Font Size: a A A

On New Aestheticism Morality Of Oscar Wilde

Posted on:2010-09-21Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:C Y ZhaoFull Text:PDF
GTID:2155360275493561Subject:Literature and art
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
British writer Oscar Wilde is one of the most famous aesthetician in the 19th century. He advocates "art for art's sake", "life imitating art", says that "life imitating art is a little more than the art imitating life", and considers nothing in life can't be made sacred by art.In fact, he wants to counter the decadent morality and hypocrisy using his own aesthetic theory at the late Victorian time, to establish a new ethic full of vitality, freedom and personality, loftiness and beauty. He opposes to judging the merits of art by the traditional moral standards, emphasizes individualism that can bring self-development, and advocates artists create a perfect realm of art and artistic life by means of the talented ability of selection and imagination, which making men and women living in the world have the possibility to show their vitality, grow and develop themselves. It makes the spiritual world of humanity possible to find a hopeful way trapped in materialism of the industry and commerce sector so that the mental states of dissimilation and philistinism can be changed.Based on the criticism from his contemporaries and descendants about aesthetic theory of Oscar Wilde's aestheticism, in this paper the author tries to find out their inadequacies on his research combined with the research on the literary and artistic writing of Oscar Wilde, and put forward a new perspective on research of the Oscar Wilde: New Morality. And from this perspective the author analyzes the fairy tales, novels and dramas of Oscar Wilde in order to prove his point of view, and look for unity in contradictions of his theory and creation, and reveal the inherent implication that Oscar Wilde who pursues contradictions and also seems contradictive really would like to say, and lead to think over the current value and significance of his New Morality.In this paper, the author thinks of a new moral of estheticism as a breakthrough point, digging deeply the effect of the new morality of on life to transform and upgrade, revealing the ultimate meaning of Oscar Wilde's aestheticism. This perspective is a totally new interpretation about his aestheticism, also the essence of his aestheticism, and it is the most valuable and significant currently which is mined and highlighted after removed its limitations and shortcomings.
Keywords/Search Tags:Oscar Wilde, Aestheticism, New Morality
PDF Full Text Request
Related items