The Picture of Dorian Gray
Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Oscar Wilde's only novel: a beautiful young man stays unchanged while his hidden portrait records age, cruelty, and guilt.
Read our takeIntentions
Oscar Wilde
Intentions
by Oscar Wilde
Four essays and dialogues in which Oscar Wilde argues that criticism is creative, art need not copy life, and a work should not be reduced to a moral lesson.
- 1891
- Atmospheric
- lyrical
- funny
- voice-driven
About Oscar Wilde
The story, briefly
Spoiler-freeIntentions collects 'The Decay of Lying,' 'Pen, Pencil and Poison,' 'The Critic as Artist,' and 'The Truth of Masks.' Wilde often places the argument in witty dialogue, allowing one speaker to provoke and another to object. The book explains the ideas about art and interpretation that his fiction and plays put into practice.
The story, in more detail
The collection is not a simple statement of rules. Wilde gives extreme positions to invented speakers, uses paradox to expose ordinary assumptions, and makes criticism itself part of the performance.
The central questions are practical: Does art imitate life, or teach people what to notice? Is criticism secondary to creation, or another creative act? Does historical accuracy help a play, or can it prevent theatrical truth?
The argument
'The Decay of Lying' attacks the demand that art copy ordinary reality. 'The Critic as Artist' presents interpretation as creative work.
'Pen, Pencil and Poison' studies the writer and murderer Thomas Griffiths Wainewright; 'The Truth of Masks' considers costume and historical detail in Shakespearean performance.
Why we recommend it
Why it matters
It gives readers the clearest route into Wilde's aesthetics without turning his epigrams into isolated quotations.
Where it fits
Read it after Dorian Gray, when its claims about art and morality have a difficult example beside them.
What this book explores
Timeline
1891
James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Company published Intentions in 1891.
Modern editions
Editors continue to publish the work alone and in collections; introductions and notes explain the relevant performance or textual history.
Book editions
Hardcover
- Hardcover
- James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Company
- 1891
Reader reviews
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Read our takeIntentions: frequently asked questions
What is Intentions by Oscar Wilde about?
Intentions collects 'The Decay of Lying,' 'Pen, Pencil and Poison,' 'The Critic as Artist,' and 'The Truth of Masks.' Wilde often places the argument in witty dialogue, allowing one speaker to provoke and another to object. The book explains the ideas about art and interpretation that his fiction and plays put into practice.
When was Intentions published?
James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Company published Intentions in 1891.
Should I read Intentions first?
Usually not. Start with The Importance of Being Earnest for comedy, The Picture of Dorian Gray for fiction, or The Happy Prince and Other Tales for short stories, then return to Intentions.