Wilde, Oscar

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (Barnes & Noble Classics)

Average customer rating:

beautiful. and thoroughly modern.
A bit of a high horse for Wilde.
Gothic Good Fun
Classical
Facinating study of sin

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (Barnes & Noble Classics)
Oscar Wilde
Manufacturer: Barnes & Noble Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1593080255

Amazon.com

A lush, cautionary tale of a life of vileness and deception or a loving portrait of the aesthetic impulse run rampant? Why not both? After Basil Hallward paints a beautiful, young man's portrait, his subject's frivolous wish that the picture change and he remain the same comes true. Dorian Gray's picture grows aged and corrupt while he continues to appear fresh and innocent. After he kills a young woman, "as surely as if I had cut her little throat with a knife," Dorian Gray is surprised to find no difference in his vision or surroundings. "The roses are not less lovely for all that. The birds sing just as happily in my garden."

As Hallward tries to make sense of his creation, his epigram-happy friend Lord Henry Wotton encourages Dorian in his sensual quest with any number of Wildean paradoxes, including the delightful "When we are happy we are always good, but when we are good we are not always happy." But despite its many languorous pleasures, The Picture of Dorian Gray is an imperfect work. Compared to the two (voyeuristic) older men, Dorian is a bore, and his search for ever new sensations far less fun than the novel's drawing-room discussions. Even more oddly, the moral message of the novel contradicts many of Wilde's supposed aims, not least "no artist has ethical sympathies. An ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism of style." Nonetheless, the glamour boy gets his just deserts. And Wilde, defending Dorian Gray, had it both ways: "All excess, as well as all renunciation, brings its own punishment."

Book Description

Oscar Wilde brings his enormous gifts for astute social observation and sparkling prose to The Picture of Dorian Gray, his dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. This dandy, who remains forever unchanged—petulant, hedonistic, vain, and amoral—while a painting of him ages and grows increasingly hideous with the years, has been horrifying, enchanting, obsessing, even corrupting readers for more than a hundred years.

Taking the reader in and out of London drawing rooms, to the heights of aestheticism, and to the depths of decadence, The Picture of Dorian Gray is not only a melodrama about moral corruption. Laced with bon mots and vivid depictions of upper-class refinement, it is also a fascinating look at the milieu of Wilde’s fin-de-siècle world and a manifesto of the creed “Art for Art’s Sake.”

The ever-quotable Wilde, who once delighted London with his scintillating plays, scandalized readers with this, his only novel. Upon publication, Dorian was condemned as dangerous, poisonous, stupid, vulgar, and immoral, and Wilde as a “driveling pedant.” The novel, in fact, was used against Wilde at his much-publicized trials for “gross indecency,” which led to his imprisonment and exile on the European continent. Even so, The Picture of Dorian Gray firmly established Wilde as one of the great voices of the Aesthetic movement, and endures as a classic that is as timeless as its hero.

Download Description

Dorian Gray has just had his portrait painted. It is a perfect likeness of the quite extraordinary beautiful young man, and it prompts him to make a mad wish for eternal youth. In the years to come, he devotes his public life to and aestheticism-and his private one to decadence and debauchery.

Customer Reviews:

beautiful. and thoroughly modern........2007-06-19

this is one of the most accessible period novels i've ever read. the style of the storytelling is very conversational... indeed sometimes it seems like the main point is to showcase the conversations, especially the ones with Lord Henry in them, who is very quotable. i read that oscar wilde used to think of his witticisms ahead of time and then try to steer the conversations to a place where he could say them in public, and i guess there's no conversation more artfully directed where you want it than one you write yourself.

the basic story is one that most people know before they pick up the book, but the descriptive style and the snappy dialogue are interesting enough that it doesn't matter. the only real flaw is that it seems like a lot of the book is missing towards the end... the story wraps up a little too quickly and the descriptions of dorian's descent into depravity is really beautiful but also incredibly vague and so that kind of helps to flatten the pacing near the end.

overall i'd highly recommend this book, especially for lazy-reading. it has that kind of dreamlike quality to it.

A bit of a high horse for Wilde........2007-05-21

Dorian Gray is very good novel, but it suffers from soapbox syndrome. The writing is accessible, even to those who tend to dislike more old-styled English writing, and the plot is certainly among the greatest ideas in literature. However, the character of Lord Henry, who carries a great deal of the novel, often goes on seemingly unending rants of his views on life and they bring the book down quite a bit. With these discourses, the book loses development in favor of pseudo-philosophy in a clever if rough attempt to both attract and repulse the reader. There is a mid-chapter in the book that describes the middle of Dorian's life that is absolute work to make your way through. The philosophy of the book is important of course, but it's much better when the story lends itself for the purpose. Overall, for the brilliance of the idea of the story; it's required reading.

