Oscar Wilde was an Irish writer, poet, and playwright, born in Dublin. He became one of the most popular wits and critics of Victorian London. Best known for his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, he was also convicted of “gross indecency” and sent to prison for two years. His life was as dramatic as his writing, and he often wrote about the gap between what society says and what it does.In almost every setting, there are certain things or situations that are rarely discussed. Some are completely avoided to keep people within their comfort zones, others are discussed silently, and some are deemed unfit by people who haven’t experienced those difficulties. We end up angry at the ones that stay with us, the ones that make us a little uncomfortable, a little caught out.Just as a mirror can’t be blamed for what it shows, people have always been quick to smash it.This idea has been captured by one of WIlde’s most popularly known lines. Let us know more about it.
Quote of the day
The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame
Oscar Wilde
What does the quote mean?
This line comes from his famous novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, a is part of the speech by Lord Henry, a charming, slippery talker who enjoys shocking people, who tells Dorian that being poisoned by a book is impossible, and that books called immoral simply show theWilde means that when people call a book immoral, they often aren’t reacting to the book itself. They are reacting to what it actually talks about, hypocrisy, cruelty, hidden desires, unfair rules. The shame belongs to the world, not the author. The book only makes it visible.Wilde knew this from experience. When Dorian Gray first appeared, one reviewer in 1890 called it unhealthy and told Wilde he’d be better off taking up tailoring. The attack said a lot about the reviewer’s society, and little about whether the book was any good.
How are his words still relevant today?
Sometimes, we hear sentences or phrases containing uncomfortable truths that we do not want to hear. But when someone takes up the courage and reveals the real truth about hardships in life, we should remember that the most honest criticisms sometimes give us a new perspective and inspiration to move ahead and progress in life and instead of looking toward the leeward side, one should always try to look at things from a different viewpoint.
