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Essay question:
There is not a single culture that does not have its fair share of literary figures. Some of these figures are more celebrated than others and their fame is not static. The degree of fame varies from one time period to another depending on prevalent tastes and a host of social and economic conditions. These reputations are far from being uniform, with each of these figures having more than one “reputationâ€. Moreover, the process of reputation construction/formation is far from being a simple and straightforward process, as very little is involved in investigating the sources and accuracy of reputations. History is full of literary figures whose reputations in their days and in later days are much contested. As an example, we can refer to the renaissance Italian literary figures and statesmen Dante Alighieri and Niccolo Machiavelli, to the Egyptian writer and activist Nawal Al-Saadawi, to the Abbasid poet Abu Nuwas, to the English author D.H. Laurence, and the French thinker Voltaire. Choose one such figure and provide a study of his/her reputation and the issues involved in its making.
1) Highlight the issues involved in setting the chosen literary figure in his/her historical context.
2) Discuss how issues of historical interpretation affected the construction of the chosen literary figure’s reputation.
3) Comment on the issues involved in using historical evidence appropriately as far as the reputation construction of the chosen literary figure is concerned.
4) Investigate how social values/norms impact the reputation construction of this literary figure.
5) Reflect on how views on tradition and innovation relate to the chosen literary figure’s work and his/her reputation(s).
I have chosen Oscar Wilde. Write about his reputation in the context of the time he lived in and how his reputation has changed today due to our norms, his 'crimes' as a homosexual, his time in prison, the effect his reputation had on his works etc.
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| Subject | Essay Writing | Pages | 5 | Style | APA |
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Answer
Introduction
Oscar Wilde is renowned for defying the Victorian era codes of conduct as well as morality. In fact, people during this era shunned away from expressing emotions and perhaps this made Wilde a renegade ending up involved in a number of trials. This influenced Wilde’s work considerably as he sought to introduce art for art’s sake, which was an emerging movement that had other pioneers including Oxford professor Walter Pater. The outcome of the influence during Wilde’s period was the aesthetic movement, which increasingly sought to criticize the heavy moralistic nature of the Victorian age (Houghton, 1957). Essentially, Wilde and other like-minded persons sought to pursue beauty forms in disagreement to with art as well as architecture of the day. This was mirrored in virtually the entire of Wilde’s life including adoption of exaggerated clothing styles.
Oscar Wilde wanted himself to be perceived as a nonconformist writer or aesthete, which made him famous or rather infamous.
The construction of Wilde’s reputation is baffling to say the least because throughout history he has been view out of different viewpoints. In mid-18th century, his reputation was in tatters because of the numerous trials, as people perceived that his charges were vile and the trial was just. His legacy during this time was destroyed during this period. By the turn of the century, is reputation was favorable as many people started celebrating his work and his dark past almost airbrushed. Indeed, the perception towards homosexuality had transformed and in 1914, a bibliography of Wilde’s work as well as a memorial plaque by the London County Council served to see him accepted back into society. His reputation was overwhelming by 1990s and the Oscar Wilde Society was founded around this time to underline his powerful social status by this time (Lavender, 2011). In fact, thousands of people are inspired by his work and flock to his grave to pay respects to the influential author.
The construction of Wilde’s reputation in historical sources is limiting to say the least. In fact, both primary and secondary engage in some form of survey of important collection of reviews of Wilde. This is because these sources often avoid reprinting of source materials even when they are quoted, which may be understood as strength because these type of source attempt to refer to source materials. Historical sources about this author, thus, often join elements of biography and criticism and this means that they are disadvantageous (Whittington-Egan, 2006). The outcome is that readers about Wilde’s life and accomplishments can barely get a clear picture and mostly get tertiary works that are either incomplete or critic in nature. This is particularly true when perception about him in people’s eyes has transformed over the years. Thus, it becomes quite challenging for readers to come up with an objective and reliable judgment based on the sources that are highly subjective and offer personal viewpoints.
Social values have undoubtedly affected the creation of Wilde’s reputation. In fact, his nonconformist character in the 18th century saw his reputation plunge and people during the Victorian age perceived him to be a renegade. The fact that he was on numerous trials only served to add to the negative perception. The charges ranged from indecency through immorality, and given the conformist nature of his community at the time, he was simply viewed as an outcast (Petrie, 2000). It follows that the Victorian era ideals as well as values made people in his society consider his trial to be just. People were quite appalled as well as outraged at the charges and it has been claimed that cries of joy and jubilation met the court verdict. What is more, there was the perception that Wilde had corrupted the young generation, as homosexuality was believed to be a learned act in the Victorian age.
Tradition relates to behavior as well as belief often passed down within societies and it has special significance. Innovation relates to fresh ideas. Without a doubt, Wilde viewed himself not only as a nonconformist but also as an innovator who was determined to break away from social traditions including those that held art together. He seeks to dismantle the traditions of the Victorian age via his work, and he sought to recruit others to join him (Kaplan and Stowell, 1999). Yet, the society and its traditions stood against everything he pioneered and it never wanted its people exposed to Wilde or his teachings.
His reputation as a saint seems quite accurate, as the Victorian age is renowned for its hypocrisy (Szabados and Soifer, 2004). In fact, he almost comes across as a victim of a highly condescend society that never gave room for persons to express their feelings. Jeffreys (2008) points out that the negative historical events associated with the Victorian era are often blushed aside while such evils as the use of prostitutes by men were common. This underlines the fact that Wilde reputation ought to be taken while keeping things in perspective including the fact that his society was struggling to accept the changes that were about to occur.
References
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Media Education Foundation (2008). The Pathology of Privilege: Racism, White Denial & the Costs of Inequality. Northampton, Wise, T. White Privilege, Racism, White Denial, and the Cost of Inequality. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AMY2Bvxuxc
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