Directions for Viewing and Reading (Classwork): Please view the A&E Biography documentary on Oscar Wilde, titled, Wit's End. Next, read the selections that follow: 1) Selected Works, 2) Aestheticism, 3) The Decay of Lying: An Observation by Oscar Wilde, 4) Phrases and Philosophies for the use of the Young, and 5) A Few Maxims for the Instruction of the Over-Educated. NOTE: As you read, take notes in your reflective journal. Title it: Oscar Wilde Introductory Material.
Directions for Blog Response (Homework): Compose a comprehensive blogs response touching on all the elements you have read and viewed on Oscar Wilde. Use directive evidence from the texts below in your response. Engage with the text.
Selected Works of Oscar Wilde
Prose
- The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890)
- The Happy Prince and Other Tales (1888)
- “The Canterville Ghost”
- “The Sphinx Without a Secret”
- “The Model Millionare”
- “The Selfish Giant”
Plays
- Lady Windermere's Fan (1892)
- Salome (1893)
- A Woman of No Importance (1893)
- An Ideal Husband (1895)
- The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)
Poems, Criticism, and Essays
- "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" (1898)
- "The Decay of Lying" (1889)
- "De Profundis" (1897)
- "The Soul of Man under Socialism"
- "The Harlot's House"
- "The Beauties of Bookbinding"
Wit's End - A&E Biography of Oscar Wilde
Aestheticism
Definition: The aesthetic movement was a late nineteenth century movement that championed pure beauty and ‘art for art’s sake’ emphasizing the visual and sensual qualities of art and design over practical, moral or narrative considerations.
Background: Aestheticism (also the Aesthetic Movement) is an intellectual and art movement supporting the emphasis of aesthetic values more than social-political themes for literature, fine art, music and other arts. This meant that Art from this particular movement focused more on being beautiful rather than having a deeper meaning: Art for Art's sake. It was particularly prominent in Europe during the 19th century, supported by notable figures such as Oscar Wilde, but contemporary critics are also associated with the movement, such as Harold Bloom, who has recently argued against projecting social and political ideology onto literary works, which he believes has been a growing problem in humanities departments over the last century.
Literature: The British decadent writers were much influenced by the Oxford professor Walter Pater and his essays published during 1867–68, in which he stated that life had to be lived intensely, with an ideal of beauty.
The artists and writers of Aesthetic style tended to profess that the Arts should provide refined sensuous pleasure, rather than convey moral or sentimental messages. As a consequence, they did not accept John Ruskin, Matthew Arnold, and George MacDonald's conception of art as something moral or useful. Instead, they believed that Art did not have any didactic purpose; it need only be beautiful. The Aesthetes developed a cult of beauty, which they considered the basic factor of art. Life should copy Art, they asserted. They considered nature as crude and lacking in design when compared to art. The main characteristics of the style were: suggestion rather than statement, sensuality, great use of symbols, and correspondence between words, colors, and music. Music was used to establish mood.
Predecessors of the Aesthetics included John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley, and some of the Pre-Raphaelites. In Britain the best representatives were Oscar Wilde and Algernon Charles Swinburne, both influenced by the French Symbolists, and James McNeill Whistler and Dante.
The Decay of Lying: An Observation by Oscar Wilde
Wilde presents the essay in a Socratic dialogue, with the characters of Vivian and Cyril having a conversation throughout. The conversation, although playful and whimsical, promotes Wilde's view of Romanticism over Realism. Vivian tells Cyril of an article he has been writing called, The Decay of Lying: A Protest. In the article Vivian defends Aestheticism and Art for Art's sake. As summarized by Vivian, it contains four doctrines:
1) Art never expresses anything but itself.
2) All bad art comes from returning to Life and Nature, and elevating them into ideals.
3) Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life.
4) Lying, the telling of beautiful untrue things, is the proper aim of Art.
Phrases and Philosophies for the use of the Young by Oscar Wilde
The first duty in life is to be as artificial as possible. What the second duty is no one has as yet discovered.
Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others.
