Oscar Wilde and His Fairy Tales

Oscar Wilde And His Fairy Tales

I. Introduction

Wilde, Oscar (Fingal O’Flahertie Wills) (b. Oct. 16, 1854, Dublin, Ire ?d. Nov. 30, 1900, Paris, Fr.) Irish wit, poet and dramatist whose reputation rests on his comic masterpieces Lady Windermere’s Fan (1893) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1899). He was a spokesman for Aestheticism, the late19th-century movement in England that advocated art for art’s sake. However, Oscar Wilde’s takeoff of his enterprise and, his shaping of his characteristic style of works could be both considered originating from his fairy tales. It was not until his first collection of fairy tales had come out that he was regarded as an influential author. The British magazine Elegance, in which his The Selfish Giant is said to be adequately regarded as “the perfect works?and, his complete collection of fairy tales are even said to be the quintessence of the pure English language, equates him with the famous Danish writer of fairy tales Hans Christian Anderson.

In order to explore and study the fact why Oscar Wilde’s takeoff of his enterprise and, his shaping of his characteristic style of works could be both considered originating from his fairy tales, and the social, religious and aesthetic aspects of Oscar Wilde’s fairy tales, in this essay, I try to analyze from the angles of sociology and religion three of Oscar Wilde’s fairy tales, namely The Happy Prince, The Selfish Giant and The Young King, which personally I regard as the most typical characteristic style of Oscar Wilde’s works.

In this essay, the first chapter gives a brief introduction and background of Oscar Wilde and his fairy tales; the second chapter summarizes the three fairy tales which I have chosen to study, namely The Happy Prince, The Selfish Giant and The Young King; the third chapter expounds from the angles of sociology and religion my personal in-depth study and analysis of the three fairy tales of Oscar Wilde; the last chapter gives a personal brief conclusion of the value of Oscar Wilde’s fairy tales.

II. A Brief Introduction and Background of Oscar Wilde and His Fairy tales

Once upon a time there was a boy named Oscar Wilde. Oscar lived on a far way land called Ireland with his mother and father. His parents loved him very much. They would often tell him folklore of their native land that greatly interested Oscar. One day, Oscar decided he too would like to become a writer so he could tell stories like those he grew up with. He told his parents his dream and although they were very sad to see their son go, they realized he must go into the world to seek his fortune. They sent his far across the sea to a distant land called Great Britain where he learned to write and eventually succeeded in becoming very famous. He studied and wrote many stories, tales, and plays that made the British people very happy. He was rewarded for his good work with a beautiful maiden and two sons as well as the acceptance of society. Oscar was very happy with his life and his ability to please the people, but he soon became very confused. Many of his opinion and ideas were not what the people wanted to hear and some of his work was not accepted as other pieces