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Oscar Wilde 
(1854 - 1900) 
Oscar Wilde was regarded as the leader of the aesthetic 
movement, but many of his works do not follow his decadent 
theory “art for art’s sake”, they sometimes even contradict it. In 
fact, the best of them are closer to Romanticism and Realism. 
Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin on October 16, 1854. His 
father was a famous Irish surgeon. His mother was well known in 
Dublin as a writer. At school, and later at the Oxford University 
Oscar displayed a considerable gift for art and creative work. The 
young man received a number of classical prizes, and graduated 
with first-class honours. After graduating from the University, 
Wilde turned his attention to writing, travelling and lecturing. The Aesthetic Movement became 
popular, and Oscar Wilde earned the reputation of being the leader of the movement.
Oscar Wilde gained popularity in the genre of comedy of manners. The aim of social 
comedy, according to Wilde, is to mirror the manners, not to re-form the morals of its day. Art in 
general, Wilde stated, is in no way connected with the reality of life; real life incarnates neither 

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social nor moral values. It is the artist’s fantasy that produces the refined and the beautiful. So it is 
pointless to demand that there be any similarity between reality and its depiction in art. Thus, he 
was a supporter of the “art-for-art’s sake” doctrine.
In his plays the author mainly dealt with the life of educated people of refined tastes. 
Belonging to the privileged layer of society they spent their time in entertainments. In “The 
Importance of Being Earnest” the author shows what useless lives his characters are leading. Some 
of them are obviously caricatures, but their outlook and mode of behaviour truely characterize 
London’s upper crust. Wilde rebels against their limitedness, strongly opposes hypocrisy, but, being 
a representative of an upper class himself, was too closely connected with the society he made fun 
of; that is why his opposition bears no effective resistance. 
The most popular works of the author are “The Happy Prince and Other Tales” (1888),
“The Picture of Dorian Gray” (1891), and the come-dies “Lady Windermere’s Fan” (1892). “A 
Woman of No Importance” (1893), “An Ideal Husband” (1895), “The Importance of Being 
Earnest” (1895). At the height of his popularity and success a tragedy struck. He was accused of 
immorality and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. When released from prison in 1897 he lived 
mainly on the Continent and later in Paris. In 1898 he published his powerful poem, “Ballad of 
Reading Gaol”. He died in Paris in 1900.
“The Picture of Dorian Gray” is the only novel written by Oscar Wilde. It is centered round 
problems of relationship between art and reality. In the novel the author describes the spiritual life 
of a young man and touches upon many important problems of contemporary life: morality, art and 
beauty. At the beginning of the novel we see an inexperienced youth, a kind and innocent young 
man. Dorian is influenced by two men with sharply contrasting characters: Basil Hallward and Lord 
Henry Wotton. The attitude of these two towards the young man shows their different approach to 
life, art and beauty. The author shows the gradual degradation of Dorian Gray. The end of the book 
is a contradiction to Wilde’s decadent theory. The fact that the portrait acquired its former beauty 
and Dorian Gray “withered, wrinkled and loathsome of visage” lay on the floor with a knife in his 
heart, shows the triumph of real beauty - a piece of art created by an artist, a unity of beautiful form 
and content. Besides that, it conveys the idea that real beauty cannot accompany an immoral life.