If the poor only had profiles, there would be no difficulty in solving the problem of poverty.
Those who see any difference between soul and body have neither.
A really well-made buttonhole is the only link between Art and Nature.
Religions die when they are proved to be true. Science is the record of dead religions.
The well-bred contradict other people. The wise contradict themselves.
Nothing that actually occurs is of the smallest importance.
Dullness is the coming of age of seriousness.
In all unimportant matters, style, not sincerity, is the essential. In all important matters, style, not sincerity, is the essential.
If one tells the truth, one is sure, sooner or later, to be found out.
Pleasure is the only thing one should live for. Nothing ages like happiness.
It is only by not paying one's bills that one can hope to live in the memory of the commercial classes.
No crime is vulgar, but all vulgarity is crime. Vulgarity is the conduct of others.
Only the shallow know themselves.
Time is a waste of money.
One should always be a little improbable.
There is a fatality about all good resolutions. They are invariably made too soon.
The only way to atone for being occasionally a little over-dressed is by being always absolutely over-educated.
To be premature is to be perfect.
Any preoccupation with ideas of what is right and wrong in conduct shows an arrested intellectual development.
Ambition is the last refuge of the failure.
A truth ceases to be true when more than one person believes in it.
In examinations the foolish ask questions that the wise cannot answer.
Greek dress was in its essence inartistic. Nothing should reveal the body but the body.
One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art.
It is only the superficial qualities that last. Man's deeper nature is soon found out.
Industry is the root of all ugliness.
The ages live in history through their anachronisms.
It is only the gods who taste of death. Apollo has passed away, but Hyacinth, whom men say he slew, lives on. Nero and Narcissus are always with us.
The old believe everything: the middle-aged suspect everything: the young know everything.
The condition of perfection is idleness: the aim of perfection is youth.
Only the great masters of style ever succeed in being obscure.
There is something tragic about the enormous number of young men there are in England at the present moment who start life with perfect profiles, and end by adopting some useful profession.
To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.
A Few Maxims for the Instruction of the Over-Educated by Oscar Wilde
Education is an admirable thing. But it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.
Public opinion exists only where there are no ideas.
The English are always degrading truths into facts. When a truth becomes a fact it loses all its intellectual value.
It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information.
The only link between Literature and Drama left to us in England at the present moment is the bill of the play.
In old days books were written by men of letters and read by the public. Nowadays books are written by the public and read by nobody.
Most women are so artificial that they have no sense of Art. Most men are so natural that they have no sense of Beauty.
Friendship is far more tragic than love. It lasts longer.
What is abnormal in Life stands in normal relations to Art. It is the only thing in Life that stands in normal relations to Art.
A subject that is beautiful in itself gives no suggestion to the artist. It lacks imperfection.
The only thing that the artist cannot see is the obvious. The only thing that the public can see is the obvious. The result is the Criticism of the Journalist.
Art is the only serious thing in the world. And the artist is the only person who is never serious.
To be really mediæval one should have no body. To be really modern one should have no soul. To be really Greek one should have no clothes.
Dandyism is the assertion of the absolute modernity of Beauty.
The only thing that can console one for being poor is extravagance. The only thing that can console one for being rich is economy.
What is abnormal in Life stands in normal relations to Art. It is the only thing in Life that stands in normal relations to Art.
A subject that is beautiful in itself gives no suggestion to the artist. It lacks imperfection.
The only thing that the artist cannot see is the obvious. The only thing that the public can see is the obvious. The result is the Criticism of the Journalist.
Art is the only serious thing in the world. And the artist is the only person who is never serious.
To be really mediæval one should have no body. To be really modern one should have no soul. To be really Greek one should have no clothes.
Dandyism is the assertion of the absolute modernity of Beauty.
The only thing that can console one for being poor is extravagance. The only thing that can console one for being rich is economy.
One should never listen. To listen is a sign of indifference to one's hearers.
Even the disciple has his uses. He stands behind one's throne, and at the moment of one's triumph whispers in one's ear that, after all, one is immortal.
