Lesson 4—The Nightingale and the Rose BTLEW Part Two ENTER

Lesson 4—The Nightingale and the Rose

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I. Author

II. Art for Art’s Sake

Background Background InformationInformation


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Oscar Wilde, the son of the late Sir William Wilde, an eminent Irish surgeon. His mother was a graceful writer, both in prose and verse. He had a brilliant career at Oxford, where he won the Newdigate Prize for English verse for a poem on Ravenna. Even before he left the University in 1878 Wilde had become known as one of the most affected of the professors of the aesthetic craze, and for several years it was as the typical aesthete that he kept himself before the notice of the public.

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To be continued on the next page.


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Oscar Wilde’s works

On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing

Nonfiction (now in its 25th anniversary

edition), as well as Writing to Learn, How to

Write a Memoir, Speaking of Journalism,

Writing About Your Life: A Journey to the Past

and Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of

Memoir.

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A novel of his, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, attracted much attention, and his sayings passed from mouth to mouth as those of one of the professed wits of the age. When he became a dramatist his plays had all the characteristics of his conversations. His first piece, Lady Windermere's Fan, was produced in 1892. A Woman of No Importance followed in 1893. An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest were both running at the time of his disappearance from English life. The revelations of the criminal trial in 1895 naturally made them impossible for some years. Recently, however, one of them was revived, though not at a West End theater.

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Criticism

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a man of far greater originality and power of

mind than many of the apostles of aestheticism

undoubted talents in many directions

as a typical aesthete that he kept himself before

the notice of the public

a poet of graceful diction

a playwright of skill and subtle humor

a dramatist whose plays had all the

characteristics of his conversations

Discuss in groups!



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After his release in 1897, Wilde published “The Ballad of Reading Gaol”, a poem of considerable but unequal power. He also appeared in print as a critic of our prison system, against the results of which he entered a passionate protest. For the last three years he has lived abroad. It is stated on the authority of the Dublin Evening Mail that he was recently received into the Roman Catholic Church.

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In the summer of 1891, Oscar met Lord Alfred “Bosie” Douglas, the third son of the Marquis of Queensberry. Bosie was well acquainted with Oscar's novel, Dorian Gray and was an undergraduate at Oxford. They soon became lovers and were inseparable until Wilde's arrest three years later. In April 1895, Oscar sued Bosie's father for libel on the charge of homosexuality. Oscar withdrew his case but was himself arrested and convicted of gross indecency and sentenced to two years of hard labor.

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January 1893, Babbacombe CliffMy Own Boy, Your sonnet is quite lovely, and it is a marvel that those red-roseleaf lips of yours should be made no less for the madness of music and song than for the madness of kissing. Your slim gilt soul walks between passion and poetry. I know Hyacinthus, whom Apollo loved so madly, was you in Greek days. Why are you alone in London, and when do you go to Salisbury? Do go there to cool your hands in the grey twilight of Gothic things, and come here whenever you like. It is a lovely place and lacks only you; but go to Salisbury first.

Always, with undying love,Yours, OSCAR



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I.I. Author Author Savoy Hotel, London

Dearest of all Boys, Your letter was delightful, red and yellow wine to me; but I am sad and out of sorts. Bosie, you must not make scenes with me. They kill me, they wreck the loveliness of life. I cannot see you, so Greek and gracious, distorted with passion. I cannot listen to your curved lips saying hideous things to me. I would sooner be blackmailed by every rent-boy in London than to have you bitter, unjust, hating. You are the divine thing I want, the thing of grace and beauty; but I don't know how to do it. Shall I come to Salisbury? My bill here is 49 pounds for a week. I have also got a new sitting-room over the Thames. Why are you not here, my dear, my wonderful boy? I fear I must leave; no money, no credit, and a heart of lead.

Your own,OSCAR



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I.I. Author Author Bobby,

Bosie has insisted on dropping here for sandwiches. He is quite like a narcissus—so white and gold. I will either come Wednesday or Thursday night to your rooms. Send me a line. Bosie is so tired; he lies like a hyacinth on the sofa, and I worship him.

Yours, OSCAR



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I.I. Author Author The Wilde case is over, and at last the curtain has fallen on the most horrible scandal which has disturbed social life in London for many years. The cries of "Shame!" with which the sentence pronounced by Mr. Justice Wills was received, indicate that a certain section of the public in court regarded the verdict with disfavour, and that feeling will very possibly be shared by a section of the public outside. But it is well to remember, that the jury are in a position to form the best and honest opinion. They have heard all the evidence and seen the witness in the box, while outsiders have only newspaper reports—necessarily containing the barest suggestion of the gruesome facts—to guide them.



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I.I. Author Author Yet even those who have read the reports and have taken the trouble to understand what lies between the lines, cannot help but feel that Wilde and his associate... have got off lightly. Society is well rid of these ghouls and their hideous practices. Wilde practically confessed his guilt at the outset, and the unclean creatures with whom he chose to herd specifically owned that the charges were true. It is at a terrible cost that society has purged itself of these loathsome importers of exotic vice, but the gain is worth the price, and it is refreshing to feel that for once, at least, justice has been done.



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I.I. Author Author A Reuter telegram from Paris states that OSCAR WILDE died there yesterday afternoon from meningitis. The melancholy end to a career which one promised so well is stated to have come in an obscure hotel in the Latin quarter. Here the once brilliant man of letters was living, exiled from his country and from the society of his countrymen. The verdict that a jury passed upon his conduct at the Old Bailey in May, 1895, destroyed for ever his reputation and condemned him to ignoble obscurity for the end of his days. When he had served his sentence of two year’s imprisonment, he was broken in health as well as bankrupt in fame and fortune. Death has soon ended what must have been a life of wretchedness and unavailing regret.

Wilde’s obituary ( 卟告 ) in the Times, 1 December, 1900

The end of Author.


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associated with the aesthetic doctrine that

art is self-sufficient and need serve no moral

or political purpose

The only purpose of the artist is art, not

religion, or science, or interest. He who

paints or writes only for financial return or to

propagandize political and economic

interests can only arouse feeling of disgust.

II.II. Art for Art’s Art for Art’s SakeSake

The end of Art for Art’s Sake.


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Lesson 4—The Nightingale and the Rose BTLEW Part Two ENTER