Gothic Good Fun.......2007-04-03

Wilde's literary genious is evident throughout. It is written in a very cinematic style - quite visual and rich in detail. Drinched in symbolism and societal insights, you feel as though you are a painting yourself watching the story unfold - - - You can almost smell the musty English drapes, see the grandiose rooms with chairs so thick with dust that a poof rises gently in the air when you sit upon them. Thought provoking and grim. Masterful

Classical.......2007-03-22

The Picture of Dorian Gray will eternally go down as a classic.
This novel - whether you are reading it word by word or reading it knowing the historical background and many many illusions thrown throughout the novel - will appeal to you.
From the beginning to the end this novel is amazing. It makes you contimplate your interior wishes. The ending is shocking - which just puts another tally for "classic".
If you are looking for a classical novel that you can read over and over again and spend hours discussing it (either with people or just personal contimplations), I recommend The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Facinating study of sin.......2007-03-15

This book surprised me with its Gothic horror and surprising plot twists toward the end. This novel, for all its horrible philosophy on life, captures in a poignant way a lost person's search for fulfillment. Despite his indulgent quest for all kinds of pleasure, Dorian is still unfulfilled and in one of the most captivating passages of the book turns to opium to forget life. His descent into the opium den is characterized as a descent into hell, a personal hell which he has brought himself to and in which everyone sees through him and is against him.

Though I wasn't a big fan at the beginning, as the book progressed I think it may have become one of the most memorable books I've read. The theme of the book is sin - its putrefying effect both on the sinner and those around him. One of the best moments of the book and one that sticks vividly in my mind is towards the end, when Dorian, sick of seeing his portrait so mangled and distorted by the sins he has already committed, does a "good deed" in order to try to start to clean it up. He races up the stairs, unlocks the secret room where his portrait is hidden, throws back the cover, and is faced with the same ugliness that had been there before. Then he is faced with a horrible realization of truth: because he had done the "good deed" out of motivation of making his own portrait/soul look better, he hadn't done a "good deed" at all and was now so deep in his depravity that even what he calls love has been warped into an all-encompassing egotism.

Dorian's egotism gets progressively deeper. throughout the book. As Lord Henry says, It begins as innocent narcissism, but as it grows it begins to shunt blame for the sin of others and even motivates the good he does at the end of the book. Rather than his heavy sins bothering Dorian, "it was the living death of his own soul that troubled him" (226). His breakup with the young country girl was motivated more out of a desire to cleanse his portrait from its grime than any love for her, "for in hypocrisy he had worn the mask of goodness. For curiosity's sake he had tried the denial of self" (228). Being able to view his sin on the portrait in a sense made it more difficult to be selfless - "nothing makes one so vain as being told that one is a sinner. Conscience makes egotists of us all" (106) - and Dorian recognized this difficulty.

The idea of pleasure in Dorian Gray is portrayed as a goal to pursue but never reach. "A cigarette is the perfect type of a perfect pleasure. It is exquisite, and it leaves one unsatisfied" (84). Despite Dorian's pursuit of pleasure (and pleasure of the most exquisite kind) he ends us dissatisfied and empty, jaded to the idea of the fullness of life. He is encouraged on by the influence of Lord Henry, who gives advice such as: "The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it," (21) and "sin is the only real color-element left in modern life" (31). Dorian is quickly influenced by Lord Henry's philosophy, aping to everyone else Lord Henry's views and words and acting out on them by plunging into the pits of hedonism.

The portrait itself is a mirror of Dorian's soul. It was a "visible emblem of conscience" (96). As Lord Henry's pleasure seeking philosophy takes hold in Dorian's mind, he sees that "eternal youth, infinite passion, pleasures subtle and secret, wild joys and wilder sins - he was to have all of these things. The portrait was to bear the burden of his shame; that was all" (109). However, in with a horrible fascination, Dorian "grew more and more enamored of his own beauty, more and more interested in the corruption of his own soul" (131) for "what the worm was to the corpse, his sins would be to the painted image on the canvas. They would mar its beauty, and eat away its grace. They would defile it, and make it shameful. And yet the thing would still live on. It would be always alive" (122). Even though "the leprosies of sin were slowly eating the thing away" (161) the portrait held on to its life of decay, just as Dorian held on to pleasure, refusing to be cleansed and beautiful again until Dorian's death.

Quotes:
"She was free in her prison of passion" (65).
"She tried to look picturesque, but only succeeded in being untidy" (49).
"There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about" (4).
"Discord is to be forced to be in harmony with others. One's own life - that is the important thing" (82).
"And how horribly real ugliness made things!" (128)

Average customer rating:

Best play I've ever read
the importance of being earnest
Essential Wilde
Great version of the Classic Play
Wilde's wittiest

The Importance of Being Earnest
Oscar Wilde
Manufacturer: Prestwick House Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 158049580X

Book Description

This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Edition includes a glossary and reader,s notes to help the modern reader appreciate Wilde's wry wit and elaborate plot twists.

Oscar Wilde's madcap farce about mistaken identities, secret engagements, and lovers' entanglements still delights readers more than a century after its 1895 publication and premiere performance. The rapid-fire wit and eccentric characters of The Importance of Being Earnest have made it a mainstay of the high school curriculum for decades.

