Wilde's Intentions: The Artist in his Criticism [Hardcover]

Lawrence Danson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198183755 | ISBN-13: 978-0198183754 | Publication Date: March 27, 1997

What were Wilde's intentions? They had always been suspect, from the time of Poems, when the charge was plagiarism, to his trials, when the charge was sodomy. In Intentions (1891), and in two related essays, "The Portrait of Mr W. H." and "The Soul of Man Under Socialism," Wilde's epigrammatic dazzle and paradoxical subversions both reveal and mask his designs upon fin-de-si�cle society. In the first extended study of Wilde's criticism, Lawrence Danson examines these essays/dialogues/fictions and assesses their achievement. He sets Wilde's criticism in context, showing how the son of an Irish patriot sought to create a new ideal of English culture by elevating "lies" above history, leveling the distinction between artist and critic, and ending the sway of "nature"u over liberated human desire.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Lawrence Danson's Wilde's Intentions: The Artist and His Criticism provides illuminating and considered readings and contextualizations of Wilde's essays."--Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900

About the Author

Lawrence Danson is a Professor of English at Princeton University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (March 27, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198183755
• ISBN-13: 978-0198183754
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,460,254 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars NO, November 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Wilde's Intentions: The Artist in his Criticism (Hardcover)

I read the book for a class assignment and found it very difficult to read. The author's thoughts are chopped with quotes in almost every sentence making it very hard to follow. After the first 100 pages I had to go back to reread the text because I had no idea what I had just read. Danson speaks a language only a fellow doctor of Enlish could translate accurately.

1.0 out of 5 stars Dullsville, January 30, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Wilde's Intentions: The Artist in his Criticism (Hardcover)

This book concerns a fascinating subject--Oscar Wilde's brilliant, revolutionary literary criticism, a series of essays and essay-dialogues published under the title _Intentions_. Unfortunately, Danson neither illuminates Wilde nor credits him with the originality and daring that Wilde's literary criticism deserves. Danson's writing is a mix of murky jargon and an occasional interesting insight.