Oscar Wilde Birth and early life Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (October 16, 1854 – November 30, 1900) was an Anglo-Irish playwright, novelist, poet, short story writer and Freemason. One of the most successful playwrights of late Victorian London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day, known for his barbed and clever wit, he suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned after being convicted in a famous trial for gross indecency. Birth and early life Wilde
Words: 1925 - Pages: 8
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. Today he is remembered for his epigrams, his only novel (The Picture of Dorian Gray), his plays, and the circumstances of his imprisonment and early death. Wilde's parents were successful Anglo-Irish Dublin intellectuals. Their son became fluent in French and German early
Words: 489 - Pages: 2
“Biography lends to death a new terror.” This is a quote from the famous writer of the 19th century Oscar Wilde, and the irony is that in this paper I will be shedding some light on the life and times of this controversial artist. Wilde was an 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. He was a supporter of the Aesthetic movement
Words: 1200 - Pages: 5
Oscar Wilde Often times in newspapers and magazines, a journalist decides to criticize society. This journalist, thinking that he or she is saying something profound, claims that society holds too much worry with outer appearances. They like to say that everybody is too materialistic and that life should not be about the aesthetics. This person believes that the generation they are currently in is the first to embrace such a culture. This journalist is wrong. What this person is referring
Words: 896 - Pages: 4
I want to bring up a theme that I noticed from the beginning of the book to the end of the book; the use of the color white. Dorian's direction from a figure of innocence to a figure of degradation can be seen by Wilde's utilization of the color white. White ordinarily represents purity and innocence, as it does when Dorian is first presented. It is in fact "the white purity" of Dorian's childhood that Lord Henry finds so dazzling. Also Basil conjures whiteness when he discovers that Dorian has gave
Words: 252 - Pages: 2
Oscar Wilde as a person, was described as a”flamboyant and vivacious playwright of the 19th century” (Campbell, Samuel. "Best Oscar Wilde Plays." Stage Milk. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.) for the unyielding wit and cleverness displayed in most of the pieces of literature that he wrote. In “The Importance of Being Earnest”, Wilde expresses this form of cleverness through each of the characters that he created in the short play which only consists of three acts. Humor and irony are used throughout
Words: 847 - Pages: 4
Oscar Wilde: The Love Affair between Literature and Alfred 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 doctrine is most clearly summarized in the phrase 'art for art's sake'. Besides
Words: 2005 - Pages: 9
Oscar Wilde was a passionate admirer of art, an intellectual dandy and a keen advocate of the Aesthetic Movement. Through his essay The Decay of Lying: An Observation, Wilde uses an obviously self-modelled character named Vivian to set out a series of doctrines which detail his personal philosophy on the relationship that exists between art and life, and the rolls that they should play. Chiefly these are: art should only express itself, expressing life and nature makes for bad art, life imitates
Words: 1707 - Pages: 7
famous and most frequently quoted statements about the moral responsibility of artists can be found in Oscar Wilde ’s preface to his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. “There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book,” writes Wilde, “Books are well written or badly written. That is all.” His claim is that works of art are legitimate objects of aesthetic judgement, but not of moraljudgement. Wilde added this preface when the novel was reprinted a year after its initial publication in a literary magazine
Words: 2938 - Pages: 12
Dorian Gray “In fact, despite his power of rationalization and the continuing influence of Henry. Dorian is increasingly disturbed by doubts about his moral freedom and stung by the pangs of the conscience that will not die” (Liebman 10). Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray is centered upon the effects of liberty of the soul and degradation that results from it. If one chooses to always act on inner desires and passions, ignoring ethical values, one’s life will be destroyed by vain pursuits
Words: 1662 - Pages: 7