Cecily Cardew and Gwendolen Fairfax are both in love with the same mythical suitor. Jack Worthing has wooed Gewndolen as Ernest while Algernon has also posed as Ernest to win the heart of Jack's ward, Cecily. When all four arrive at Jack's country home on the same weekend—the "rivals" to fight for Ernest's undivided attention and the "Ernests" to claim their beloveds—pandemonium breaks loose.

Only a senile nursemaid and an old, discarded hand-bag can save the day!

Customer Reviews:

Best play I've ever read.......2007-05-27

The wit in which Wilde writes is incredible. It's a quick short play so you should definitely read it if you love plays. It's funny, and just quite great!

the importance of being earnest.......2007-01-09

this book came in great condition, as promised, and arrived on time. thank you very much!

Essential Wilde.......2006-12-15

Funnier and more entertaining than you ever thought reading a play could be, and absolutely more relevant now than ever, The Importance of Being Earnest is Oscar Wilde at his best. Thankfully short ( you can read it in an hour or so ) and filled with brilliant, biting humor.

Great version of the Classic Play.......2005-10-17

The Importance of Being Earnest is a fantastic play. It is an easy read, and is not only well thought out, but hilarious.

I liked this book of the play especially, because it includes helpful notes in the beginning, but more because it has a glossary of difficult terms in the back. Every time I came to a word that I did not know, it was sure to be defined in the back.

If you love theatre, this is a great play to read. I would highly suggest this book.

Wilde's wittiest.......2005-07-14

One thing happens when you read Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest"; you are amazed to remember that this play was authored over 100 years ago. For most plays of that era, the average reader tends to lose references and it tends to be stodgy and irrelevant. Not so Earnest, due to the brilliance and imagination of it's playwright.

The Importance of Being Earnest is a tour de force of comedy, misidentifications, and farce. Algernon and Jack are friends, and each has invented an imaginary person as an excuse of getting out of engagements. Jack's person is Ernest, a brother with a wild past. The two conspire to woo the ladies that they love, and through a series of happenstances, must gently deceive to get want they want. The end result is a play of uncomperable quality, chock full of witticisms that are highly quotable out of context. In fact, I dare suggest the entire play is quotable, such its brilliance.

Wilde pulled no punches when writing Earnest. Often, when a play is filled with memorable quotes, it takes away from the realism of the scenes because the characters then become merely conduits for the writer's intellect. Not so in Earnest. Wilde manages to make the characters say exactly what they would say in each situation, true to their persona. That alone is quite an accomplishment, one not often seen.

Misidentities, witty banter, love, all conspire to one of English's most brilliant comedies ever to have seen the stage. We should be so lucky the world had Oscar Wilde in it, and even more so, that he wrote at all.

Average customer rating:

Collectable
Magnificent!
no dates
"I Hate It When Everyone Agrees With Me, For Then I Must Consider That I Might Be Wrong"
the cover (thin film)

The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 006096393X

Book Description

A unique one-volume anthology which includes all of Wilde's stories, plays, and poems. It also features a large portion of his essays and letters and an introduction by Wilde's son, Vyvyan Holland.

Customer Reviews:

Collectable.......2007-05-12

Not practical book to carry and to read it while outside, but it is just the way how ALL-IN-ONE book is...However, good to have all his works together...

Magnificent!.......2006-10-13

I wish there was some way to make this large tome more compact, because (if it were possible) I would probably carry it around with me wherever I went! I originally became familiar with his work because Carl Barat and Pete Doherty (band members of The Libertines, a fantastic British band) had mentioned him amongst their favourite authors. I decided to read "The Picture of Dorian Gray". I liked so much that I decided to buy the whole collection of Wilde's plays, poems, and stories.

Perhaps I am biased because I particularly enjoy literature from the 1800s (Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, Lewis Carroll, Edwin A. Abbott), though I must admit that I haven't come across anything similar to Oscar Wilde's work before. Wilde's profound ability of creating rich, imaginative dialogue is especially evident in his plays and his one novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray". Many of his plays, especially The Importance of Being Earnest, are too fantastic, too purely Victorian in nature to be imaginable as happening in real life. However, I think that it is the underlying fanciful, almost surrealistic quality of much of his stories and poems that make them most interesting. The sheer amount of quotable phrases found in his work is something to really be marvelled at. Not only the dialogue, but the quality of the plot is brilliant as well. "The Picture of Dorian Gray", a tale of a handsome youth's descent into madness and debauchery, is particularly striking. It makes me wonder what other stories Wilde could have produced if his life had not been so tragically short (1854-1900).

Though he might be more well-known for his plays and novel, his first published material was poetry. His poetry, as does his other work, embodies his ideals of aesthetics: "art for art's sake". The articulate, minute description of details which might go unnoticed or seen as obsolete matter a great deal in the aesthetic philosophy, as does the beautification of objects and art in everyday life. Wilde even had a tour of lectures on the aesthetic movement in the United States and Canada in 1882, though his philosophy wasn't well-received by the majority of critics.

