Oscar Wilde

In the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, sin and redemption is an occuring theme. The main character, Dorian Gray, commits plenty of sins and has the opportunities for redemption, however, when Dorian tries to atone for his wrongdoings he is unsuccessful. Dorians’ underlying intentions keeps him from redemption, due to his hedonistic views. In the beginning of the novel, Dorian is portrayed as a young and innocent boy that is easily influenced by Lord Henry, a character with a…

In the book Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, an artist by the name of Basil Hallward becomes obsessed with a man named Dorian Gray, whom he meets at a party they both attend. Basil intrigued with Dorian and his looks, decides to paint a portrait of the charming, wealthy, young man. Dorian ends up loving the portrait painted of him, and starts to in-vision himself as the man Basil has depicted of him in the picture. A picture that at the time promises eternal youth and beauty. A friend of…

they know what needs to be improved. However, the education does not guarantee their growth and development when they do not acknowledge their weaknesses. Knowing one’s weakness is indispensable for developing or overcoming it. In the novel of Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, the main character, Dorian, has a weakness is that his excessive vanity result in the feeling of superiority; his appearance is much better than that of anyone else. While he does not realize his weakness, his…

Beyond the Socially Acceptable There are many things that can be said about Decadent poetry. It’s central themes are numerous, from aestheticism and beauty for the sake of it, to paganism and the urban, there are a multitude of angles one can take when analysing and interpreting the work of the poets of the fin du siècle. One of those themes is the idea of transgression; going beyond the limits and the law, exploring what is socially acceptable and more importantly what isn’t, and the…

How does Oscar Wilde use the central character of Dorian Gray to create supernatural effects in the PODG ? Something that must be established, to understand the supernatural in a PODG is the contrast between a material objects and a living organism. Its key due to the fact Dorian begins in the play living as a living thing, however in some respects he becomes a material object after “selling his soul”. Dorian fails to comprehend the concept of ageing and it angers him that his painting will…

Oscar Wilde, the author of a very successful play, “The Importance of Being Earnest”, set the play in the 19th century, or the Victorian Era. Wilde’s purpose was to make a mockery of Victorian ideas, especially the idea of being earnest. Each of the four main characters are shown to be part of a Victorian society that Wilde is satirising. Jack invented a false individual known as Ernest. He is shown to be a liar while living an earnest life, which makes him a hypocrite. Thus, Jack is a…

the reason that Wilde was so opposed to the standards of society. If every relationship needed a woman to work in the house and a man to interact in social affairs, then how could a gay partnership work? Male-male relationships at the time got no support. For these reasons Wilde believed that roles should be determined by the individuals in the specific situations. Now two relationships are the same and therefore no two relationships should have exactly the same structure. Wilde believed that…

It could be said that guilt is one of the most powerful emotions a person can feel. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the character Arthur Dimmesdale experiences the extremes of this emotion. Dimmesdale has an obsession with keeping a clean public image, but falls victim to sin which leads to a consequence of suppressing all feelings of guilt, affecting his mental and physical health. This psychoanalysis of Dimmesdale will evaluate why he should confess to his sin and the benefits…

Michelle Watts 10-22-2017 English Literature since 1800 Second Essay Assignment The Layers of “Goblin Market” Does great art make you feel or make you think? John Ruskin and Walter Pater have different approaches when it comes to art appreciation. The argument by Ruskin is that great art is “received by a higher faculty of the mind” and Pater is convinced that art “is the aim of the true student of aesthetics”. Not only are both schools of thought are correct but must…

In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and Machiavelli’s The Prince, deception is a tool that one uses to gain a personal advantage. Despite the negative connotation that is typically associated with deception, Twelfth Night and The Prince demonstrate how deception can bring a positive outcome. If one employs a deceptive appearance under necessary circumstances, the end result must be justifiable, even when a majority of people are willingly deceived. Characterized by her beauty and resourcefulness,…