The criminal classes are so close to us that even the policemen can see them. They are so far away from us that only the poet can understand them.
Those whom the gods love grow young.
Even the disciple has his uses. He stands behind one's throne, and at the moment of one's triumph whispers in one's ear that, after all, one is immortal.
The criminal classes are so close to us that even the policemen can see them. They are so far away from us that only the poet can understand them.
Those whom the gods love grow young.
John Marshall
ReplyDeleteOscar Wilde is a man who lived a very eccentric lifestyle and who valued the natural beauty of things rather than the moral of stories or the meaning of paintings. Wilde was a follower of the aestheticism movement which revolved around art for art's sake. He grew up in a very rich household according to the A&E Biography on his life. Both his mother and his father shaped him into the free flowing spirit that he is today. His mother wrote poems in an Irish paper and his father was a renown ear and eye surgeon in the London era. With the opening of opportunity through wealth, he was able to achieve great things in his academic career. From a very young age, Wilde earned very high marks and was awarded scholarships to the Trinity University and later to Oxford University. Later in his life, he can be recalled as saying "that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught". So maybe he didn't value his education from those prestigious as much as the next.
Before he became known in the United States, mockery plays were made about him. Those plays made their way to the U.S. and no one there knew what they were making fun of because aestheticism was a new ides for them. They ended up sending Oscar Wilde to the United States to do lectures on the subject of aestheticism. He was welcome with open arms from American citizens and some even embraced his ideas and fell in love with the man.
He is a man that values the truth but also loves to be as artificial as he can. He doesn't believe anything that actually is of the smallest importance to him or to the world and the only thing that matters in life is the search pleasure and not happiness. He never wanted to live a life like a proper English gentleman and it shows in the way he displays himself and how he accepts the ridicule on his person.
Oscar Wilde was a youthful man who lived during a time where he was dedicated to change the perspective of others. He was passionate about aestheticism which accentuated natural beauty in all artwork as that was his main focus. He intended to draw away from deeper meaning in visual arts and he wanted the perception of being unique. In Wilde’s early childhood, he was brought up in a wealthy household with his mother and father in Ireland. His Father was remarkably known for his work as a doctor and the dedication he had to his profession. He was acknowledged for his work as he was rewarded to become a medical advisor for the Irish censuses. Oscar’s mother was a fine poet as she was associated with the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848. As Wilde developed, he was not limited to receiving an excellent education like many other children during that time. He had the opportunity to flourish into an intelligent young boy particularly as a result of his family's wealth. As Wilde becomes an adult, he continued to be recognized for his intelligence as he was awarded the “Royal School Scholarship” to attend Trinity University and later on attending Oxford University. Wilde’s ideas were not comprehended by those who lived in the U.S., therefore causing his concept to be a target for comedic performances. Aestheticism was a unique idea to Americans, however, they were exceedingly intrigued by the new idea and concept they brought Wilde to the U.S. to perform lectures to share his ideas on aestheticism.
ReplyDeleteAdriana DeSantis
Oscar Wilde seems like a man which, nowadays, one would enjoy hanging out with, though at the same time, not want to. He believed in true beauty and that art shouldn't have to symbolize anything and should be created for the pleasure of the artist and viewer.
ReplyDeleteWhen everyone started to mock his idea of aestheticism, he used that sudden popularity to his advantage and increase his fame, even going so far as lecturing in the U.S. about his ideas after a play made to make fun of him spread there.
Some of his statements in "A Few Maxims for the Instruction of the Over-Educated" and "Phrases and Philosophies for the use of the Young" would still be quite controversial nowadays. Example: "Most women are so artificial that they have no sense of Art. Most men are so natural that they have no sense of Beauty." - "The old believe everything: the middle-aged suspect everything: the young know everything."
Also, the fact that he was openly fine with homosexuality and even fell in love with/dated a man says a lot about his character and how he never really cared for how others thought of him, as long as they thought of him.