Wilde had said that "The House of Pomegranates", one of his collections of fairy-tales, was "intended neither for the British child nor the British public". This is believable to an extent, because the majority of Wilde's material seems to be encompassed in a world of his own. He was incredibly proficient at putting down onto paper the very heart and soul of what he was trying to convey, which eventually contributed to getting him into trouble later on. The "The Picture of Dorian Gray" became notorious amongst critics as being a "corrupt" and "unclean" work, chiefly due to the apparently "sinful" nature of Dorian Gray and his misadventures.

This collection is 1000+ pages in length, though it didn't take me a considerably long time to read because I found the bulk of it incredibly interesting and well-written. Even for those who have read some of his work before (any poems, stories, essays, and/or letters), and especially for those who haven't...get this book! You will not regret for a moment the decision to delve further into the literature of one of the greatest authors that I know of.

no dates.......2006-03-26

This is a very well priced volume. It lacks any notation as to the source or dates of all the texts. In fact, the copyright doesn't even tell you when this volume was published. No named editor. Nevertheless, it's got so much: De Profundis, decay of lying, artist as critic, and then the plays, Dorian, etc. No letters and nothing from trials, but a great volume for the price.

"I Hate It When Everyone Agrees With Me, For Then I Must Consider That I Might Be Wrong".......2005-12-21

The title says it all. This is THEE complete works of Ireland's gift to Victorian London. Wilde's plays, essays, poems, his sole novel, The Picture of Dorian Grey, and his last bitter work, De Profundus, (From The Depths) a letter to his lover and betrayer, Lord Alfred Douglas, is re-printed as well. For the price, it's the best way to add this celebrated, tragic wit to your library.

the cover (thin film).......2005-09-06

was peeled off and stuck on to the shipping bag.

The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Writings (Enriched Classics)

Average customer rating:

great book, minor flaws
The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Essential Classic
A favorite
Wonderful collection of brilliant writing
An interesting story

The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Writings (Enriched Classics)
Oscar Wilde
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Nineteen Eighty-Four

ASIN: 1416500278

Book Description

<CENTER>ENDURING LITERATURE ILLUMINATED

BY PRACTICAL SCHOLARSHIP</CENTER>

The classic Gothic tale of horror that explores the pleasures and dangers of a life of decadence.

<CENTER>EACH ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES:</CENTER>

• A concise introduction that gives readers important background information

• A chronology of the author's life and work

• A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context

• An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations

• Detailed explanatory notes

• Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work

• Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction

• A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experience

<CENTER>Enriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the world's finest books to their full potential.

SERIES EDITED BY CYNTHIA BRANTLEY JOHNSON</CENTER>

Customer Reviews:

great book, minor flaws.......2006-11-07

First off, for the audience looking to read this book after viewing the character from the movie LXG, know that the characteristics of Dorian are no as they were in the movie. Dorian does not die when he looks at his portrait; in fact his observation of the changes in his picture is one of the main elements of the story. Basil, an artist that is obsessed with the beauty of one man, Dorian, paints a portrait so beautiful that the subject is pained by the fact that the portrait's beauty will outlast that of his mortal body, and he wishes that this formula could be reversed, with the portrait aging in his place. He gets his wish, but at what price? Dorian, now free from the bounds of mortality, is no longer afraid to sin, since there he thinks that nothing can happen to him. But his behavior was not all due to his immortality; it was also due to the fact that the negative influence from Lord Henry corrupted his pure soul. The fact that he was able to keep his beauty but not able to keep his soul shows that judgment based on appearance is not only wrong, but inaccurate. This book is recommended, but not to the highest extent. The story picks up quickly, as it must with such a limited amount of pages. One of the only flaws in this book is chapter 11, the long, unwanted pause. A classic nonetheless, one that should no be overlooked.

The Picture of Dorian Gray: An Essential Classic.......2006-11-05

The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of the greatest books of our time. It is over one hundred years old, but has aged gracefully and is still easily understood and as relevant to matters of life now as it was when it was first published. Though there have been many imitations of it and many film depictions of it, none of them do justice to the real thing. This timeless classic follows the development of a teenager, Dorian Gray, into manhood as the people that he calls his friends corrupt his soul. This is symbolized in a portrait that Gray hides, which was painted by the man who was perhaps his only good-hearted friend, Basil, who later met his untimely demise. Along with the exceptional plot and surprising twist at the end comes the message that Oscar Wilde cunningly imparts to the reader: One must be master of oneself because outside influences often disfigure one down to the deepest part of their soul. On top of all this, the book is also simply well written and entertaining. It is enjoyable because Wilde uses his mastery of everything from satire to suspense to convey his message and an extraordinarily compelling plot to the reader. You should read this book if you are looking for new knowledge, literature with a deep message, or simply a good time. This edition is especially helpful because it has a glossary for the meanings of some older words and supplementary reading written by Oscar Wilde.

