1Criticism of society in his work
Rejected older Victorian insistence
Wrote autobiographically
Puns and whit
Played farce on upper class mannerisms.
2Oscar Wilde
Anglo-Irish
Novelist and playwright
Victorian era between 1854-1900
3Initial reception of play
1895; well-liked and even praised by the Prince of Wales
4A Woman of No Importance
1893; the earlier play included a discussion of what an ideal husband was and why he was impossible
5Which literary models does Wilde draw from in the construction of this play? (3)
- French 'well-made play'
- Popular 19th century melodramas
- 1890s focus on political men in plays
6French ‘well-made play’
suspenseful plotting and a conflict neatly solved, often using key objects to carry the narrative
7Popular 19th century melodramas
two dimensional characters that served to be archetypes; living in narrative based on simplistic conflicts, in which evil is triumphed over
81890s focus on political men in plays
Wilde subverts this by having the sinning figure not retire, but continue in public life
9Walter Pater and John Ruskin
Aestheticians who Wilde came under the influence of
10Height of his career
1890-1895
11Where did Wilde spend a lot of time during 1890-1895? What movements was he exposed to here?
France, exposed to Symbolism and Decadent movements
12Arrest and sentence to hard labour
1895, after suing for libel but then being exposed for an homosexual love affair with the Lord Alfred Douglas
13How and where did Wilde die?
Sick and poor, addicted to drugs and dying of cerebral meningitis in Paris
14The letter
Lord Alfred's letter from Wilde being discovered by a friend, Alfred Wood. Wood confronted Wilde intending blackmail, but Wilde appeased him over dinner, and later did the same to some professional thugs who also had the letter
15 'Yellow' or 'Naughty Nineties'
The twilight years of the Victorian era; it was distinguished by industrial and imperial growth as well as increasing conservatives in social mores
16What social mores were valued in 1895? (3)
- Familial devotion
- Propriety
- Public and private duties
17How does Wilde insert himself into the play, characteristic of his autobiographical writing style?
Arguably through the character of Lord Goring
18How did Wilde promote aestheticism?
- Rebelling against Victorian sensibilities
- Calling for world judgement by beauty of artifice rather than moral value
19Higher Education of Women
1866, a book written by Emily Davies, who founded the first women's college in Britain, Girton
20What were the different spheres men and women were divided into?
- Men = public sphere; politics, formal education, etc.
- Women = private sphere; domestic upkeep, informal education, etc.
21London University
1878, begins to permit female students
22How would feminism be recognised in the play?
- Audiences would see the play's comments as part of the public debate
- Audiences would recognise the originality and humour of Mrs C
23How does Lady C subvert the accepted gender roles of the time?
She implores SRC to be pure and constant
24What literary tool does Wilde make good use of throughout the play?
Epigrams , in which he subverts expectations and provides paradoxical approaches to the status quo