The Critic As Artist
By Oscar Wilde
1891
First Published
4.13
Average Rating
96
Number of Pages
The Critic as Artist is one of Oscar Wilde’s most well-known dialogues and, along with “The Decay of Lying,” his best expression of his aesthetics. This major work is particularly interesting in the context of late 20th-century poetics. Like several of the younger American and British innovative poets and theorists, Wilde argues, through his character Gilbert, for the equal importance of the critical faculty with artistic creation; that, in short, the artist must be both critic and creator if (s)he is to produce great art; and that the art of the critic should be as fine a creative work as that of any poet or novelist. Against the romantic notion of the artist creating from a vast unconscious storehouse of emotions and ideas, Gilbert posits that… "All fine imaginative work is self-conscious and deliberate. No poet sings because he must. At least, no great poet does. A great poet sings because he chooses to sing…. There is no fine art without self-consciousness, and self-consciousness and the critical spirit are one."
Avg Rating
4.13
Number of Ratings
1,382
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3 STARS
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2 STARS
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goodreads
Author
Oscar Wilde
Author · 213 books
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish playwright, poet, and author of numerous short stories, and one novel. Known for his biting wit, and a plentitude of aphorisms, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. Several of his plays continue to be widely performed, especially The Importance of Being Earnest. As the result of a widely covered series of trials, Wilde suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned for two years hard labour after being convicted of "gross indecency" with other men. After Wilde was released from prison he set sail for Dieppe by the night ferry. He never returned to Ireland or Britain, and died in poverty.
