IntentionsOscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854–1900) was an Irish poet and playwright who became one of the most popular in London during the 1880s and 1890s. Well-known for his sharp wit and extravagant attire, Wilde was a proponent of aestheticism and wrote in a variety of forms including poetry, fiction, and drama. He was famously imprisoned for homosexual acts from 1895 to 1897 and died at the age of 46, just three years after his release. Although best remembered for his plays, poetry and novels, Wilde also wrote a number of interesting essays a variety of subjects ranging from art and literature to society and beyond, the best examples of which are contained within this volume. They include: “The Decay of Lying, an Observation”, “Pen, Pencil and Poison, A Study in Green”, “The Critic as Artist, with Some Remarks Upon the Importance of Doing Nothing”, “The Critic as Artist, with Some Remarks Upon the Importance of Discussing Everything”, and “The Truth of Masks, A Note on Illusion”. A fantastic collection of interesting and thought-provoking essays not to be missed by those with an interest in the work and mind of this seminal literary figure. Read & Co. Classics is proudly publishing this new collection of classic essays now in a new edition complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of the author. |
Contents
PEN PENCIL AND POISON | |
THE CRITIC AS ARTIST | |
WITH SOME REMARKS UPON THE IMPORTANCE OF DISCUSSING EVERYTHING | |
THE TRUTH OF MASKS | |
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Common terms and phrases
absolutely admirable æsthetic critic archæology Aristotle art-criticism art-critics artistic temperament beauty become century certainly Charles Lamb charm colour costume creation creative critical spirit culture curious CYRIL dear DECAY OF LYING delightful dramatic dress Dvorák effect emotional England English entirely ERNEST everything expression exquisite eyes fact faculty fancy fascinated feel fiction GILBERT Giorgione give Goethe Greek Hamlet ideal imaginative imitative instinct intellectual invented Linden House lips literature live look Lord Lytton loveliness Lucien de Rubempré Lying marvellous means mediæval merely method mode modern mood moral Nature never Odysseus one’s painted painter pass passion perfect Philistine Plato play pleasure poet poetry poison prose purely realise recognise Renaissance Robert Elsmere secret seems sense Shakespeare simply soul sphere stage strange style subject-matter subtle talk tells things Thomas Griffiths Wainewright thought tragedy true truth VIVIAN vulgar Wainewright weary wonderful write