extremely helpful to those wanting to fact-check the article.

Organization & Writing Quality:

Upon reading the article, I appreciated how the various sections were broken up and it created a pleasant reading experience. I was unable to find any spelling errors, and the sentence structures all seemed to be appropriate. I would not disagree with the setup of the page and my only comment would be more information and more sections.

Images & Media:

Throughout the article there is only one image, and it is of Franz Liszt. The picture is relevant to the article, but it would be nice to see some more scattered throughout the article. The one picture adheres to Wikipedia's copyright policies, as the photo falls under public domain.

Talk Page Discussion:

The article does not really feature a discussion or talk section, which would be a really nice addition to the wikipedia page. I think the lack of a talk page may be due to the lack of sources, and people who are informed about the subject. The closest part in the article to a discussion would be the 'Causes' section as it  talks about various causes that may have caused Lisztomania, and there are conflicting and complimentary ideas throughout the section. From a general overview, it does not appear that this specific article is connected to any of Wikipedia's larger projects.

Overall Impressions:

The article is well composed and easy to read. However, this does not diminish the information throughout the article and it is still informative and important information to the subject. The article provides a concise and nice overview of what Lisztomania was and the possible causes of the hysteria. However, due to the article being relatively short, it may not be a great source for writing about the subject, but rather a starting point for research.