Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2, University of Cologne (Englisches Seminar), course: Proseminar B: London Past and Present: Literary and Cultural Heritage of a Metropolis, 16 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: There are some famous writers at the end of the 19th century who are often mentioned as "decadent". They have asserted the superiority of beauty and pleasure over all other considerations. Oscar Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray presents the aestheticism and the hedonist way of living. The novel anticipates developments and structures of society of that time. The importance of Dorian's experiences refutes the decadent theories which are described in the Yellow Book that enthralls the protagonist. The novel as a whole can be seen as a psychological study which analyzes the gradual debasement of Dorian's nature. At the end of the story he is responsible for every vice and crime including murder. The author shows that on the one hand pleasure and beauty are the highest goods, on the other hand he argues that they also bring death and crime. The task of this research paper is to analyze the mentioned contradiction and the influence of the Aesthetic movement on the novel as well as Oscar Wilde's view of art. I would like to begin with a brief survey of the social and intellectual background at the end of the 19th century, exploring the major art movements of that time and how far they affect Wilde's work. Afterwards his main principles of Aestheticism and their reflection in the novel are analyzed as well as Dorian's life under the influence of the hedonist model. Oscar Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray reveals the contradictions of Wilde's relationship with the decadent trends of that time. He adopts and proclaims their esthetical and literary views, but the flippant amoralism that he sometimes parades so defiantly is belied by the final catastr

Explores the works, writers, and movements that shaped the British literary canon from the nineteenth century through the beginning of the twenty-first century.

Surveys the aesthetic movement in Victorian England, showcasing artwork from the time period and describing its followers, the different art media used, phases, and eventual exploitation for commercial gain.

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 2.0, University of Kassel, course: Anglo-American Literature, language: English, abstract: Oscar Wilde's only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, can be considered a revolutionary piece of literature not only because it broke out of the traditional value and belief pattern of the Victorian society but also because it replaced the traditional pattern with new concepts coined by Wilde and his former tutors. Several themes such as homoeroticism, an aesthetic lifestyle or influence and corruption, were issues that many had been afraid to address in the time before Wilde. In this research paper, I will place my main focus on the matter of aestheticism, the causes that it has and the consequences that result from an aesthetic lifestyle. In order to analyze these aspects, it is inevitable to have a closer look at Oscar Wilde's beliefs about art and morality which serve as a basis for understanding the main character's behavior in the novel. To begin my paper, I will outline Wilde's thoughts on art and aestheticism as presented in his famous selection, Intentions, which consists of a number of essays and dialogues on aesthetics as well as his preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray that has been regarded as Wilde's personal praise of aestheticism. This background information is essential to understanding the main character's motivations in the story, which can often be related to Wilde's life as an artist. I will then make a detailed analysis of the characters Basil Hallward, Lord Henry Wotton, Sibyl Vane and Dorian Gray and will explain how their aesthetic behavior and their moral beliefs can be linked to Wilde's thoughts. To end, I will attempt to summarize my findings referring to the statement that Wilde also included criticism of aestheticism in his novel. The term 'aestheticism' derives from Greek, meaning "perceiving through senses" and is a nineteenth-century European concept that rej

Pater's first major work, a study of kindred spirits in love of beauty. Criticized as a "demoralizing moralizer".--Jim Kepner ; Oscar Wilde's favorite book by Pater (Greif, p. 157) ; Includes essays on Pico della Mirandola, Michelangelo, da Vinci and Winckelmann.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde from Coterie Classics All Coterie Classics have been formatted for ereaders and devices and include a bonus link to the free audio book. “Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault. Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope. They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty. There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.” ― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray A man sells his soul for eternal youth and scandalizes the city in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Oscar Wilde was the model of the dandy, with his impeccable style of dressing, exquisite manners and unrivaled quick-wittedness. As the 19th century ended and the 20th began, Oscar Wilde was the toast of London’s high society. But the publication of Wilde’s only novel changed everything: In 1890, The Picture of Dorian Gray caused a minor scandal that would grow into a major one five years later, when the author was found guilty of homosexual activity. In the book, the dazzling youth Dorian wishes to stay young and handsome forever, while his portrait ages in his place. He indulges in depraved pleasures and doesn’t stop short of murder, until his conscience awakens at long last: Yet it takes a personal sacrifice for the picture and its model to switch places again. Thanks to the witty dialogue, the novel is fun to read, and the merciless cult of youth and beauty remains as topical in today’s age of social media self-promoters and reality stars as it was in Victorian England. This novel is one of Wilde’s most disturbing and profound works – humankind’s dream and nightmare simultaneously come true. This summary of The Picture of Dorian Gray was produced by getAbstract, the world's largest provider of book summaries. getAbstract works with hundreds of the best publishers to find and summarize the most relevant content out there. Find out more at getabstract.com.

This book, the first fully sustained reading of Henry James's and Oscar Wilde's relationship, reveals why the antagonisms between both authors are symptomatic of the cultural oppositions within Aestheticism itself.