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Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde. The Picture of Dorian Gray. “It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible” . Biography. 1854 Born October 16 in Dublin, Ireland 1873 Studied at Trinity College in Dublin

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Oscar Wilde

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  1. Oscar Wilde The Picture of Dorian Gray

  2. “It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible”

  3. Biography • 1854 Born October 16 in Dublin, Ireland • 1873 Studied at Trinity College in Dublin • 1878 Studied at Oxford University, Walter Pater and John Ruskin are his tutors. Becomes involved in Aesthetic Movement. • 1881 Worked as journalist in London; well-known for wit and fashionable dress • 1893ish Began longstanding relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas • 1884 Married Constance Lloyd, two sons. She dies in 1894. • 1887 Reviewer for Pall Mall Gazette

  4. Biography • 1890 The Picture of Dorian Gray published; his only novel • 1895 The Importance of Being Earnest • 1895 Convicted of homosexuality in court case, sentenced to two years in prison • 1897 Released on May 19th. Lives in exile in France. • 1900 Died of meningitis on November 30

  5. Dorian Gray • Published as the lead story in the July 1890 edition of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. • Reviewers criticized it for decadence and homosexual allusion (“poisonous” “unclean”) • Wilde Responded in print: "If a work of art is rich and vital and complete, those who have artistic instincts will see its beauty and those to whom ethics appeal more strongly will see its moral lesson.” • Wilde revised DG extensively for book publication in 1891 • Added six new chapters and a preface consisting of twenty two epigrams such as "Books are well written, or badly written. That is all. " • Removed some overt decadence passages and homo-eroticism

  6. Aestheticism • 19th century European movement that emphasized aesthetic values over moral and social themes. • Against the utilitarian conception of art. Victorians like John Ruskin and Matthew Arnold believed that art should be moral or useful, and should serve a didactic purpose. • Slogan “Art for Art’s Sake” coined by Walter Pater (1867) • Cult of beauty: beauty as the basic factor of art. Life should copy Art. Nature as crude and lacking in design when compared to art. Dante Gabriel Rossetti

  7. Dandyism • Dandy: a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies. • Often someone who imitated aristocratic style but came from a middle class background. • Conservative? Political protest against rise of leveling egalitarian principles; nostalgic adherence to feudal or pre-industrial values; the “perfect gentleman” • Radical? Stealthy, self-made, well-dressed middle-class individuals armed with art, poetry, philosophy threatens society of bloodline aristocrats whose main identifier was the way they looked and the activities they participated in.

  8. lookatthisfoppishdandy.tumblr.com

  9. “Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming.  This is a fault.  Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated.  For these there is hope.  They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty.  There is no such thing as a moral or immoral book.  Books are well written, or badly written.  That is all.” -From the Preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray

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