Kate Lyons
ReplyDeleteThrough all the research I have done on Oscar Wilde I have learned he is a figure from the aestheticism movement, a late 19th century movement that championed pure beauty and ‘art for arts sake’. This time period emphasised the visual and sensual qualities of art and design over practical moral narrative considerations. Oscar wilde made a famous observation: The Decay Of Lying. In this observation he presented the essay in a Socratic dialogue with characters having a conversation throughout the essay:
1) Art never expresses anything but itself.
2) All bad art comes from returning to Life and Nature, and elevating them into ideals.
3) Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life.
4) Lying, the telling of beautiful untrue things, is the proper aim of Art.
Oscar wilde was also famous for some of his philosophies and his outlook on the world. “Nothing that actually occurs is of the smallest importance.” “In all unimportant matters, style, not sincerity, is the essential. In all important matters, style, not sincerity, is the essential.” The way uneducated Wilde looks at his world, he modernizes things, he puts obscure thoughts into peoples heads and makes them take a second look at things they see everyday, like art. After wilde goes to Trinity and Oxford he almost becomes overeducated and too smart for people to like and understand “Education is an admirable thing. But it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” “To be really mediæval one should have no body. To be really modern one should have no soul. To be really Greek one should have no clothes”. He almost becomes to smart for his own good and his outlook on life and the world changes.
Oscar Wilde was an author, playwright and poet. He was was a popular person in late Victorian England. He grew up very wealthy with very intelligent, creative and successful parents. He went to Trinity for school and then after that he graduated from Oxford University. After that he then gave lectures as a poet, teaching the principles of aestheticism to the rest of the world. The people fo England made fun of him but when he went to America he became famous and they loved him. In 1891, he published The Picture of Dorian Gray, his only novel which was unliked by the people in England, but is now one of his biggest books. He was a dramatist, and many of his plays people liked a lot for example his comedies, Lady Windermere's Fan (1892), A Woman of No Importance (1893), An Ideal Husband (1895). The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) was one of his most famous plays. Later when Wilde got really big and famous he and a young man started getting together and this led to his arrest because of "gross indecency" in 1895. He was imprisoned for two years and died in poverty three years after his release at the age of 46.
ReplyDelete- Justina Reppucci
Sean Healey
ReplyDeleteOscar Wilde was an Irish born writer who lived from 1854-1900, he lived a very outgoing lifestyle where he projected his ideas on others which led to his immense fame. Wilde was one of the early Aesthetes who really believed in that statement of " Art for Art's sake". Wilde was extremely ahead of his time period as he would hint at homosexuality, wit, and self promotion all of which were new ideas at this time. Wilde spent most of his time looking more into design than morals/narratives, as art from this time was focused on beauty. Oxford professor Walter Pater influence on Wilde and early British aesthetes focused on this same idea of beauty. Finally Wilde focused on romanticism over realism and suggestion over statement, as he'd say powerful things such as, " Religions die when they're proven true, Science is the record of dead religions"
Oscar Wilde was a famous author, playwright, and poet who was an important literary figure in late Victorian, England. After graduating from Oxford University, he lectured as a poet, art critic and a leading proponent of the principles of aestheticism. His only novel from 1891, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is now considered one of his most notable works. When he was young He attended the Portora Royal School at Enniskillen where he fell in love with Greek and Roman studies. After graduating in 1871, he was awarded the Royal School Scholarship to attend Trinity College in Dublin. Upon his graduation in 1874, Wilde received the Berkeley Gold Medal as Trinity's best student in Greek, as well as the Demyship scholarship for further study at Magdalen College in Oxford.It was also at Oxford that Wilde made his first sustained attempts at creative writing. In 1878, the year of his graduation, his poem "Ravenna" won the Newdigate Prize for the best English verse composition by an Oxford undergraduate. In 1888, seven years after he wrote Poems, Wilde published The Happy Prince and Other Tales, a collection of children's stories. In 1891, he published Intentions, an essay collection arguing the tenets of aestheticism, and that same year, he published his first and only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. The novel is a cautionary tale about a beautiful young man, Dorian Gray, who wishes (and receives his wish) that his portrait ages while he remains youthful and lives a life of sin and pleasure. Though the novel is a great and classical work of his, critics at the time were outraged by the book's apparent lack of morality. Wilde defended himself in a preface to the novel, where he wrote, "an ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism of style" and "vice and virtue to the artist materials for an art."
