Oscar Tame

[aggienaut]

   Also I recently read Oscar Wilde's The Portrait of Dorian Grey. It didn't really have a plot hook until at least a third of the way through, nor had it by then, or indeed ever, made me care about any of the characters... if I didn't know something was going to happen with the portrait and that it's a classic I think I would have been like wtf this is going nowhere. Mostly it seemed to be the main characters languidly quipping witticisms primarily consisting of "unexpected" pairings such as "in A [foreign country for example] they do B (negative behavior) but in C [more familiar subject, such as Britain] they do D [ironically stated worse behavior]" in such a manner that I can almost hear a laugh track. Also weirdly no female was any more than literary furniture. I thought this guy Oscar Wilde was supposed to be great, I was thoroughly disappointed.

Comments

[wpadmirer.livejournal.com]

His plays are very funny. His dialogue is great.

I've never read one of his books, but having a book of short stories by Tennessee Williams, I can tell you that writing fiction vs. writing plays often does NOT translate.

Probably it sold well and has retained its popularity because of his plays. People who love the dialogue of those probably love the dialogue of the book.

[nightspore.livejournal.com]

Portrait of Dorian Grey is meh.

Wilde at his sublime best is: The Importance of Being Earnest, and also, his essay on The Decay of Lying.

[ryl.livejournal.com]

Actual quote from one of Wilde's letters: "I can't describe action: my people sit in chairs and chatter." This is very true. His plays are much better (except Vera, skip that if you find it) because they're 100% dialogue. Even if he does recycle jokes, they're still good. Also the women have a much stronger role, especially in An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest.

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

From what I gather, his short stories, plays and poetry is better. Dorian just captured the imagination like no other during his time, so he is a classic icon.

*HUGS*