The Aesthetic Narration In Oscar Wilde's Works

"Aesthetic narration", as the name suggests, refers to the definition of the narrative characteristics displayed by aestheticism that was once popular in the 19th century. The term is tentatively coined by the author of the present dissertation with a view to defining what will be researched, but it does demonstrate an area neglected by the past study of aestheticism and Oscar Wilde. To put it another way, the term shows the fact that it is an "old" concern that the sunshine of the new perspective of research has not yet touched. When the new post-narratology or post-modern narrative theory turns their attention to the broader field related to narration, the narrative theory is no longer linguistic formalism-oriented and constructionism-oriented. The author here has gained inspiration from such ideas revealed in the narratologies as "the new way of research can obtain accommodating scope after expansion and continuous validity after becoming more connotative", and "it seems to be more interdisciplinary with the result that it will be fairly difficult to categorise and locate." Therefore, when the author studies the theory and practice of Wilde's aesthetic narration, he partially takes advantage of the approach adopted by narratology. Meanwhile, he integratively utilizes quite a number of approaches used by art andliterature psychology, art and literature aesthetics, new criticism and cultural anthropology in orderto analyse the aestheticism-guided "things" "narrated" by Wilde, its motivation, its mechanisms and its objectives. This dissertation takes into account such broader "stories" as novels, drammas and fairytales with its focus upon "the complex interaction between narrative forms and narrative interpretative contexts" and "the interplay between the story planning forms and the story handling strategies led by the forms." As far as Wilde is concerned, the notion of "context" is his personal idea and an aestheticist one as well. That is to say, Wilde's narrative characteristis is a multi-layered construction, containing his life background, national identity, individual sentiments and aestheticism. Just because of its multi-layered object, we need to use a comprehensive angle and an integrative research technique.Aestheticism is not merely a social realistic reaction to the hypocrisy shown in the British Victorian age, but also a reversal of the malpractice of realism, romanticism and naturalism in literature. All this exhibits such tendencies as going against the trend of the times, diaplaying individual freedom and upholding individual development. Based on the fact that the narrative motivation is after all associated with a writer's need to satisfy his own spiritual communication, the author maintains that as a representative of aestheticism, Wilde's simulation, narration and expounding first of all originate from his aestheticism-advocating self and experience of the exterior world, including his subjective feeling, perceptive experience and mental potentiality. The national background and unique sexual psychology are characteristic of Wilde's individuality, but such emphasis as upon "aesthetic redeem", perceptive understanding of space and "instantaneous" sense of time are all key concepts in aestheticism.Aestheticism has close connection with artistic non-utilitarianism both in philosophy and aestheticism, and with artistically autonomous theory. However, its stress on artistic assumption surely owes much to Wilde. His idea that art is "lying" has made a great contribution to theaestheticist theory. To him, all forms of art are products made by man. Only imagination is the constructing mechanism that deserves affirmation and display. The aim of aestheticism is to make use of the art that comes from human brain and is more beautiful than real life to guide human life and to deal with life by way of artistic spirit. Just because art is lying, it can defy truth; and just because art is lying, it will rely on imagination. And thus the simulation of life is naturally discarded. Any artis...