Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Life Family his parents were distinguished but highly eccentric. His mother was good-looking and involved in politic (Irish revolutionary). Education at 1st he studied with a tutor then at Portora Royal School and at Trinity College. He won a scholarship in Oxford. Journeys Italy, Greece, London, USA, Switzerland. Works lecturer in aesthetic (in USA), book-reviewer of “Pall Mall Gazette” and editor of the magazine “The Woman's world”. Marriage he married Constance Lloyd and they had 2 children, but wasn't an happy relationship. They divorced because in 1886 Wilde was accused of homosexuality by the father of his lover, who was lord Alfred Douglas. Wilde was sentenced to 2 years of hard labour. Features and Themes He was an eclectic personality. His output covered nearly all the literary forms, from verse to narrative, from essay to drama. He was the embodiment of Aestheticism he constantly challenged the conventions of his time “Art for Art's sake”. The principle followed by the aesthetes: superiority of art in contrast with life, their supreme aim was the cult of beauty. The artist is receptive to beauty and must constantly perfect his sensations and his impressions. Dandyism he made elegance and refinement his supreme aim in life. He showed his eccentric personality in his way of dressing and behaving, though this caused him to be often ridiculed in the pages of some humorous magazines. This was the opposite of the bohemien who didn't want to join the masses (as Stevenson). Aristocracy as a playwright W. focused his attention on English aristocracy in his “Society Dramas”. Social criticism, irony, witticism (ability used by Wilde), Lively dialogues, paradoxes are essential elements of his style. Personality he was an apostle of Aestheticism, the pursuit and enjoyment of beauty was the chief purpose of life. He was a wildean dandy: an aristocrat whose elegance is an symbol of superiority of his spirit. He paid attention to dressing and he hated sports. Prison he spent the last years of his life in prison, in reading gaol: psychologically destructive. Prison destroyed his ability to write: “the ballad of reading gaol” (1898) that was a poem on the prison. Religion he embraced Roman Catholicism before dying. Influences John Ruskin and Walter Pater. The 2 writer used the adjective “Aesthetic” for different purposes. Ruskin: ascribed positive connotations to the term, he exalted the Middle Ages, for their gothic style, and criticized the Renaissance (with this age began the decadence). He exalted the beautiful that was to be reunited with good. He spoke of faith and wanted discipline and moderation. Pater: he said that the Middle Ages are only anticipation of the Renaissance. He exalted the beautiful that was connected with evil. He spoke of mysticism and wanted abandonment. At 1st Wilde embraced Ruskin's theories and maintained t