A favorite.......2006-05-26

This book is one of my favorites. I love The Picture of Dorian Gray, and also was amazed by "The Ballad of Reading Gaul"

Wonderful collection of brilliant writing.......2006-05-16

This is the version I read while first discovering the many talents of Oscar Wilde. Dorian Gray is captivating, though the actual storyline is not intricate. The descriptions are extraordinary and left me wondering why he hadn't written more novels? Very short, very effective. It is inconcievable to think that Wilde was denounced for this book being immoral as it is really quite moral, considering the consequences of Dorian's behaviour. (He once commented that there never was an immoral or moral book, simply badly written or well-written) For insight into Oscar Wilde's very colourful life, pick up a copy of Richard Elmann's biography; it is not a happy read but very readable nonetheless.

An interesting story.......2005-11-15

The beginning and end of this book were fairly interesting, we get to see Dorian Gray first as a young man (a child essentially) and how he was poked and prodded into becoming the man we see at the end of the book. The middle is somewhat lacking, and I completely lost interest for almost a month before picking the book back up and finishing the story.

The story is essentially that of a man who sells his soul for something petty, namely, beauty and about the downfall of not only the main character but also those whom he encounters in his life. It is an interesting story, but I feel that the story could have been written better and become somewhat of a mystery novel. Instead of revealing Dorian's secret at the moment he discovers it, it would have been fun to leave the reader guessing as to why Dorain was so afraid to let others see the great picture of himself, and perhaps delve into the inner turmoil of Dorian a bit more before the conclusion.

I have only read the story once, but in future readings I'm sure this story will become more intriguing.

The Artist as Critic: Critical Writings of Oscar Wilde

Average customer rating:

WITH WILDE IMPRISONED OUR CULTURE WILTED AND DIED TOO YOUNG

The Artist as Critic: Critical Writings of Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0226897648

Book Description

Although known primarily as the irreverent but dazzlingly witty playwright who penned The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde was also an able and farsighted critic. He was an early advocate of criticism as an independent branch of literature and stressed its vital role in the creative process. Scholars continue to debate many of Wilde's critical positions.

Included in Richard Ellmann's impressive collection of Wilde's criticism, The Artist as Critic, is a wide selection of Wilde's book reviews as well as such famous longer works as "The Portrait of Mr. W.H.," "The Soul Man under Socialism," and the four essays which make up Intentions. The Artist as Critic will satisfy any Wilde fan's yearning for an essential reading of his critical work.

"Wilde . . . emerges now as not only brilliant but also revolutionary, one of the great thinkers of dangerous thoughts."--Walter Allen, New York Times Book Review

"The best of Wilde's nonfictional prose can be found in The Artist as Critic."--Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book World

Customer Reviews:

WITH WILDE IMPRISONED OUR CULTURE WILTED AND DIED TOO YOUNG.......2006-08-04

This extensive (nearly five hundred page) collection of Mr. Wilde's critical writings provides much food for thought regarding the nature of literacy, and valuably more than makes up for the slight expense of its price. The penultimate piece of sayings and philosophies for the young alone happily repays abundantly any investment of time and money.

Wilde, like Poe, is lesser known for his criticism and aesthetic philosophies, yet both in their prime wrote extensively, reviewing other writers and their art form.

The preface to Dorian Gray, here included reads in places like classical haiku about writing. Wilde cleverly and clearly presents his thoughts concerning the nature of reality, of art, and his mirroring reality through art in order to aid us to see and to believe and to understand and to learn and to live in this reality in which we discover ourselves. He shows us how to discover ourselves, and to live with knowledge, wisdom and intelligence.

This is why the Empire imprisoned silenced and ultimately broke him. He saw and reported too truly through his wonderful plays and writings and epigrams the corrupt nature of the Empire and dared speak truth to power.

The Importance of Being Earnest (Dover Thrift Editions)

Average customer rating:

Honestly...
Brilliant and Witty
Audio CD is abridged on one CD
Timeless Wit
amazing play

The Importance of Being Earnest (Dover Thrift Editions)
Oscar Wilde
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0486264785

Book Description

Witty and buoyant comedy of manners is brilliantly plotted from its effervescent first act to its hilarious denouement, and filled with some of literature's most famous epigrams. Widely considered Wilde's most perfect work, the play is reprinted here from an authoritative early British edition. Note to the Dover Edition.

Customer Reviews:

Honestly..........2007-03-24

I still smile when I think about this play. It was my first sampling of Oscar Wilde, and I found it pretty enjoyable. It's also been my only sampling of Oscar Wilde. I've been meaning to get into some more of his work, I really have. It's a tale of mistaken identity, of love, of three volume novels, of "Bunburyists" and of fashion. Everyone claims to be Earnest, but they're all rather trivial about it. It's pretty funny too, with a lot of wit and the like through it.

This particular edition is particularly cheap, and it seems like its worth a look.

