Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born on 16 Octorber 1853 in Dublin and died on 30 Novembrer 1900
he went on to study at Trinity College, Dublin
publishing his fisrt collection in 1881
to create a name for himself as a leading figure in the aesthetic movement
1884: he married Costance Lloyd
Works:
1888: The Happy Prince and Other Tales
1890: The Picture of Dorian Gray
1892: Lady Windermere's Fan
1893: A Woman of No Importance
1895: An Ideal Husband
1895: The importance of Being Earnest
his theatrical masterpiece
accused him of homosexuality
him self put on trial for 'gross idecency'
was sentenced to two-year imprisonment and hard labour in Reading Gaol
based on the principles of Aestheticism: art is neither moral nor immortal, it has no moral purpose, but beauty in itself is a supreme value
The Picure of Dorian Gray tells the story of a rich, beautiful young man
The portrait is a masterpiece
he will sacrifice his soul if he can maintain his youth and beauty, while the portrait itself will bear all the signs of time
the fact that he remains young and beautiful, while the image in the portrait, which is hidden away, becomes old and uguly, bearing all the signs of Dorian's sins
Dorian is found dead
overtly proclaimed beauty as the unique purpose of art and life, and discarded bougeois morality with contempt
Dorian's double life
Wilde's is a highly, if misunderstood, moral novel
The novel combines the supernatural elements of the Gothic novel
3 person narrator
uses dialogue to revealo his characters' personalities and the main symbolic element is the portrait, which represents Dorian's conscience and his real self