Fox Searchlight Pictures

In “The Painter of Modern Life,” Charles Baudelaire gives his definition and explanation about the true beauty of art. In the first section “Beauty, Fashion, and Happiness,” Baudelaire shows his concern about the “present” in the painting because he thought that the beauty of the art is “its essential quality of being present” (p.1). In the following passage, Baudelaire uses a lot of words to praise a man named as “Monsieur G” in the essay. He describes Monsieur G, just like the title of this…

"All art is quite useless"(Wilde, XVI) is the phrase Wilde concludes his preface with. The preface, which was added after The Picture of Dorian Gray received severe backlash, condemns the over-analyzation of art. Society was not ready for the aestheticism lifestyle and scandalous behaviours that were glorified in the novel, and they criticized Wilde for his radical ideas and degenerate characters. Wilde felt that it was preposterous that people were offended by art, as its sole purpose is to…

Edmond Dantès, the protagonist, is the epiphany of innocence during a time of immense turmoil. His journey from a freeman and soon-to-be husband into a prison of the state then into one of the most powerful men in Paris. This shows the jealousy and cruelty of humans while also establishing the gay youth of Edmond. He is betrayed by those whom he was meant to trust the most and painted into a Bonapartist. Still though, he dreams of the days he wishes to spend with his love. He still has hopes…

mind is distorted and their ideals shift. Weaker minded individuals are easily distorted and their psyches are warped by external influences which can be other people, society or oneself. This message is reiterated many times within the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray written by…

Born with the ability to write, Oscar Wilde was a notable man within theatre. Though a playwright, he was also a poet, essayist, and novelist. Furthermore, his work has left its mark within theatre due to the fact that he presented modern day ideas. During his lifetime, this was a newly introduced topic. His plays have additionally come to be loved, and others have been less revered (Hanson, 2012). Though he was unique, Wilde learned to believe in himself, “Whenever people agree with me, I…

Influence In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, the main character, Dorian Gray, turns towards a life of sin that ultimately leads to his death. These actions were influenced greatly by Lord Henry. Although Dorian cannot be without blame as he made the final decision of each action, Lord Henry can be considered the antagonist in this novel as he influences Dorian’s dreadful sins, and succeeds in making Dorian live his life for art and forget moral responsibility. When Dorian…

Based on the playwrite “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and “The Picture of Dorian Gray: Preface” both by Oscar Wilde, it could be inferred that the author fits under The Sage archetype because of the tone of the text, and the morals of the texts. To illustrate how the author fits under The Sage archetype because of the tone of the text is when “The Picture of Dorian Gray: Preface” by Oscar Wilde says, “We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse…

Single Sea Foam to Married Mermaid The original The Little Mermaid, written by Hans Christian Andersen, and the Disney version are closer than I had first thought. It turns out that Disney had only changed the ending to fit the Disney-fication process, besides adding music. The original piece isn’t as sad as thought. I’m glad I got to actually sit down and read Andersen’s version of The Little Mermaid. Both versions of The Little Mermaid follow the six-step formula for a Shakespearean comedy.…

Setting: Time and Place of Oscar Wilde and The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde was born on October 16, 1854 in Dublin, Ireland. The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only novel written by Oscar Wilde. The story first appeared in the 1890 summer edition of Lippencott’s Monthly Magazine. At the time, it was highly criticized for its immoral and scandalous content. Wilde revised the novel in 1891 before it was published by Ward, Lock, and Company. The story takes place in London, England during the…

Art and the pursuit of beauty are two of the primary driving forces of Oscar Wilde’s famous novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. Art is aesthetically pleasing because it is essentially anything created predominantly for the purpose of being beautiful. Whether a painter, an actress, an orator, or even an opera singer, each artist in the novel is depicted as most beautiful when observed through their art. Reality, the shared apparently physical space in which all individual universes seem to be…