Abstract:

Oscar Wilde, one of the most famous playwrights in the 19th century, is well-known all over the world for his plays, poems, novels and fairy tales. Wilde has rich confidence and full talents. Although he lives a miserable life in his remaining years, his amazing artistic achievements are still enough to make him to be the world’s classic artist. His fairy tales are very popular among the vast numbers of readers, thus, Oscar Wilde is known as “the prince of fairy tales”. This article focuses on various aspects, including Oscar Wilde’s life experience, the change of his faith and different things he experienced in different times, in order to draw out the origin and content of aestheticism; and discusses the specific meaning of aestheticism and its impact to the world by the specific analysis of The Happy Prince and The Fisherman and His Soul

Key words: Oscar Wilde; fairy tales; aestheticism; origin; impact

摘要:

奥斯卡•王尔德是19世纪最富盛名的剧作家，他以剧作、诗歌、童话和小说闻名于世。王尔德富有过人的自信和天赋，虽然他的晚年极为潦倒，但他的艺术成就仍使他成为世界经典的艺术家。他的童话也赢得了广大读者的青睐，王尔德也因此被誉为“童话王子”。本文通过对王尔德生平，信仰等方面的改变以及他处在不同时期所经历的不同事情作为出发点，引出唯美主义的起源和内容；并通过对《快乐王子》、《渔夫和他的灵魂》这两篇童话的具体解读，探讨唯美主义具体意义和其对世人的影响。

关键词：奥斯卡•王尔德; 童话; 唯美主义; 起源; 影响

1. Introduction to Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde (1854--1900) is the representative figure of aestheticism movement at the end of 19th century. He was born in an Irish surgeon's family in Dublin in 1854 and graduated from Oxford University. When he firstly entered the society, he did not realize the danger of human nature. He called himself “professor aesthetics and art critic” and claimed that even if he did not have a good reputation, he was doomed to be famous. Finally, Wilde chose to go to the metropolis of London. He was so eager to become famous that he was always well dressed and wandered in different social circles. Light opera Patience satirized the funny scene of Oscar Wilde walking down Piccadilly Street with frivolous steps (Gilbert & Sullivan, 1881). Maverick style soon made Oscar Wilde well-known, thus he got the opportunity of speech tour in America. When he travelled to the west, Oscar Wilde also gained himself a reputation for being frank and generous. The four month trip made Oscar Wilde a celebrity around the Atlantic Ocean.