The Decay Of Lying And Other Essays

Download or read book The Decay of Lying: And Other Essays written by Oscar Wilde and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2010-04-01 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 'The Decay of Lying' Oscar Wilde uses his decadent ideology in an attempt to reverse and therefore reject his audiences' 'normal' conceptualizations of nature, art and morality. Wilde's views of life and art are illustrated through the use of Platonic dialogue where the character Vivian takes on the persona of Wilde. Wilde's goal is to subvert the norm by reversing its values. Wilde suggests to us that society is wrong, not him. Calling on diverse examples - from Ancient Greek sculpture to contemporary paintings - Oscar Wilde's brilliant essay creates a witty, paradoxical world in which the only Art worth loving is that built on complete untruths.