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Oscar Wilde Essays

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Intro With an enduring reputation for his sharp intellect and inventiveness, Oscar Wilde is widely regarded as one of literature’s greatest icons. Through his life, defined by intellect and public scrutiny, and his creations that delight present-day readers, his heritage endures untarnished. Through a thorough analysis of Wilde's work, this essay seeks to understand the immense effect that has been felt across various fields, including artistic expression and social commentary. Biography Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born on October...
4 Pages 1108 Words
The Picture of Dorian Gray was initially published in the literary magazine Lippincott’s Monthly in June 1890. Upon its release, the novel faced much criticism for its portrayal of Victorian morality and its homoerotic undertones. This resulted in the novel making little money and Wilde released a longer version the following year, in 1891. The longer adaptation contained more subtle allusions to the homosexual relationships between characters, however, opponents of the novel still used it as a source for their...
3 Pages 1421 Words
Literature is an art that allows an author to exhibit the undesired primal aspects of humanity. The Picture of Dorian Gray written by Oscar Wilde is a prime example of this. Published in London in 1890, the gothic literature carries heavy themes of aestheticism, the superficiality of beauty, homosexual undertones, and hedonism which directly attacked Victorian society’s repressive nature for gross indecency causing multiple controversies surrounding the novel’s release and its author. The novel follows the moral downfall of Dorian...
3 Pages 1258 Words
This play is distinctively known for its comedic elements. One of the main elements that compose this text is the comedy of manners. This is basically deriding the upper-class society which could be interpreted as a mockery of the way heterosexual people have vilified homosexuals and treated them as an abomination. If we take into account the time period this was published, there weren’t many ways in which he could fight back against the oppression and therefore, this was his...
1 Page 462 Words
“The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.” (Nietzsche) The intriguing novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde entertains the idea of negative influence in a person’s life. Dorian Gray, the main character, is an innocent young man at the beginning of the novel who gradually changes for the worst after his multiple encounters with Lord Henry, and the rest of...
2 Pages 782 Words
This paper is going to be about the aspects of juxtaposition in two stories named ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ and ‘A Woman of No Importance’ which have several issues that are both similar and different. The aspect of juxtaposition will show the parallelism in the actions or events in both the plays through the dialogues and the behaviors that the characters show at different circumstances in the story and how these dialogues bring out the symbolism of good and...
4 Pages 1788 Words
Introduction and Background Information on the Era Background In what ways is Victorian ideology imposed upon in The Pictures’ of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde? As an era construed by the rule of Monarch, Victoria over England from the mid-1800s in the romantic ages to the early 1900s, the Victorian period was a interval of considerable progress. However, many societal echelons within the era caused countless problems for its people. Rigorous rules and guidelines were set on behalf of authoritative...
9 Pages 4041 Words
Composed in January through March of 1897 in Reading Prison, Berkshire, De Profundis is a letter of “revelation of all that is feeblest in the writer”. Written by Oscar Wilde addressing his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, or, Bosie, the title of the eighty-page letter translates from Latin to “out of the depths.” The letter describes Wilde’s account of the events leading up to his imprisonment when he was convicted to two years hard time for “gross indecency.” While the letter...
7 Pages 3214 Words
Oscar Wilde was born in late 19 th century in reign of Victorian era. He was an educated and intelligent man with knowledge of French and German. He was deeply interested in the philosophy of aestheticism when he studied at Oxford. In this well known and controversial novel, author expressed himself and his philosophy. His expressions can be seen in the first two chapters. When paying close attention we can see in the bottom of page 2 and at the...
1 Page 439 Words
When I was young, I read Andersen's fairy tales. When I grew up, I read Wilde. Oscar Wilde -- the happy prince, the nightingale and the rose... As the fairy tale with the most death images, it tells you the darkness of human nature and the cruelty, lightness and romance of society. Just as Wilde once said when telling a fairy tale to his son, 'all the truly beautiful things make people sad.' Most of the traditional fairy tale to...
2 Pages 965 Words
‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ (1895) and ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ (1890) both address women in different ways whether this be because of their class or because the genre of the individual texts changes the overall portrayal of the characters. The comedic nature of the play allows for the women to flourish as they continue to match the quick wit of their male counterparts however, the gothic categorization of the novel fits comfortably within the traditional Victorian views on...
6 Pages 2671 Words
Wilde was actually looking to ridicule the rigid aristocratic lifestyle by observing their snob-ism through a tale of romantic webs and dual identities. Being an aristocrat himself, Wilde had other feelings as to what an aristocrat should really be: not superficial or materialistic, but more intelligent, well-educated, and passionate about true life morality, and ethics. Wilde had the right idea on how to entertain education, yet the play was considered comical as it conveyed farce at the culmination. In a...
1 Page 511 Words
Jack creates an alternate identity in order to take a break from sides of his life that become straining. To further explain, when he is bored he leaves the country and goes to the city to help his pretend brother who he has named Ernest, this is the man Gwendolyn thinks she is marrying. Society is so structured and pulls on Jack's life, additionally, it is impossible for the middle class to rise so his only choice to achieve some...
2 Pages 1125 Words
Famous author and playwright Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” is a brilliant comedic play written in 1895. The play is a comedy of manners and takes place in London and the estate in Hertfordshire. The main protagonist of the play is Jack Worthing, a leading character in the play. Jack Worthing’s conflict in the play is living a double life as both Jack and Ernest. Jack pretends to others in the play that he has a brother named...
2 Pages 1052 Words
Of the many instances of conflict in Oscar Wilde’s decadent play Salomé, it would at first appear that the conflict between Salomé and her mother, Herodias, is downplayed, if not entirely absent from the play’s primary sources of tension. However, considering the play’s many differences (i.e. clashes) between cultures, customs, and the ever-present tension between traditional Victorian values and the encroaching principles of aestheticism, the subtle tension between mother and daughter, and their particular expressions of willfulness, is equally significant...
2 Pages 950 Words
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