Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900) was one of the most famous writers of the Victorian Age. He was primarily known as a playwright but also created a number of poems, stories and fairytales. Already during his studies at Oxford he developed a style in his art that would later make him the best-known writer of English aestheticism. For Wilde, however, aesthetic sense was more than a concept in art. He rather devoted his whole life to the perfection of beauty. He cultivated a flamboyant lifestyle, supported nonconformist views and had homoerotic tendencies, which made him a kind of media star. The attention directed towards him was often hostile because his attitudes contradicted mainstream Victorian values. These were marked by moral strictness and considerations of usefulness. Oscar Wilde, however, was a hedonist and an individualist. This contradiction and his persistence in defending his views brought him towards the end of his life even to court and to prison, which shows that his attitudes were more than pure provocation.
This assignment deals with the question how aestheticism is expressed in Wilde’s poems. It investigates where the Aesthetic Movement originated and what its principles were. Which theories about art influenced Oscar Wilde and how did he develop them further for his own purposes? What was in his social and artistic biographical background that could have had an impact on his attitudes?
How consequently did he follow his own principles that he often mentioned in his essays and articles? Is it possible to create a pure form of aestheticism and which difficulties occur while trying to do so?
At a glance
- Grade: 1.3 (1.0 is the best grade)
- Aesthetic analysis of Oscar Wilde's poems Impression du Matin and Roses and Rue
- Examination of theoretical influences including Walter Pater's The Renaissance and Wilde's critical essays
- Complete full-text reprints of both discussed poems included
- 11 sources in the bibliography
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Aesthetic Influences on Oscar Wilde
3. Oscar Wilde’s Understanding of Art as Described in his Essays
4. „Impression du Matin“ and „Roses and Rue“ as Examples of Aesthetic Poetry
5. Summary
Impression du Matin
Roses and Rue
Objectives & Topics
This paper investigates the manifestation and development of Aestheticism in Oscar Wilde's poetry. It traces the intellectual roots of the Aesthetic Movement, analyzes the theoretical principles Wilde formulated in his critical essays, and examines how successfully these artistic doctrines were realized in the poems “Impression du Matin” and “Roses and Rue”, addressing the inherent tension between pure aesthetic detachment and the inescapable influence of reality.
- Philosophical origins of Aestheticism and the doctrine of “art for art's sake”
- Influences of Walter Pater, John Ruskin, French symbolism, and Impressionism on Wilde
- Oscar Wilde's personal concept of art in “The Soul of Man under Socialism” and “The Decay of Lying”
- Close textual and formal analysis of the poems “Impression du Matin” and “Roses and Rue”
- The unresolved paradox of pure artistic abstraction versus lived reality
Excerpt from the Book
4. „Impression du Matin“ and „Roses and Rue“ as Examples of Aesthetic Poetry
Oscar Wilde wrote about 80 poems during his lifetime. „Impression du Matin“ was published for the first time in the journal The World on 2nd March 1881. The French title already suggests the influence of impressionism on Wilde’s aestheticism. The term refers to a movement in late nineteenth century French painting. Impressionist works describe momentary sensory impressions of an observer. The motifs often resemble modern snapshot photography. Colour and painting technique, however, emphasize more the subjective perception of the artist than realistic depiction.
The first two stanzas exactly convey the impression of a description of such a painting of the urban landscape of London. They try to capture the changing light of the sunrise. The colours mentioned here recall the palette of a painter: “grey” (2), “ochre-coloured” (3) and “yellow” (5) originate from the fantasy of the poet, which is influenced by painting. They are deliberately unnatural in their context. Wilde wrote in “The Decay of Lying”:
“The proper school to learn art is not Life but Art.”
“Harmony in grey” (2) even seems to make a direct reference to a painting. A picture of James A. McNeill Whistler, a friend of Oscar Wilde, was called “Harmony in Grey – Chelsea in Ice”.
The term “nocturne” (1) means a romantic piece of music, mostly for piano, that is intended for night-time performance. This music also changed to a “Harmony in grey” (2).
