Oscar Zeta Acosta

When the play first opened, Wilde was revealed to be a homosexual (The Day). In Victorian England, the aristocracy were still at the top of social hierarchy, and advancements in society would not take place for many more years (Stokes). Therefore, the practice of homosexuality was still viewed as a sinful and unnatural practice to be condemned by the law. Wilde himself was arrested on charges of “gross indecency” after his affair with a young man came to light (Biography). With this knowledge,…

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…

Society Corrupting Everyday People in The Picture of Dorian Grey Corruption: Perversion of integrity. Oscar Wilde tries throughout his novel The Picture of Dorain Grey to warn people about the corruption society is capable of. Oscar Wilde had experienced torment and brutality during his lifetime, due to the outcomes of people’s opinions of his work. It was thought that his novel was used as a way to “manipulate and corrupt young men with whom he had past history with,” (Watkin). This court…

The two collections of poetry published in his lifetime revolve around the themes of beauty, youth, death, and patriotism. “The Lovliest of Trees” is a part of his earlier collection, A Shropshire Lad. Describing a blooming cherry tree, the speaker states that it is comparable to his fading youth. He recalls the past twenty years of his lifetime and presumes that he has fifty more to live. He wishes to appreciate nature’s beauty during the time he has left: “And since to look at things in…

One dominant theme in Wilde’s works was sexuality and sexual identity. Wilde was torn about his own. He was sexually interested in both genders and wanted to dwell in his unique identity without being defined by it, persecuted for it, or judged. He didn’t want his self to define his works or have people view his works through the lenses of his choices and inclinations. He also did not like the clean-cut identifications the people of his time had toward orientation. He felt like he did not fit in…

“I’m looking for a classic.” People may walk into a record store and say this, in search for a great album. With many genres and albums to choose from, a decision such as this one can be challenging. A few of those genres most often include classic rock, classic jazz, the classics of some famous artist whose prime time is long gone, and classical music including Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and many other names that people can dismissively recite. Similarly, people frequently speak of the great…

Oscar Wilde opens up the novel of Dorian Gray with exceedingly sensuous language such as; “catch the gleam of honey-sweet and honey-coloured blossoms of laburnum whose tremulous branches seemed hardly able to bear the burden of a beauty so flame-like as theirs..” These sensuous elements, as well as many other examples throughout the first few chapters is intended, by Wilde, to correspond with the idea of aestheticism. Being a large theme of the novel, the deeply sensuous language allows the…

their makeup, the style of their hair, the designer clothes and the importance of flawless skin. They have been brainwashed into believing that it was their decision to become the person they are today and in all reality it was the lifestyle that they had to adjust to, to ensure their success in the fast paced, demanding industry. Most celebrates and musicians are an example of this. Getting plastic surgery on parts of their body that they believe will conform them to the societal expectations…

today’s society the idea of everlasting beauty is very prominent. This is seem through the many creams that can be used to help conceal wrinkles and make the skin smoother, however, those do not stop aging forever. In “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” by Oscar Wilde, everlasting beauty is an important aspect that leads to ultimate demise. During the Victorian era, beauty was extremely imperative. When an individual shows beauty they were considered to be very wealthy and influential people. Though…