On The Theme Of Death Of Oscar Wilde Literary Creation

Death is the final destination for all things alive; it is everyone's inevitable fate. However, it is exactly death that made people appreciate the fleeting of life, while the inescapable grip of death grants itself the ever mysterious aura. Through history, great literary works have always touched on this eternal subject. Still many writers embraced death as the central theme of their writings. Digesting these works, we could try to understand the meaning of death and experience death spiritually, so that we might dispel the mystery of death and reach a deeper appreciation for life.As one of the greatest British writers in 19th century, Wilde also cast his sights on this theme. Regarding the thesis of death in the Wilde's works, the criticism always very little involves it. His writings show cased death with varied forms, roots, philosophical significance and ultimate value. In this thesis, his unique interpretation of death is discussed in four chapters.The first chapter discusses the various forms of death in Wilde's work. Wilde was not a prolific writer, but in the few writings he left behind, death has never failed to show up in one way or another. Some died for love, some lost their lives from betrayal, yet some tried reaching out for the needy but only reaching their own destiny first. The ending of his work always seems so unexpectedly stingy; even after his characters had gone through the toughest walk of life and might be seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, they would sadly exhaust themselves right before the finish line. As a leading figure in aestheticism, Wilde vividly described to us a society that is full of misery where people suffered and die of their physical and spiritual trauma. His most provocative revelation on this theme dealt with death that he considered evil, illustrating the dark side of human nature in which people brought their own destruction in the chase of lust and ego.The second chapter touches on Wilde's philosophical thinking on death. Different people would always interpret death differently even though it is the ultimate destiny they would all share. Without exception, Wilde weaved his interpretation and philosophy of death through his writings. With his aestheticism, death is never scary; it even carried a sense of beauty. Along with truthfulness, kindness and beauty that he so cherished, he contrasted them with characters that are evil. Lamenting these despicable figures gave Wilde a means to express his quest for morality, albeit indirectly.The third chapter traces the root of Wilde's death theme. The ever prominent presence of death in Wilde's work reveals his strong notion of this subject. This sense first and foremost originated from the conflicting and even dreadful time he was living in– the Victorian era. His legendary but sometimes treacherous life would certainly foster his sense of death on a personal level. Finally the decadent aestheticism developed through his life appeared to have given him the theoretical backing. While theses three sources eventually formed Wilde's sense of death, his death theme is especially unique in that it was in such a harmony with aestheticism.The final chapter discusses how Wilde transcended the notion of death. Describing death for its own sake was never the objective of his writing, nor would it be at all meaningful. Through it all, it was the ultimate value of death that Wilde so eagerly sought. He challenged the social morality through the tragic ending of his beautiful characters. He tried to salvage the world through his art and cleanse people's soul with love. He had set foot on a spiritual journey for death's ultimate value and a home for the soul; he transcended death in the end.