ReplyDeleteOscar Wilde was born in Dublin Ireland in 1854. His parents were very successful, his dad, William Wilde, was a doctor who founded a hospital. His mother, Jane Francesca Elgee, was a poet who was affiliated with the Young Ireland Rebellion of 1848. She later influenced her sons writing later on. Wilde was a very smart child growing up. He was awarded a scholarship to Trinity College in Dublin. At the end of his first year he placed first in classics examination. At the end of Trinity College he was rewarded with a scholarship to Oxford University in England. At Oxford University he continued to excel academically.
ReplyDeleteAfter Oxford University, Wilde moved to London to live with his friend Frank Miles. In London, he focused on writing, and in 1881 he published his first collection of poems which didn't get the best reviews. Then he travelled to New York City to experience the American life and lectures. In 1884 he married a wealthy english woman named Constance Lloyd.
Oscar Wilde was a very smart man. He valued the beauty of things and not what the moral meaning of everything. Aestheticism was a huge movement during his time. Oscar was inspired when in college by the works of Edgar Allen Poe and Swinburne. The Irish poet, playwright, novelist created some of the most memorable literary works of the Aesthetic movement, including plays such as The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband, and Lady Windermere's Fan.
Sophia Moheban
Oscar wilde from a young age was exposed to highly intelligent people. His mother and Father shaped his future by leading by example. He had a close relationship with his mother who was very intelligent and she taught him the importance of listening and training your ears before you speak. Oscar was brought the Aesthetic movement to the United States he was already well known in europe but going to the united states brought him to another level of fame. He taught Americans about the aesthetic movement which is basically art that doesn't have a deep meaning but looks very pleasing. Wilde was ahead of his time in his humour also since he had expirienced homosexuality and he knew nothing was wrong with it but noone back then spoke on that topic but he always made jokes etc about that subject. Oscar drew attention to him not matter who was around he was at first a celebrity before he had any work. He was criticized for that but in the long run it helped much more than trying to get famous off of his work, he attended the best schools all throughout his life and was at the top of the list for academics at those schools. Oscar hsa many powerful philosophies about schooling and life itself like “Education is an admirable thing. But it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” And “Art is the only serious thing in the world. And the artist is the only person who is never serious.”
ReplyDeleteOscar Wilde had a very interesting life. Almost his whole life, he was a romanticist over an idealist. Meaning he was never about reality. His thoughts were all happy and lackadaisical. He is famous for some of his philosophies and his thoughts on the world. In the decay of lying essay, he presents what his 4 doctrines in a Socratic dialogue. His dialogues are: 1) Art never expresses anything but itself./ 2) All bad art comes from returning to Life and Nature, and elevating them into ideals./ 3) Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life./ 4) Lying, the telling of beautiful untrue things, is the proper aim of Art”. These are his doctrines that he tried to have people follow through their lifetime.
ReplyDeleteAlso, in Maxims of the over educated, he says “ it is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information”. These quotes used in this blog represents how he thinks he is too smart and over educated. Also his views on life.
Hannah Peck
ReplyDeleteOscar Fingall O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in Dublin, Ireland, on October 16, 1854. His father was named Sir William Wilde, and was a well-known surgeon; his mother, Jane Francisca Elgee Wilde, wrote popular poetry and other work under the name of Speranza. Because of his mother's literary successes, young Oscar enjoyed a cultured and privileged childhood.
Oscar Wilde was an Anglo-Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest playwrights of the Victorian Era. In his lifetime he wrote nine plays, one novel, and numerous poems, short stories, and essays. Wilde was a proponent of the Aesthetic movement, which emphasized aesthetic values more than moral or social themes. This is usually summarized in the phrase of 'art for art's sake'. Besides literary accomplishments, he is also famous, or perhaps infamous, for his wit, flamboyance, and affairs with men. He was tried and imprisoned for his homosexual relationship (then considered a crime) with the son of an aristocrat.
