Autorentext

The Decay of Lying: An Observation By Oscar Wilde"The Decay of Lying - An Observation" is an essay by Oscar Wilde included in his collection of essays titled Intentions, published in 1891. This is a significantly revised version of the article that first appeared in the January 1889 issue of The Nineteenth Century.Wilde presents the essay in a Socratic dialogue between with Vivian and Cyril, two characters named after his own sons. Their conversation, though playful and whimsical, promotes Wilde's view of Romanticism over Realism. Vivian tells Cyril of an article he has been writing called "The Decay Of Lying: A Protest". According to Vivian, the decay of Lying "as an art, a science, and a social pleasure" is responsible for the decline of modern literature, which is excessively concerned with the representation of facts and social reality. He writes, "if something cannot be done to check, or at least to modify, our monstrous worship of facts, Art will become sterile and beauty will pass away from the land." Moreover, Vivian defends the idea that Life imitates Art far more than vice versa. Nature, he argues, is no less an imitation of Art than Life. Vivian also contends that Art is never representative of a time or place: rather, "the highest art rejects the burden of the human spirit [...] She develops purely on her own lines. She is not symbolic of any age." Vivian thus defends Aestheticism and the concept of "art for art's sake". At Cyril's behest, Vivian briefly summarizes the doctrines of the "new aesthetics" in the following terms:Art never expresses anything but itself.All bad art comes from returning to Life and Nature, and elevating them into ideals.Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life. It follows as a corollary that external Nature also imitates Art.Lying, the telling of beautiful untrue things, is the proper aim of Art.The essay ends with the two characters going outside, as Cyril asked Vivian to do at the beginning of the essay. Vivian finally complies, saying that twilight nature's "chief use" may be to "illustrate quotations from the poets."As Michèle Mendelssohn points out, "in an era when sociology was still in its infancy, psychology wasn't yet a discipline, and theories of performativity were still a long way off, Wilde's essay touched on a profound truth about human behaviour in social situations. The laws of etiquette governing polite society were, in fact, a mask. Tact was merely an elaborate art of impression management."

Klappentext

"There is a moral in Dorian Gray-a moral which the prurient will not be able to find in it, but which will be revealed to all whose minds are healthy. Is this an error? I fear it is. It is the only error in the book." -Oscar Wilde, St. James' Gazette "Before Lady Gaga, Madonna, Prince, David Bowie, Salvador Dali, or Liberace, there was Oscar Wilde, the archetype of the artist poseur....Oscar Wilde's career established a cult of artistic spectacle and personal scandal inspiring provocateurs in every generation since." -From Marcus Schwager's Introduction Lord Henry Wotton devotes himself to convincing Dorian Gray that physical beauty is the only thing in life worth pursuing. The younger man falls entirely under Wotton's alluring influence, and Dorian eventually gets the aesthete's sole desire: his appearance never changes, no matter what he does to his own body. Instead it is a portrait of himself that is increasingly ravaged by time and his mistreatment of himself and others. Dorian's pursuit of pleasure-beautiful and sensually perfect on the outside-is shadowed more and more closely by his own hideous portrait. Oscar Wilde's dark tale feels so real because it paints a picture of human nature not only in Dorian's gullible innocence but also in Wotton's corrupting influence. This Canon Classic shocked its original readers with its portrayal of sin, even as it displayed the unavoidable consequences. The Canon Classics series presents the most definitive works of Western literature in a colorful, well-crafted, and affordable way. Unlike many other thrift editions, our classics are printed on thicker text stock and feature individualized designs that prioritize readability by means of proper margins, leading, characters per line, font, trim size, etc. Each book's materials and layout combine to make the classics a simple and striking addition to classrooms and homes, ideal for introducing the best of literary culture and human experience to the next generation. This Worldview Edition features an introduction divided into sections on The World Around, About the Author, What Other Notables Said, Setting, Characters, & Plot Summary, Worldview Analysis, and 21 Discussion Questions & Answers.