Thus Wilde is able to stimulate all the senses; pictures and music are conveyed besides the text. Wilde works here with the technique of synesthesia, the use of one medium to suggest sense impressions normally associated with another. Hence, the general impression of the first two stanzas is conveyed rather by artistic experience than by reality.
Chapter Summaries
1. Introduction: Outlines Oscar Wilde's biography, his nonconformist stance against Victorian moralism, and sets the research questions concerning the realization and limits of pure aestheticism in his verse.
2. The Aesthetic Influences on Oscar Wilde: Traces the philosophical foundations of aestheticism from 18th-century philosophy and French “l'art pour l'art” to the direct tutelage of John Ruskin and Walter Pater at Oxford.
3. Oscar Wilde’s Understanding of Art as Described in his Essays: Analyzes Wilde's essays “The Soul of Man under Socialism” and “The Decay of Lying”, emphasizing his defense of radical artistic individualism and the doctrine that nature and life imitate art.
4. „Impression du Matin“ and „Roses and Rue“ as Examples of Aesthetic Poetry: Performs an in-depth analysis of both poems, showing how painterly synesthesia, impressionist motifs, and rigorous formal structures embody aesthetic ideals while exposing points of contact with reality.
5. Summary: Synthesizes the core findings, reaffirming that while Wilde abstracted experience into decorative art, total detachment from the raw material of life remained an unattainable ideal.
Impression du Matin: Provides the unabridged poetic text of Wilde's 1881 poem depicting an impressionistic sunrise over London.
Roses and Rue: Contains the complete four-part text of Wilde's melancholic 1885 love poem inspired by Lily Langtry.
Keywords
Oscar Wilde, Aestheticism, Art for Art's Sake, Walter Pater, Impression du Matin, Roses and Rue, French Symbolism, Synesthesia, Victorian Age, The Decay of Lying, Individualism, Lily Langtry
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the central focus of this paper?
The paper examines how Oscar Wilde embodied and expressed the philosophy of Aestheticism in his poetic works, specifically analyzing theoretical influences and their practical poetic application.
Which primary themes are addressed?
The study explores Victorian values versus aesthetic individualism, the philosophical origins of “l'art pour l'art”, the influence of painting and music on poetry, and the tension between ideal artistic abstraction and human reality.
What is the primary aim or research question?
The main objective is to investigate how consistently Wilde adhered to his own aesthetic principles in his poetry, and whether a purely detached form of aestheticism is practically achievable.
Which scientific methodology is employed?
The author uses a close literary and stylistic textual analysis paired with historical-biographical context and comparative analysis of theoretical essays.
What is discussed in the main body of the work?
The main body examines Wilde's intellectual influences (Walter Pater and John Ruskin), reviews his essays “The Soul of Man under Socialism” and “The Decay of Lying”, and provides a detailed reading of “Impression du Matin” and “Roses and Rue”.
Which keywords characterize this paper?
Key terms include Aestheticism, Oscar Wilde, Art for Art's Sake, Walter Pater, Synesthesia, Impressionism, Symbolism, and Victorian Literature.
How does “Impression du Matin” reflect the influence of French painting?
The poem utilizes momentary sensory impressions, painterly colour palettes (“ochre-coloured”, “yellow”), and allusions to James McNeill Whistler's and Claude Monet's impressionist landscapes, transforming urban London into an artistic composition.
What paradox is identified in the final stanza of “Impression du Matin”?
The appearance of a lone prostitute introduces social reality and moral ambiguity into an otherwise pure, harmonious artistic twilight, demonstrating that art cannot entirely detach itself from its social surroundings.
How is Lily Langtry connected to the poem “Roses and Rue”?
A second version of the poem was titled “To L. L.”, directly alluding to Lily Langtry, a celebrated society beauty whom Wilde admired, demonstrating how real biographical encounters provided the raw material for highly stylized, imaginative art.
- Citar trabajo
- Stefan Zeuge (Autor), 2006, The Aestheticism in Oscar Wilde’s Poems “Impression du Matin” and “Roses and Rue”, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/73517