He went to school at Portora Royal School in 1864 and finished in 1871), he then went onto Trinity College, Dublin starting in 1871 and then graduating in 1874, and then continuing to study at Magdalen College, Oxford from 1874 to 1878.
Oscar Wilde grew up in a wealthy home in Ireland and attended Trinity University before he attended Oxford University. He followed the aesthetic movement and was very passionate about it. His father was a doctor and his mother was a great poet. He adopted a pose wearing silk, velvet and grew out hair and becoming a work or art or wore a work of art. In 1891, he published The Picture of Dorian Gray, his only novel which was panned as immoral by Victorian critics, but is now considered one of his most notable works. People would mock his ideas and he used that to get more popularity and fame for his work. He called himself a “professor of aesthetics” and taught lectures as a poet teaching people about aestheticism. People were very welcoming of him and is ideas in America and he made them love beauty and art. They were in support of him and said he came “ to do nothing but declare his genius”. He didn't care about what others thought of him and it showed in his work and in his life being a homosexual, being with another man and imprisoned essentially ruining his life to be who he wanted to be says a lot about him.
ReplyDelete-Paige B
Oscar Wilde was born October 16, 1854 in Dublin Ireland. He grew up with a very wealthy family, his father (William Wilde) being a well known surgeon, and his mother (Jane Wilde) being a poet. He eventually made his way to Trinity University before going to Oxford University. He was a playwright, novelist, poet, and critic. He was known for being a part of the aestetic movement, valuing visuals over moral or social. He also was known for pushing homosexuality, which was very uncommon for his time. He also graduated at the very top of his class, so he was always destined for greatness.
ReplyDelete- Nolan Brezinski
Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin in 1854. Growing up with wealth, he had a plethora of opportunity from day one. Wilde in school got very high grades at Portora Royal School at Enniskillen which led to scholarships to Trinity University. After his graduation in 1874, Wilde received the Demyship scholarship giving him a spot in the Magdalen College in Oxford. This was where his writings really started to takeoff. His illustrious fame all started with his poem "Ravenna"; it won the Newdigate Prize for the best English verse by an Oxford undergraduate. Wilde’s work after Oxford really showed the prominent belief of atheism and really showed the type of man he was. Now, his novel from 1891, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is considered one of his most notable works. In this book, Dorian Gray, the main character, was a man who aged on the outside but remained youthful and playful, kind of like himself. Here we learned about his personality but in his poems, we learned about his ideas of life. Oscar Wilde was someone who really enjoyed the beauty in life, rather than looking for meaning in everything. An influential figure of the aestheticism movement, his ideas flowed nicely as a major point in this movement was the phrase and thought of “art for art's sake”.
ReplyDeleteOne of his major goals in his lifetime was to become a celebrity and through mockery, Wilde achieved this. The modern ideas of atheism were not received kindly by the religious and stagnant people of Europe and the United States, but after traveling everywhere to talk and really expand upon himself, views changed. Finally after the abundance of hate, people started welcoming his ideas and really looked up to him. Overall, an interesting man, Wilde changed and opened up the minds of many and was known as the “professor of aesthetics”. He wanted to find pleasure, rather than symbolic happiness and led a life astray from the “normal” English gentleman.
Dereck Silvestro
ReplyDeleteOscar Wilde could be described as Very charismatic and Flamboyant man with many ideas of art and beauty. He knew what he wanted in life and the order to achieve it. He never let criticism get the better of him, instead he used it to get his name around town. He also knew how to seek attention and to get people talking about him, although his reputation often switched from good to bad. Oscar’s family life seemed nice until he got up and left them for someone who would become his fall in the end. But, before then he wrote some interesting stuff. Oscar was a very interesting man with many interesting ideas and works of literature. He never let anything anybody said bring him down and embraced who he was pretty quickly but he took too many risks with a lot on the line which became his downfall.