Brilliant and Witty.......2006-05-06

I love this play. I love Oscar Wilde. The wit and humor of this play is astounding, and yet at the same time, it is so intelligent. I love it.

Audio CD is abridged on one CD.......2006-04-23

I have not listened to this audio CD version. I purchased it and returned it without listening to it. I opened the case and realized that this is an abridged radio play version on one CD. The play itself is delightful. I don't care for abridged versions of most material, certainly not a play that takes less than 90 minutes in its entirety. I urge Amazon to update the catalog entry to indicate that this is abridged. An unabridged version is available from other vendors. Thank-you.

Timeless Wit.......2006-01-14

This is an undeniable classic that I've enjoyed seeing over the years in both theatrical and film productions. Upon reading the work, I find that it doesn't suffer in the reading as well. Wilde is likely the most witty person to have ever lived. He claimed he was at least. His works, of course, reflect that genius. In particular, "The Importance of Being Ernest" does. If you're going to experience only one of Wilde's plays, this is the one. The plot is delightfully silly and turns on itself several times. And the word-play is hilarious, and still fresh after more than a century. I'm pretty sure that this play will never grow old.

amazing play.......2005-08-05

Oscar Wilde never fails to intrest me. This is his most acclaimed and recognized work. The plot was everyday and trite, but with meticulous details Wilde was able to overplay the happily ever after concept-of-a-plot. I'd definitely read this again. If I could only pick one play to read by Wilde, this one would be it.

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Norton Critical Edition)

Average customer rating:

"Beauty is a form of Genius."

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Norton Critical Edition)
Oscar Wilde
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393927547

Book Description

About the Series: No other series of classic texts equals the caliber of the Norton Critical Editions. Each volume combines the most authoritative text available with the comprehensive pedagogical apparatus necessary to appreciate the work fully. Careful editing, first-rate translation, and thorough explanatory annotations allow each text to meet the highest literary standards while remaining accessible to students. Each edition is printed on acid-free paper and every text in the series remains in print. Norton Critical Editions are the choice for excellence in scholarship for students at more than 2,000 universities worldwide.

Customer Reviews:

"Beauty is a form of Genius.".......2006-10-06

Oscar Wilde was one of the foremost representatives of Aestheticism, a movement based on the notion that art exists for no other purpose than its existence itself ("l'art pour l'art"), not for the purpose of social and moral enlightenment. Born in Dublin and a graduate of Oxford's Magdalen College, he initially worked primarily as a journalist, editor and lecturer, but gradually turned to writing and produced his most acclaimed works in the six-year span from 1890 to 1895, roughly coinciding with the period of his romantic involvement with Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas, sixteen years his junior. Douglas's strained relationship with his father, John Sholto Douglas, Marquees of Queensberry, eventually resulted in a series of confrontations between Wilde and the Marquees, which first led to a libel suit brought by Wilde against his lover's father (who had openly accused Wilde of "posing as a sodomite" and threatened to disown his son if he didn't give up his acquaintance with the writer) and subsequently to two criminal trials against Wilde for "gross indecencies," based on a law generally interpreted to prohibit homosexual relationships. Sentenced to a two-year term of "hard labor" in Reading Gaol, Wilde emerged from prison in 1897 a spiritually, physically and financially broken man and, unable to continue living in England or Ireland, after three years' wanderings throughout Europe died in 1900 of cerebral meningitis, barely 46 years old.

"The Picture of Dorian Gray," Wilde's only novel besides seven plays as well as several works of short fiction, poetry, nonfiction and two fairy tale collections originally written for his two sons, is critical to an understanding of Wilde's body of work and his personality primarily for two reasons: First, because it constitutes one of his earliest fully accomplished formulations of Aestheticism, and secondly because of its undeniable undercurrent of homoeroticism; an inclination which, after a six-year marriage widely thought to initially have been a true love match, Wilde had begun to explore more openly around the time of the novel's creation (1890). The story's title character is an exceptionally handsome young man who, both in the eyes of the artist tasked to paint his portrait, Basil Hallward, and in those of their somewhat older friend Lord Henry Wotton, epitomizes perfect beauty and is coveted by both men for that very reason. Seduced by hedonistic Lord Henry into believing that beauty can literally justify anything, including any act of immorality, Dorian sells his soul for maintaining his beautiful appearance, letting his portrait age in his stead. (In that, his character resembles Goethe's and Marlowe's Faust.) He then quickly turns from an innocent youth into a cruel and calculating man whom society, in its shallow adherence to appearances, nonetheless never associates with any of the results of his cruelty, never looking beyond the surface of his handsome exterior and assuming that a man so beautiful must necessarily also be good. Ultimately it is Dorian himself who brings about his own downfall when he is no longer able to face the manifestation of his evilness in Basil Hallward's picture.

