Zusammenfassung
Zusammenfassung von Absichten
Go deeper: the whole of Absichten
The full book, start to finish.Für wen es gedacht ist
For readers who enjoy sharp talk about art, literature and taste, and anyone curious about the ideas behind Wilde's plays.
Worum es in diesem Buch geht
What if the best art lies, and life is the one that copies? Intentions gathers four pieces by Oscar Wilde, first printed in magazines and collected in 1891. Two are talks or conversations, and one is a portrait of a real Victorian criminal. Together they are Wilde's fullest statement of what art is for, and what it is not for. He wrote them at the height of his wit, answering an age that wanted art to teach morals and report facts. His reply is playful, and the argument underneath is tightly built. Let us begin with the attack on realism.
In dieser Zusammenfassung
- 1Art should lie, not report factsFree
- 2Life copies art far more than art copies life
- 3A poisoner can also be an artist
- 4Criticism is a creative art of its own
- 5Contemplation is higher than action
- 6Accuracy is not the same as truth
Punkt 1 von 6
Art should lie, not report facts
The Decay of Lying opens in a country house library. Two friends, Cyril and Vivian, talk indoors, since Vivian says nature is uncomfortable and full of insects. Vivian complains that modern writers have swapped imagination for observation, and the result is dull.
He blames the realist novel and names Emile Zola, whose books he faults for copying life too closely. A good liar, Vivian says, makes a world more interesting than the one we see. That act of making is the whole point of art.
Wilde is not telling you to deceive anyone. He defends invention against the idea that a book is only as good as its likeness to ordinary life. If you have ever felt a story can be truer than a report, you will find your instinct argued here with charm.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
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Go deeper: the whole of Absichten
The full book, start to finish.Questions about Absichten
What is Intentions by Oscar Wilde about?
It is a book of four pieces on art and criticism. Wilde argues that art should invent and not copy, that criticism is creative, and that beauty is judged apart from morals. It was published in 1891.
What essays are in Intentions?
The book holds The Decay of Lying, Pen, Pencil and Poison, The Critic as Artist, and The Truth of Masks. Most had appeared in magazines in the years before, and Wilde revised them for the book.
What does life imitates art mean in Wilde's essay?
Wilde means that people learn to see and act through the art they know. His example is the London fog, which he says looked poetic only after painters and poets showed it that way.
Who was Thomas Griffiths Wainewright?
He was a real early nineteenth century English painter and critic who wrote under the name Janus Weathercock. He was also a forger and suspected poisoner, and he was sent to Tasmania. Wilde wrote his portrait.
Is Intentions hard to read?
Wilde writes in clear, witty sentences. His paradoxes mix jokes with real argument.
Cite this edition
Wilde, Oscar. Intentions. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/intentions.
Wilde, O. (2026). Intentions. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/intentions (Original work published 1891)
Wilde, Oscar. Intentions. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/intentions.
@book{wilde2026intentions,
author = {Wilde, Oscar},
title = {Intentions},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/intentions},
note = {First published 1891}
}
