1st Edition

A Preface to Oscar Wilde

By Anne Varty Copyright 1998
260 Pages
by Routledge

260 Pages
by Routledge

260 Pages
by Routledge

A Preface to Oscar Wilde provides a detailed study of the cultural, personal and political influences that shaped Wilde's writing. The study concentrates primarily on his fiction, critical dialogues and plays that were published between 1890 and 1895, and detailed accounts of Wilde's lesser known works such as his poetry, journalism and letters are also presented. The first section places his... Read more

List of illustrations.  List of abbreviations.  Introduction.  PART ONE: BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT.  Chronological tables.  Family life: Lady Wilde and Mrs Oscar Wilde.  Ireland.  Homosexuality.  The myth of Wilde.  PART TWO: AESTHETIC AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY.  Lectures.  Journalism.  'The Woman's World'.  'The Soul of Man Under Socialism'.  Critical dialogues.  Theatre practice and innovation. 
PART THREE:  CRITICAL SURVEY.  Poetry: 'Poems' (1881); 'The Ballad of Reading Gaol'.  Short fiction: 'The Happy Prince'; 'The House of Pomegranates'.  Aesthetic criticism.  Aesthetic prose: 'The Fisherman and his Soul'
Newspaper fiction: 'Lord Arthur Saville's Crime and Other Stories'.  'The Picture of Dorian Gray'.  Salome, 'Salome', and symbolist theatre.  The social comedies: 'Lady Windermeres's Fan'; 'A Woman of no Importance'; 'An Ideal Husband'; 'The Importance of Being Earnest'.  Letters: 'De Profundis'; On prison reform.  PART FOUR: REFERENCE SECTION.  Wilde and his circle.  A Wilde gazetteer.  Short glossary of critical terms.  Further reading
Index.  List of Abbreviations

Biography

Anne Varty