Aesthetics vs. Ethics in the Plays of Oscar Wilde

Autor/innen

  • Stephania Ribeiro do Amaral Corrêa Brazilian Air Force Academy
  • Peter James Harris São Paulo State University (UNESP)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37389/abei.v21i2.3377

Schlagwörter:

Oscar Wilde; Aestheticism; Plays.

Abstract

Oscar Wilde is renowned for the sharp wit of his pithy aphorisms, which are evident throughout his writing. In particular, his dramatic oeuvre demonstrates the enduring qualities of his skill as a playwright. However, one of his most enduring legacy comes from one of his critical writings: the effective separation between aesthetics and ethics. In "The Critic as Artist", one of the essays published in Intentions, in 1891, Wilde draws a distinction between Aesthetics and Ethics, arguing that they belong to different spheres. Wilde’s essay was of seminal importance in altering the way in which works of art were analysed: to this day, morality and utility are no longer considered valid criteria with which to judge the artistic qualities of any creative work. The aim of this article is to discuss Wilde’s plays in the light of his aesthetic criticism, focusing primarily on the separation between aesthetics and ethics, demonstrating that the very aesthetic principles Wilde helped to establish and disseminate are also present in the texts of his plays, since the first tragedy, Vera, or The Nihilists (1882) to his last play, The Importance of Being Earnest (1895).

Autor/innen-Biografien

  • Stephania Ribeiro do Amaral Corrêa, Brazilian Air Force Academy

    Stephania Ribeiro do Amaral Corrêa has a graduation in Languages from São Paulo State University (UNESP). She has an MA and a PhD in Literary Theory from São Paulo State University (UNESP) as well as a post-graduation in Foreign Language Teaching Methodologies from Ceres College. She has also a TESOL course from the International Language Academy of Canada, and a Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA). Currently, she is a military English instructor at the Brazilian Air Force Academy, in Pirassununga.

  • Peter James Harris, São Paulo State University (UNESP)

    Peter James Harris is Associate Professor of English Literature at São Paulo State University (UNESP), in São José do Rio Preto. Born in London, he has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and a PhD in Irish Studies from the University of São Paulo (USP). He is the author of Sean O'Casey's Letters and Autobiographies: Reflections of a Radical Ambivalence (WVT, 2004), From Stage to Page: Critical Reception of Irish Plays in the London Theatre, 1925-1996 (Peter Lang, 2011) and A Peça Irlandesa no Palco Londrino(Humanitas, 2011). 

Veröffentlicht

2020-05-13

Zitationsvorschlag

Ribeiro do Amaral Corrêa, S., & Harris, P. J. (2020). Aesthetics vs. Ethics in the Plays of Oscar Wilde. ABEI Journal, 21(2), 57-68. https://doi.org/10.37389/abei.v21i2.3377