PODG: Preface

Write two paragraphs about what the preface of The Picture of Dorian Gray says about aestheticism and Wilde's attitude toward his audience.

            The preface of The Picture of Dorian Gray contains a series of epigrams that express Oscar Wilde’s aesthetic attitude. Wilde is adamant about his approval of beauty: “Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault. Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope” (Wilde vii). He thinks that art is inevitably beautiful. Wilde includes books, paintings, and many other forms in his definition of art. Along with beauty, Wilde believes that artists express thoughts and emotions, with language being an artist’s instrument. Art’s beauty is up to interpretation.

            While the preface expresses Wilde’s opinion of aestheticism, it also conveys his strong disapproval of any moral significance in art. Wilde tells his audience that art does not serve a moral purpose: “There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all” (Wilde vii). Art does not desire to prove anything and it is quite simple. However, the audience that decides to plunge beneath the surface and read into the symbols of art should beware. Wilde also suggests that art mirrors its audience, not life. You should view a work of art and search within it for a meaning in your life, rather than search for a meaning of life in general.