Upon its initial publication in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" was widely scorned as immoral by a public neither familiar with nor particularly open to the concepts of Aestheticism and its mockery of middle class morality, and repulsed by the thinly veiled homoerotic relationship of the novel's protagonists. Wilde republished the work the following year, adding a preface designed to explain his views on art. Yet, it was that preface which, along with several of his other publications and his written exchanges with Lord Alfred Douglas, ultimately would play a devastating role in his trials, where Queensberry's attorney would come to use an excerpt from that very preface - "There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written" - to extract from Wilde statements to the effect that any book inspiring a sense of beauty (including, as implied in the attorney's question, an "immoral" book, if "The Picture of Dorian Gray" could be qualified as such) was well-written and therefore commendable; that only Philistines, brutes and illiterates - whose views on art he considered invariably stupid and for which he therefore didn't "care twopence" - could consider this novel "perverted," and that the majority of the reading public would probably not be able to draw a proper distinction between a good and a bad book. It was testimony such as this, as well as the impending confrontation with a number of male witnesses ready to testify as to the nature of their relationship with Wilde, that not only caused the author's attorney to convince his client to drop the libel suit against Queensberry but also opened the door for Wilde's own subsequent prosecution.

If "The Picture of Dorian Gray" has a central theme besides the supremacy of beauty and the depiction of a society primarily interested in appearances, it is a call for individuality: Dorian's cruelty is brought out only after he allows himself to be influenced by Lord Henry's equally seductive and cynical hedonism; and similarly, Basil Hallward's blind idolizing of Dorian eventually proves fatal for the painter. - Wilde's only novel is one of the first and most poignant expressions of his own individualism; but unlike his protagonist, who ultimately pays a ghastly prize for selling his soul and giving up his individuality, Wilde paid as high a price for maintaining his. Like Dorian, he knew that "[e]ach of us has Heaven and Hell in him," and although this novel's preface ends with the provocative statement that "[a]ll art is quite useless," it was the very fact that Wilde put his entire being into his art that ultimately destroyed him. But like beauty, which is finally restored to perfection in Dorian Gray's portrait, Wilde's works have stood the test of time; and not merely for their countless, pricelessly witty epigrams. They're as well worth a read as ever.

The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Short Stories (Signet Classics)

Average customer rating:

genius
a classic novel
"For Youth is the One Thing Worth Having"
real good book
Spectacular

The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Short Stories (Signet Classics)
Oscar Wilde
Manufacturer: Signet Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0451526015

Amazon.com

"Oh! In what a wild hour of madness he had killed his friend! How ghastly the mere memory of the scene! He saw it all again. Each hideous detail came back to him with added horror. Out of the black cave of time, terrible and swathed in scarlet, rose the image of his sin." In their ideal of an exquisitely sensitive temperament that thrills to fine shadings in sensation, the principles of the aesthetic (or "decadent") movement are well suited to the tale of terror. No story exemplifies this better than Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. The sparkling wit and zest for life of Wilde's characters combine with cold-blooded acts of horror to generate a deliciously twisted sense of elegance and evil, civilization and degradation. Oscar Wilde, like Edgar Allan Poe, shows us that what we find loathsome and frightening can also be beautiful.

Book Description

LORD ARTHUR SAVILE'S CRIME THE HAPPY PRINCE THE BIRTHDAY OF THE INFANTA In Dorian Gray, Wilde's full-length novel, a fashionable young man sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. Also included in the volume are three of the Irish master storyteller's short works.

Customer Reviews:

genius.......2007-03-09

there is nothing about this novel i didn't enjoy. oscar wilde is nothing short of a genius.

a classic novel.......2006-07-04

a timeless novel about the rights of the individual and our own mortality.

"For Youth is the One Thing Worth Having".......2006-06-05

"How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young. It will never be older than this particular day of June...If it were only the other way! If it where I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that-for that-I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my own soul for that!"

Meet Dorian Gray. He has the perfect look. He shines with such youth and beauty that he amazes everyone he comes in contact with. According to Lord Henry Wotton, however, he does not fully realize what he has. When their mutual friend, Basil Hallward, a painter, decides to paint a portrait of Dorian, he ends up capturing that youth and beauty almost perfectly in his painting. Dorian is mezmerized by it. After listening to Lord Henry's philosophy about how youth and good looks are more important than being good-hearted, Dorian claims he would do anything to let the picture grow old and decay, while he will stay young and beautiful for the rest of his life.

It is only a downward spiral for Dorian after that. He continues to believe in the ways of Lord Henry. His face remains perfect and unlined as he commits sin after sin. The only way anyone would have known Dorian's true colors would be to take a look at his portrait; for his face on the portrait would take on the age lines and the sinister look that Dorian truly should bare in the flesh. The sight of his picture horrifies Dorian so deeply that he locks it up, and would not let anyone look at it. Dorian himself is too afraid to look at it. However, this does not stop Dorian from listening to Lord Henry and believing the same way he does.