Oscar Wilde was a very entertaining man. He was an Irish poet who became one of the most famous playwrights in London. In the beginning of his career not many people understood his fame, however his trip to America made him popular worldwide. He believed strongly in the idea of aestheticism which is an intellectual and artistic movement supporting the emphasis of deshetic values more than social-political themes for literature, fine art, music, and other art forms.
ReplyDeleteOscar wilde's trip to America helped people to finally understand his ideas of aestheticism. There were mockery plays made about him, but when seen in the U.S no one understood he was being made fun of. Instead it created a positive outlook on Wilde's beliefs. He used this as an advantage and began lecturing in the U.S about his ideas. During Wilde's career he wrote many plays, a novel, multiple poems, short stories, and essays. His poem "Ravenna"; won the Newdigate Prize for the best English verse by an Oxford
undergraduate.
Wilde’s observation “the decay of lying” states that:
1) Art never expresses anything but itself.
2) All bad art comes from returning to Life and Nature, and elevating them into ideals.
3) Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life.
4) Lying, the telling of beautiful untrue things, is the proper aim of Art.
These observations shows his view of romanticism over realism. He lived a somewhat short but successful life. When Wilde became very well-known and famous, he and a young man started getting together and this led to his arrest because of "gross indecency" in 1895. He was imprisoned for two years and died in poverty three years after his release at the age of 46.
-Natalie Brennen
Oscar is the definition of preppy, he grew up rich and went to advanced schools such as Trinity University and later to Oxford University. He loved gold and silver and other riches and was so sure that he was going to be famous that he went around telling people that. However, this type of behavior and attitude were different for the time and the aestheticism movement wasn’t a popular movement. In fact, it was made fun of and there were many plays that were made to make fun of the whole idea. Wilde was very passionate about it and tried to preach it to others but was ultimately made fun of for it. They sent him off to the united states to teach people about it so that they would understand the plays that made fun of the movement aestheticism. He knew this was their entire plan but instead of fighting with the authors he followed their orders and took this curse and turned it into a blessing. So the fact that he acted the way he did and the fact that his lifestyle wasn’t just an act but what he truly believed in made him very courageous. He wasn’t praised for it during his lifetime but many years after his death people started acknowledging his work and lifestyle. He changed the views of many people and did so with his art and outgoing lifestyle. He was a true believer in aestheticism and that art should be done for art’s sake
ReplyDeleteOscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in Dublin on 16 October 1854 and died in 1900. His father was a successful surgeon and his mother a writer and literary hostess. Wilde was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and Magdalen College, Oxford. While at Oxford, Wilde became involved in the aesthetic movement. After he graduated, he moved to London to pursue a literary career. Later then, Drama and tragedy marred Wilde's private life. He married Constance Lloyd in 1884 and they had two sons, but in 1891 Wilde began an affair with Lord Alfred Douglas, nicknamed Bosie. In April 1895, Wilde sued Bosie's father, the Marquis of Queensberry, for libel, after the Marquis has accused him of being homosexual. Wilde lost and, after details of his private life were revealed during the trial, was arrested and tried for gross indecency
ReplyDeleteHis output was diverse. A first volume of his poetry was published in 1881
Oscar Wilde was a poet and playwright who wrote mostly in the 19th century when art was valued by beauty. Wilde was ahead of the times of the 19th century and lived very differently from the common way of the time. Wilde had secret relationships from his wife with other men that he would sneak away with but at the same time not hide from the public eye when he was with them. This ultimately led him to getting caught up for this crime in society at the time and he was seen as disgusting by a lot of people. Wilde didn’t seem to care for other people's opinions and once said, “Nothing that actually occurs is of the smallest importance”. We can see that Wilde was not affected others in society in the way that many people from that time would have been. He had very strong opinions that usually contradicted the beliefs of the general public. Even though Wilde spoke about many different subject matters he always seemed to have something to say about art and beauty. I know he lived during the Aesthetic Movement and so the views on art were shifting but he often commented on how art was better than nature and how, “Art is the only serious thing in the world. And the artist is the only person who is never serious”.
ReplyDelete-Regan Grygiel