Modernist Aesthetics and Consumer Culture in the Writings of Oscar Wilde

Modernist Aesthetics and Consumer Culture in the Writings of Oscar Wilde

Author: Paul Fortunato

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-09-13

Total Pages: 175

ISBN-13: 1135860955

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Oscar Wilde was a consumer modernist. His modernist aesthetics drove him into the heart of the mass culture industries of 1890s London, particularly the journalism and popular theatre industries. Wilde was extremely active in these industries: as a journalist at the Pall Mall Gazette; as magazine editor of the Women’s World; as commentator on dress and design through both of these; and finally as a fabulously popular playwright. Because of his desire to impact a mass audience, the primary elements of Wilde’s consumer aesthetic were superficial ornament and ephemeral public image – both of which he linked to the theatrical. This concern with the surface and with the ephemeral was, ironically, a foundational element of what became twentieth-century modernism – thus we can call Wilde’s aesthetic a consumer modernism, a root and branch of modernism that was largely erased.


Book Synopsis Modernist Aesthetics and Consumer Culture in the Writings of Oscar Wilde by : Paul Fortunato

Download or read book Modernist Aesthetics and Consumer Culture in the Writings of Oscar Wilde written by Paul Fortunato and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-09-13 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Oscar Wilde was a consumer modernist. His modernist aesthetics drove him into the heart of the mass culture industries of 1890s London, particularly the journalism and popular theatre industries. Wilde was extremely active in these industries: as a journalist at the Pall Mall Gazette; as magazine editor of the Women’s World; as commentator on dress and design through both of these; and finally as a fabulously popular playwright. Because of his desire to impact a mass audience, the primary elements of Wilde’s consumer aesthetic were superficial ornament and ephemeral public image – both of which he linked to the theatrical. This concern with the surface and with the ephemeral was, ironically, a foundational element of what became twentieth-century modernism – thus we can call Wilde’s aesthetic a consumer modernism, a root and branch of modernism that was largely erased.

Theatre History Studies 2009, Vol. 29

Theatre History Studies 2009, Vol. 29

Author: Rhona Justice-Malloy

Publisher: University of Alabama Press

Published: 2009-08-09

Total Pages: 269

ISBN-13: 0817355545

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Theatre History Studies is a peer-reviewed journal of theatre history and scholarship published annually since 1981 by the Mid-American Theatre Conference (MATC), a regional body devoted to theatre scholarship and practice. The purpose of MATC is to unite people and organizations in their region with an interest in theatre and to promote the growth and development of all forms of theatre.


Book Synopsis Theatre History Studies 2009, Vol. 29 by : Rhona Justice-Malloy

Download or read book Theatre History Studies 2009, Vol. 29 written by Rhona Justice-Malloy and published by University of Alabama Press. This book was released on 2009-08-09 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Theatre History Studies is a peer-reviewed journal of theatre history and scholarship published annually since 1981 by the Mid-American Theatre Conference (MATC), a regional body devoted to theatre scholarship and practice. The purpose of MATC is to unite people and organizations in their region with an interest in theatre and to promote the growth and development of all forms of theatre.

WILDE NOW

WILDE NOW

Author: Pierpaolo Martino

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-05-08

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 3031304268

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WILDE NOWreads Oscar Wilde through our now, through a contemporary sensibility (and approach), in which literature and popular culture interrogate and are interrogated by critical concepts and categories such as performance, celebrity, intermediality, and consumerism. This volume exceeds the shape and meaning of a critical study to turn into a drama of five different acts/moments in Wilde’s life and work: his early performances in Dublin, London and Oxford; the 1882 American tour; his successful season of the first half of the 1890s, his prison years and finally his glorious resurrection in contemporary pop culture. Most importantly WILDE NOW approaches these moments through contemporary rewritings and performances of “Oscar Wilde” in the fields of cinema, music and literature by such artists as Al Pacino, Rupert Everett, Stephen Fry, Gyles Brandreth, David Hare, David Bowie, Morrissey, Nick Cave, Neil Tennant, Gavin Friday. These artists – through their awareness of the importance of being/playing Oscar in their specific worlds and cultural contexts – will also show us that Wilde can be conceived as a subversive, critical role one might successfully perform and appropriate, now more than ever.


