Oscar Wilde's paradoxes

1. Oscar Wilde's paradoxes Gokhidze Irina GogolevaKsenia

2. Contents • Introduction • Biography • Quotations • Survey • Conclusion

3. Introduction • Our research is devoted to the work of a unique and marvellous Irish writer Oscar Wilde. He was a playwright, a poet and an author of numerous short stories and one novel. Known for his biting wit, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest “celebrities” of his day. • There are several reasons to choose this topic: • Firstly, he is an extraordinary person and his biography is also unusual. • Secondly, his works are unmatched and singular. That’s why people from all over the world read and revere them. • Thirdly, his quotations and paradoxes are absolutely faultless. • The aims of our work are: • Studying all the material about Oscar Wilde; • Analyzing his biography and quotations; • Finding out the popularity of his works and quotes.

4. Biography Oscar FingalO'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in Dublin on 16 October 1854. His father was a successful surgeon and his mother a writer and literary hostess. Wilde was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and Magdalen College, Oxford. While at Oxford, Wilde became involved in the aesthetic movement. After he graduated, he moved to London to pursue a literary career. His output was diverse. A first volume of his poetry was published in 1881 but as well as composing verse, he contributed to publications such as the 'Pall Mall Gazette', wrote fairy stories and published a novel 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'. His greatest talent was for writing plays, and he produced a string of extremely popular comedies including 'Lady Windermere's Fan' , 'An Ideal Husband ' and 'The Importance of Being Earnest' . 'Salomé' was performed in Paris in 1896.

5. Biography At the height of his fame and success, whilst his masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest, was still on stage in London, Wilde sued the Marquess of Queensberry the father of his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, for libel. The trial unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest, tried for gross indecency with other men. After two more trials he was convicted and imprisoned for two years' hard labour. In prison he wrote De Profundis, a long letter which discusses his spiritual journey through his trials. Upon his release he left immediately for France, never to return to Ireland or Britain. There he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol, a long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life. He died destitute in Paris at the age of forty-six.

6. Quotations About art: • A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament. • Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known. • It is through art, and through art only, that we can realise our perfection. • Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.

7. Quotations About women: • A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face is her work of fiction. • As long as a woman can look ten years younger than her own daughter, she is perfectly satisfied. • I see when men love women. They give them but a little of their lives. But women when they love give everything. • Men always want to be a woman's first love - women like to be a man's last romance. • One should never trust a woman who tells one her real age. A woman who would tell one that, would tell one anything. • Women are made to be loved, not understood. • Women are never disarmed by compliments. Men always are. That is the difference between the sexes. • Women love us for our defects. If we have enough of them, they will forgive us everything, even our gigantic intellects.

8. Quotations About love: • Hatred is blind, as well as love. • Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. • One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry. • To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance. • Who, being loved, is poor?

9. Quotations About himself: • I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying. • I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good characters, and my enemies for their intellects. A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies. • I have nothing to declare except my genius. • I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best. • I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train. • I put all my genius into my life; I put only my talent into my works. • I sometimes think that God in creating man somewhat overestimated his ability. • Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong.

10. Survey We had done a survey, which is devoted to ascertainment of Oscar Wilde’s popularity. To determine this we asked five questions to people of different ages from different countries (Russia, France, Malaysia, Estonia, Colombia). Here are our questions: • 1. Did you hear about Oscar Wilde? • 2. Do you know something about him? • 3. Did you read his tales, essays or stories? • 4. Do you have favourite quotes by him? • 5. Can you write five his quotes you like most? Results

11. Survey

12. Conclusion Nowadays interest to Oscar Wilde returns. People from all over the world read his poems and plays with great enthusiasm. At 2007 (after a special BBC survey) he was recognized as the most sharp-witted man of Great Britain. Wit, humour, good nature and invincible gaiety of spirit; no one who spoke the English language was so light-hearted amusing as Oscar Wilde. Wilde’s wit was entirely effortless and spontaneous. He was a master of satirical nonsense. No one ever said so many acute things in the guise of paradox. So considerable person as Oscar Wilde will attract people even after his death, because his contribution to English and Irish literature and theatre is inestimable. His works and paradoxes will live forever.

13. The End