Overall, The Picture of Dorian Gray is a great novel. The wit, humor, horror, and philosophy all comes together to make this story exactly what the description of the book says: timeless. The philosophical views of Lord Henry alone will make you question your own outlook on life. The plot is somewhat predictable, and so is the ending, but this doesn't keep Oscar Wilde's only full-length novel from being a great read. Also included in this book are his short stories, Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, The Happy Prince, and The Birthday of the Infanta. Go ahead and pick this book up and start reading.

real good book .......2006-02-26

I had to read this book for english class i wasn't sure if it was going to be that good but i went and read it anyways. Ahead of the chapters that i was suppose to read in class but that didnt stop me. I really enjoyed this book Wilde is a very great writer. The only thing that bothered me was too many gay refrences but that made the book strong somehow. weird. As i got into the book i came to conclude that Dorian was nothing but a sponge sucking in everything he could know.

Dont read chapter 11 it would bore you to sleep. But the rest was good. What got me into this book was the fact that im an artist too and it made me think alot.
Pick it up it's worth a try.

Spectacular.......2005-05-02

A wonderful blend of morality and wit, set in the background of beautiful phrasing and truly enjoyable descriptions.

This book is very clever because it starts you off on par with Dorian - the main character - who then has his youthful innocence. Bit by bit, you find yourself fully strung on by the book's manipulative character who lures you in to the concept that everlasting beauty is more important than a beautiful soul.

Though predictable, the understanding the author demonstrates for the boy's psychological qualms, which have direct parallels to our lives at present, makes this a spiritually moving read.

The wit and mode he uses to drive his message home are second to none.

Humorous, witty, insightful, and evocative, it's a must read.

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Literary Touchstone

Average customer rating:

Picture of Dorian Gray--Well Worth the Read
Oscar Wilde is a Genius

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Literary Touchstone
Oscar Wilde
Manufacturer: Prestwick House, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1580493939

Product Description

This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Editionâ¢ includes a glossary and readerâs notes to help the modern reader contend with Wildeâs many allusions and his complex approach to the human condition. Oscar Wildeâs only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, first appeared in 1891. Dorian Gray, a handsome young man, falls in with a group of âfriends,â whose amoral philosophies he finds quite appealing. After he has his portrait painted, his frivolity and general demeanor degenerate into wickedness, but only the portrait bears the effects of his descent into decadence and serves as a powerful symbol of Grayâs internal ruin. Dorian himself, however, remains as young and unspoiled as the day he first sat for the painting. Wildeâs exploration of life without limits or consequences shocked its late-Victorian audience and remains highly un- settling to modern readers. We, like Dorian, are forced to reconsider whether total freedom and absolute knowledge are really worth their costs.

Customer Reviews:

Picture of Dorian Gray--Well Worth the Read.......2007-06-26

I had heard speak of The Picture of Dorian Gray, but I must admit I did not expect the depth and clarity of thought, the utter honesty to be found in this short novel. It is worth reading. It is worth buying. I wish I had read this when I was younger. This is one book I will give to my children. If I could, I would make this a part of highschool litterature versus many other pieces we were given to read. It is indeed a classic.

Oscar Wilde is a Genius.......2006-12-28

After reading some of the contemporary reviews of this book, I was more than a little curious to see how awful this book really was. I was skeptical that it could be bad, because I'm very familiar with the wit of Wilde. As far as gothic novels go, this book ranks high in the Victorian era. Looking back from a historical perspective, I can see why the critics of the time disliked it. But from today's perspective, it is nothing short of brilliant. Wilde weaves a story like few authors could ever dream of doing, and of course his wit is played out beautifully in this book as well. full of quips and quirks, this book is a must read for anybody who has a love of sharp, intelligent writing.

The Importance of Being Earnest (Norton Critical Editions)

Average customer rating:

The Importance of Being Earnest (Norton Critical Editions)
Oscar Wilde
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Picture of Dorian Gray (Norton Critical Edition)

ASIN: 0393927539

Book Description

The text of this Norton Critical Edition of The Importance of Being Earnest is the established three-act version. Originally in four acts, Wilde shortened it to three at the urging of George Alexander, the owner of the St. James Theatre and first actor to play Jack Worthing. The play is accompanied by explanatory annotations and by an appendix of excised portions. "Backgrounds" includes essays on Wilde and the 1890s by prominent cultural critics Joseph Donohue, Regenia Gagnier, and Karl Beckson. "Reviews and Reactions" collects contemporary responses to The Importance of Being Earnest, among them George Bernard Shaw's famous dissenting view and the American assessment by H. F. "Essays in Criticism" includes six diverse assessments of Wilde and the play by E. H. Mikhail, Camille Paglia, Christopher Craft, Michael Patrick Gillespie, Peter Raby, and Richard Haslam. A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included. About the Series: No other series of classic texts equals the caliber of the Norton Critical Editions. Each volume combines the most authoritative text available with the comprehensive pedagogical apparatus necessary to appreciate the work fully. Careful editing, first-rate translation, and thorough explanatory annotations allow each text to meet the highest literary standards while remaining accessible to students. Each edition is printed on acid-free paper and every text in the series remains in print. Norton Critical Editions are the choice for excellence in scholarship for students at more than 2,000 universities worldwide.

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