Book Synopsis WILDE NOW by : Pierpaolo Martino

Download or read book WILDE NOW written by Pierpaolo Martino and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-05-08 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WILDE NOWreads Oscar Wilde through our now, through a contemporary sensibility (and approach), in which literature and popular culture interrogate and are interrogated by critical concepts and categories such as performance, celebrity, intermediality, and consumerism. This volume exceeds the shape and meaning of a critical study to turn into a drama of five different acts/moments in Wilde’s life and work: his early performances in Dublin, London and Oxford; the 1882 American tour; his successful season of the first half of the 1890s, his prison years and finally his glorious resurrection in contemporary pop culture. Most importantly WILDE NOW approaches these moments through contemporary rewritings and performances of “Oscar Wilde” in the fields of cinema, music and literature by such artists as Al Pacino, Rupert Everett, Stephen Fry, Gyles Brandreth, David Hare, David Bowie, Morrissey, Nick Cave, Neil Tennant, Gavin Friday. These artists – through their awareness of the importance of being/playing Oscar in their specific worlds and cultural contexts – will also show us that Wilde can be conceived as a subversive, critical role one might successfully perform and appropriate, now more than ever.

Advertising, Literature and Print Culture in Ireland, 1891-1922

Advertising, Literature and Print Culture in Ireland, 1891-1922

Author: J. Strachan

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2012-08-07

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 1137271248

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This is the first study of the cultural meanings of advertising in the Irish Revival period. John Strachan and Claire Nally shed new light on advanced nationalism in Ireland before and immediately after the Easter Rising of 1916, while also addressing how the wider politics of Ireland, from the Irish Parliamentary Party to anti-Home Rule unionism, resonated through contemporary advertising copy. The book examines the manner in which some of the key authors of the Revival, notably Oscar Wilde and W. B. Yeats, reacted to advertising and to the consumer culture around them. Illustrated with over 60 fascinating contemporary advertising images, this book addresses a diverse and intriguing range of Irish advertising: the pages of An Claidheamh Soluis under Patrick Pearse's editorship, the selling of the Ulster Volunteer Force, the advertising columns of The Lady of the House, the marketing of the sports of the Gaelic Athletic Association, the use of Irish Party politicians in First World War recruitment campaigns, the commemorative paraphernalia surrounding the centenary of the 1798 United Irishmen uprising, and the relationship of Murphy's stout with the British military, Sinn Féin and the Irish Free State.


Book Synopsis Advertising, Literature and Print Culture in Ireland, 1891-1922 by : J. Strachan

Download or read book Advertising, Literature and Print Culture in Ireland, 1891-1922 written by J. Strachan and published by Springer. This book was released on 2012-08-07 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first study of the cultural meanings of advertising in the Irish Revival period. John Strachan and Claire Nally shed new light on advanced nationalism in Ireland before and immediately after the Easter Rising of 1916, while also addressing how the wider politics of Ireland, from the Irish Parliamentary Party to anti-Home Rule unionism, resonated through contemporary advertising copy. The book examines the manner in which some of the key authors of the Revival, notably Oscar Wilde and W. B. Yeats, reacted to advertising and to the consumer culture around them. Illustrated with over 60 fascinating contemporary advertising images, this book addresses a diverse and intriguing range of Irish advertising: the pages of An Claidheamh Soluis under Patrick Pearse's editorship, the selling of the Ulster Volunteer Force, the advertising columns of The Lady of the House, the marketing of the sports of the Gaelic Athletic Association, the use of Irish Party politicians in First World War recruitment campaigns, the commemorative paraphernalia surrounding the centenary of the 1798 United Irishmen uprising, and the relationship of Murphy's stout with the British military, Sinn Féin and the Irish Free State.

Oscar Wilde's Aesthetic Education

Oscar Wilde's Aesthetic Education

Author: Leanne Grech

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-04-06

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 3030143740

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This book focuses on the role that the Oxford classical curriculum has had in shaping Oscar Wilde’s aestheticism. It positions Wilde as a classically trained intellectual and outlines the path he took to gain recognition as a writer and promoter of the aesthetic movement. This narrative is conveyed through a broad range of literary sources, including Wilde’s travel poetry, American lectures, and canonical works like ‘The Critic as Artist’, The Soul of Man, The Picture of Dorian Gray and De Profundis. This study proposes that Wilde approached aestheticism as a personalised, self-directed learning experience – a mode of self-culture – which could be used to maintain an intellectual life outside of the university. It also explores Wilde’s thoughts on education and considers the significance of male friendship at Oxford, and in Wilde’s life and literature.


