Concetti Chiave
- Oscar Wilde, born in Dublin in 1854, was known for his wit, eccentricity, and successful comedies in London theatres.
- He challenged Victorian society's norms by emphasizing beauty, art, and youth over traditional moral values.
- In Wilde's view, aestheticism was about feeling sensations from beauty, as reflected in his character Dorian Gray and inspired by theorist Walter Pater.
- The dandy, introduced by Wilde, was a reaction to Victorian life, valuing beauty, pleasure, and extravagant behavior.
- Wilde believed in "art for art's sake," seeing art as a source of eternal pleasure, a concept influenced by poet Keats.
What was the life and career of Oscar Wilde?
He was born in Dublin, in 1854.
He was eccentric and quite witty. He has got a degree in literature.
He had a lot of success with his comedies, they were represented in all London theatres. He started wearing in a very extravagant way: he wanted to be noticed to everyone.
He was married and he had two children. He had a homosexual relationship with Lord Douglas, a very spoilt young man: he was accused and condemn to prison.
Wilde was a very unusual man in the Victorian society. He died in Paris in poverty in 1900.
His works are paradoxical: they have got some truth and they are a way to describe and to mark the society.
Victorian Society and Aesthetic Values
In the Victorian Age the appearance was very important. Society was false, superficial and materialistic. Oscar Wilde replace the moral code with his own values: beauty, art and youth (hedonistic values).
Aesthetic comes from Greek ‘aestesis’ it means ‘to feel’. You fell sensation when you see something beautiful. Wilde was an aesthete, as Dorian, he fells sensation when he sees something beautiful. Walter Pater is the theorist of the Aesthetic Movement.
The Dandy and Aestheticism
The dandy is the English reaction to the Victorian life-style. In France we have the Bohemian ( the chose of a life poor, without luxury ).
Wilde introduced a new hero: the aesthete. Dandy loves beautiful things, he’s a pleasure seeking person and he knows what is wrong and what is right. He pays attention to clothes, he is rich and rafined person, but is also someone who loves extravagant behavior.
Art is the only form of eternity that we have. This concept is taken by Keats. ‘Art for art sake’, art gives you pleasure, you can’t love it.
Domande da interrogazione
- What were the key elements of Oscar Wilde's lifestyle and values that set him apart in Victorian society?
Oscar Wilde was known for his eccentricity and wit, often dressing extravagantly to stand out. He challenged the Victorian society's superficial and materialistic values by embracing aestheticism, which prioritized beauty, art, and youth. Wilde's lifestyle and values were a reaction against the era's moral code, emphasizing pleasure and sensation derived from beauty.
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