Book Synopsis Oscar Wilde's Aesthetic Education by : Leanne Grech

Download or read book Oscar Wilde's Aesthetic Education written by Leanne Grech and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-04-06 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on the role that the Oxford classical curriculum has had in shaping Oscar Wilde’s aestheticism. It positions Wilde as a classically trained intellectual and outlines the path he took to gain recognition as a writer and promoter of the aesthetic movement. This narrative is conveyed through a broad range of literary sources, including Wilde’s travel poetry, American lectures, and canonical works like ‘The Critic as Artist’, The Soul of Man, The Picture of Dorian Gray and De Profundis. This study proposes that Wilde approached aestheticism as a personalised, self-directed learning experience – a mode of self-culture – which could be used to maintain an intellectual life outside of the university. It also explores Wilde’s thoughts on education and considers the significance of male friendship at Oxford, and in Wilde’s life and literature.

The importance of being a reader: A revision of Oscar Wilde's works

The importance of being a reader: A revision of Oscar Wilde's works

Author: Christina Pascual Aransáez

Publisher: Anchor Academic Publishing (aap_verlag)

Published: 2014-11

Total Pages: 381

ISBN-13: 3954893134

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This book explores Wilde's works from the hypothesis that they call upon the active participation of the reader in the production of meaning. It has a twofold objective: first, it shows that Wilde's emphasis on the creative role of the audience in his critical writings makes him conceive the reader as a co-creator in the construction of meaning. Second, it analyses the strategies which Wilde employs to impel the reader to collaborate in the creation of meaning of his literary works and casts light upon the social criticism derived from these. The examination of Wilde’s writings reveals how he gradually combined more sophisticated techniques that encouraged the reader's dynamic role with the progressive exploitation of self-advertising strategies for professional purposes. These allowed the ‘commercial’ Oscar to make his works successful among the Victorian public without betraying the ‘literary’ Wilde’s aesthetic principles. The present study re-evaluates Wilde as a critic and as a writer. It demonstrates that, while Wilde the ‘myth’ was ahead of his time in many ways, Wilde the ‘ARTIST’ anticipated in his aesthetic theory various themes which occupy contemporary literary theoreticians. Thus, it may contribute to give him the status he rightly deserves in the history of literature.


Book Synopsis The importance of being a reader: A revision of Oscar Wilde's works by : Christina Pascual Aransáez

Download or read book The importance of being a reader: A revision of Oscar Wilde's works written by Christina Pascual Aransáez and published by Anchor Academic Publishing (aap_verlag). This book was released on 2014-11 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores Wilde's works from the hypothesis that they call upon the active participation of the reader in the production of meaning. It has a twofold objective: first, it shows that Wilde's emphasis on the creative role of the audience in his critical writings makes him conceive the reader as a co-creator in the construction of meaning. Second, it analyses the strategies which Wilde employs to impel the reader to collaborate in the creation of meaning of his literary works and casts light upon the social criticism derived from these. The examination of Wilde’s writings reveals how he gradually combined more sophisticated techniques that encouraged the reader's dynamic role with the progressive exploitation of self-advertising strategies for professional purposes. These allowed the ‘commercial’ Oscar to make his works successful among the Victorian public without betraying the ‘literary’ Wilde’s aesthetic principles. The present study re-evaluates Wilde as a critic and as a writer. It demonstrates that, while Wilde the ‘myth’ was ahead of his time in many ways, Wilde the ‘ARTIST’ anticipated in his aesthetic theory various themes which occupy contemporary literary theoreticians. Thus, it may contribute to give him the status he rightly deserves in the history of literature.

The Invention of Oscar Wilde

The Invention of Oscar Wilde

Author: Nicholas Frankel

Publisher: Reaktion Books

Published: 2021-06-10

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 1789144221

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“One should either wear a work of art, or be a work of art,” Oscar Wilde once declared. In The Invention of Oscar Wilde, Nicholas Frankel explores Wilde’s self-creation as a “work of art” and a carefully constructed cultural icon. Frankel takes readers on a journey through Wilde’s inventive, provocative life, from his Irish origins—and their public erasure—through his challenges to traditional concepts of masculinity and male sexuality, his marriage and his affairs with young men, including his great love Lord Alfred Douglas, to his criminal conviction and final years of exile in France. Along the way, Frankel takes a deep look at Wilde’s writings, paradoxical wit, and intellectual convictions.


Book Synopsis The Invention of Oscar Wilde by : Nicholas Frankel

Download or read book The Invention of Oscar Wilde written by Nicholas Frankel and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2021-06-10 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “One should either wear a work of art, or be a work of art,” Oscar Wilde once declared. In The Invention of Oscar Wilde, Nicholas Frankel explores Wilde’s self-creation as a “work of art” and a carefully constructed cultural icon. Frankel takes readers on a journey through Wilde’s inventive, provocative life, from his Irish origins—and their public erasure—through his challenges to traditional concepts of masculinity and male sexuality, his marriage and his affairs with young men, including his great love Lord Alfred Douglas, to his criminal conviction and final years of exile in France. Along the way, Frankel takes a deep look at Wilde’s writings, paradoxical wit, and intellectual convictions.

Wilde’s Wiles

Wilde’s Wiles

Author: Annette M. Magid

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2014-08-11

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 1443865974

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Wilde’s Wiles: Studies of the Influences on Oscar Wilde and His Enduring Influences in the Twenty-First Century is a collection of essays which celebrates the diversity of Oscar Wilde’s genius. This unique collection of scholarship explores not only his influence on a broad spectrum of subjects including: aesthetics, children’s literature, women’s issues, consumer economics, queer theory, politics, theater, film, poetry, Victorianism and other aspects of culture such as pedagogical approaches to Wilde’s literature, but it also examines the influence of his family and friends on him. Wilde’s Wiles: Studies of the Influences on Oscar Wilde and His Enduring Influences in the Twenty-First Century includes a wide range of approaches and concentrations written by international experts and has a broad spectrum of subjects which will appeal to a diversity of scholars seeking original and alternative approaches to understanding Oscar Wilde. The multiplicity of interest in the topic of Oscar Wilde expands across genres, disciplines, cultures and time, this being the second century of Wilde scholarship since his untimely death in November 1900 preceding the fin-de siècle. The unique, multi-discipline approach of Wilde’s Wiles is organized in three sections: “Aesthetic Approaches,” “Friends and Family,” and “Performance and Pedagogy” and bridges philosophical, sociological, psychological, economic and literary disciplines.


Book Synopsis Wilde’s Wiles by : Annette M. Magid

Download or read book Wilde’s Wiles written by Annette M. Magid and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2014-08-11 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wilde’s Wiles: Studies of the Influences on Oscar Wilde and His Enduring Influences in the Twenty-First Century is a collection of essays which celebrates the diversity of Oscar Wilde’s genius. This unique collection of scholarship explores not only his influence on a broad spectrum of subjects including: aesthetics, children’s literature, women’s issues, consumer economics, queer theory, politics, theater, film, poetry, Victorianism and other aspects of culture such as pedagogical approaches to Wilde’s literature, but it also examines the influence of his family and friends on him. Wilde’s Wiles: Studies of the Influences on Oscar Wilde and His Enduring Influences in the Twenty-First Century includes a wide range of approaches and concentrations written by international experts and has a broad spectrum of subjects which will appeal to a diversity of scholars seeking original and alternative approaches to understanding Oscar Wilde. The multiplicity of interest in the topic of Oscar Wilde expands across genres, disciplines, cultures and time, this being the second century of Wilde scholarship since his untimely death in November 1900 preceding the fin-de siècle. The unique, multi-discipline approach of Wilde’s Wiles is organized in three sections: “Aesthetic Approaches,” “Friends and Family,” and “Performance and Pedagogy” and bridges philosophical, sociological, psychological, economic and literary disciplines.

Oscar Wilde and the Simulacrum

Oscar Wilde and the Simulacrum

Author: Giles Whiteley

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-05

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 1351555464

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Oscar Wilde is more than a name, more than an author. From precocious Oxford undergraduate to cause celebre of the West End of the 1890s, to infamous criminal, the proper name Wilde has become an event in the history of literature and culture. Taking Wilde seriously as a philosopher in his own right, Whiteley's groundbreaking book places his texts into their philosophical context in order to show how Wilde broke from his peers, and in particular from idealism, and challenges recent neo-historicist readings of Wilde which seem content to limit his irruptive power. Using the paradoxical concept of the simulacrum to resituate Wilde's work in relation to both his precursors and his contemporaries, Whiteley's study reads Wilde through Deleuze and postmodern philosophical commentary on the simulacrum. In a series of striking juxtapositions, Whiteley challenges us to rethink both Oscar Wilde's aesthetics and his philosophy, to take seriously both the man and the mask. His philosophy of masks is revealed to figure a truth of a different kind - the simulacra through which Wilde begins to develop and formulate a mature philosophy that constitutes an ethics of joy.


Book Synopsis Oscar Wilde and the Simulacrum by : Giles Whiteley

Download or read book Oscar Wilde and the Simulacrum written by Giles Whiteley and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-05 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Oscar Wilde is more than a name, more than an author. From precocious Oxford undergraduate to cause celebre of the West End of the 1890s, to infamous criminal, the proper name Wilde has become an event in the history of literature and culture. Taking Wilde seriously as a philosopher in his own right, Whiteley's groundbreaking book places his texts into their philosophical context in order to show how Wilde broke from his peers, and in particular from idealism, and challenges recent neo-historicist readings of Wilde which seem content to limit his irruptive power. Using the paradoxical concept of the simulacrum to resituate Wilde's work in relation to both his precursors and his contemporaries, Whiteley's study reads Wilde through Deleuze and postmodern philosophical commentary on the simulacrum. In a series of striking juxtapositions, Whiteley challenges us to rethink both Oscar Wilde's aesthetics and his philosophy, to take seriously both the man and the mask. His philosophy of masks is revealed to figure a truth of a different kind - the simulacra through which Wilde begins to develop and formulate a mature philosophy that constitutes an ethics of joy.

The Routledge Concise History of Nineteenth-Century Literature

The Routledge Concise History of Nineteenth-Century Literature

Author: Josephine Guy

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2010-11-15

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 1136884467

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Nineteenth-century Britain saw the rise of secularism, the development of a modern capitalist economy, multi-party democracy, and an explosive growth in technological, scientific and medical knowledge. It also witnessed the emergence of a mass literary culture which changed permanently the relationships between writers, readers and publishers. Focusing on the work of British and Irish authors, The Routledge Concise History of Nineteenth-Century Literature: considers changes in literary forms, styles and genres, as well as in critical discourses examines literary movements such as Romanticism, Pre-Raphaelitism, Aestheticism and Decadence considers the work of a wide range of canonical and non-canonical writers discusses the impact of gender studies, queer theory, postcolonialism and book history contains useful, student-friendly features such as explanatory text boxes, chapter summaries, a detailed glossary and suggestions for further reading. In their lucid and accessible manner, Josephine M. Guy and Ian Small provide readers with an understanding of the complexity and variety of nineteenth-century literary culture, as well as the historical conditions which produced it.


Book Synopsis The Routledge Concise History of Nineteenth-Century Literature by : Josephine Guy

Download or read book The Routledge Concise History of Nineteenth-Century Literature written by Josephine Guy and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-11-15 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nineteenth-century Britain saw the rise of secularism, the development of a modern capitalist economy, multi-party democracy, and an explosive growth in technological, scientific and medical knowledge. It also witnessed the emergence of a mass literary culture which changed permanently the relationships between writers, readers and publishers. Focusing on the work of British and Irish authors, The Routledge Concise History of Nineteenth-Century Literature: considers changes in literary forms, styles and genres, as well as in critical discourses examines literary movements such as Romanticism, Pre-Raphaelitism, Aestheticism and Decadence considers the work of a wide range of canonical and non-canonical writers discusses the impact of gender studies, queer theory, postcolonialism and book history contains useful, student-friendly features such as explanatory text boxes, chapter summaries, a detailed glossary and suggestions for further reading. In their lucid and accessible manner, Josephine M. Guy and Ian Small provide readers with an understanding of the complexity and variety of nineteenth-century literary culture, as well as the historical conditions which produced it.