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Excerpt ​

Excerpt from Essays and Lectures, by Oscar Wilde

PREFACE

WITH the exception of the Poems in Prose this volume does not contain
anything which the author ever contemplated reprinting. The Rise of
Historical Criticism is interesting to admirers of his work, however,
because it shows the development of his style and the wide intellectual
range distinguishing the least borné of all the late Victorian writers,
with the possible exception of Ruskin. It belongs to Wilde’s Oxford days
when he was the unsuccessful competitor for the Chancellor’s English
Essay Prize. Perhaps Magdalen, which has never forgiven herself for
nurturing the author of Ravenna, may be felicitated on having escaped
the further intolerable honour that she might have suffered by seeing
crowned again with paltry academic parsley the most highly gifted of all
her children in the last century.

Of the lectures, I have only included those which exist, so far as I
know, in manuscript; the reports of others in contemporary newspapers
being untrustworthy. They were usually delivered from notes and were
repeated at various towns in England and America. Here will be found the
origin of Whistler’s charges of plagiarism against the author. How far
they are justified the reader can decide for himself, Wilde always
admitted that, relying on an old and intimate friendship, he asked the
artist’s assistance on one occasion for a lecture he had failed to
prepare in time. This I presume to be the Address delivered to the Art
Students of the Royal Academy in 1883, as Whistler certainly reproduced
some of it as his own in the ‘Ten o’clock’ lecture delivered
subsequently, in 1885. To what extent an idea may be regarded as a
perpetual gift, or whether it is ethically possible to retrieve an idea
like an engagement ring, it is not for me to discuss. I would only point
out once more that all the works by which Wilde is known throughout
Europe were written after the two friends had quarrelled. That Wilde
derived a great deal from the older man goes without saying, just as he
derived so much in a greater degree from Pater, Ruskin, Arnold and
Burne-Jones. Yet the tedious attempt to recognise in every jest of his
some original by Whistler induces the criticism that it seems a pity the
great painter did not get them off on the public before he was
forestalled. Reluctance from an appeal to publicity was never a weakness
in either of the men. Some of Wilde’s more frequently quoted sayings
were made at the Old Bailey (though their provenance is often forgotten)
or on his death-bed.

Explanation ​

Oscar Wilde’s Preface to Essays and Lectures (posthumously published in 1909) is a fascinating meta-textual introduction that blends wit, irony, and self-aware commentary on Wilde’s own literary legacy, his intellectual influences, and the controversies surrounding his work. Below is a detailed breakdown of the excerpt, focusing on its language, themes, literary devices, and significance—primarily through close reading of the text itself.

1. Context of the Excerpt ​

This preface was written by Robert Ross (Wilde’s literary executor and close friend), but it adopts Wilde’s own voice and style, blending biographical context with critical reflection. The volume collects Wilde’s early, unpublished, or lesser-known works—essays, lectures, and prose poems—many of which predate his fame. The preface serves as both an apology for their inclusion (since Wilde himself did not intend to republish them) and a defense of his intellectual evolution.

Key background:

  • Oxford and The Rise of Historical Criticism: Wilde wrote this essay as a student at Magdalen College, Oxford, competing (unsuccessfully) for the Chancellor’s English Essay Prize. The preface mocks Oxford’s conservative academic culture ("paltry academic parsley") while celebrating Wilde’s precocious talent.
  • Lectures and Plagiarism Controversy: Wilde’s American and British lecture tours (1882–1883) were sensational but led to accusations of plagiarism from James McNeill Whistler, a rival aesthete. The preface addresses this dispute with characteristic Wildean flippancy.
  • Intellectual Influences: Wilde is framed as a synthesis of late-Victorian thinkers (Ruskin, Pater, Arnold, Burne-Jones), yet the preface insists on his originality.

2. Themes in the Excerpt ​

A. Intellectual Originality vs. Influence ​

The preface grapples with the tension between derivation and innovation, a central concern in Wilde’s aesthetics. Key passages:

  • "Wilde derived a great deal from the older man [Whistler]... just as he derived so much in a greater degree from Pater, Ruskin, Arnold and Burne-Jones."
    • This acknowledges Wilde’s debt to his predecessors but frames it as inevitable and generative—part of the artistic process. The list of names (Pater’s decadent prose, Ruskin’s moral criticism, Arnold’s cultural theory) positions Wilde as a collage artist of ideas.
  • "Yet the tedious attempt to recognise in every jest of his some original by Whistler..."
    • The word "tedious" dismisses the plagiarism debate as petty, implying that wit is communal—a theme Wilde later explores in The Decay of Lying (1889), where he argues that "Life imitates Art."

B. Academic vs. Artistic Value ​

Wilde’s Oxford essay is described as interesting not for its scholarship but for what it reveals about his style and intellectual range:

  • "It shows the development of his style and the wide intellectual range distinguishing the least borné of all the late Victorian writers."
    • Borné (French for "narrow-minded") contrasts Wilde with his contemporaries. The preface elevates style over content, a hallmark of Wilde’s aestheticism.
  • "Magdalen... may be felicitated on having escaped the further intolerable honour of crowning him with paltry academic parsley."
    • "Parsley" (a trivial garnish) mocks academic prizes as meaningless compared to Wilde’s genius. The irony is that Oxford failed to recognize him, yet this failure becomes a badge of honor.

C. Publicity and Performance ​

Wilde and Whistler were masters of self-promotion, and the preface highlights their shared relish for scandal:

  • "Reluctance from an appeal to publicity was never a weakness in either of the men."
    • This undercuts the plagiarism dispute by suggesting both men courted controversy—Whistler by accusing Wilde, Wilde by provoking him.
  • "Some of Wilde’s more frequently quoted sayings were made at the Old Bailey (though their provenance is often forgotten) or on his death-bed."
    • The Old Bailey (where Wilde was tried for "gross indecency" in 1895) and his deathbed become stages for his wit. The preface frames his life as a performance, where even legal and mortal moments are aestheticized.

3. Literary Devices ​

A. Irony and Paradox ​

Wilde’s (and Ross’s) voice drips with dramatic irony:

  • "the most highly gifted of all her [Magdalen’s] children in the last century."
    • The hyperbole is ironic because Oxford rejected Wilde’s prize submission, yet history vindicated him.
  • "How far they [Whistler’s charges] are justified the reader can decide for himself..."
    • This false modesty deflects judgment while implying the reader will side with Wilde.

B. Allusion and Intertextuality ​

  • "Paltry academic parsley": Parsley was a traditional garnish for boar’s head at Oxford feasts, symbolizing empty tradition.
  • "Ten o’clock" lecture: Whistler’s famous 1885 lecture, which Wilde allegedly helped write. The preface reframes plagiarism as collaboration, a radical idea in Victorian copyright culture.

C. Wit and Epigram ​

  • "whether it is ethically possible to retrieve an idea like an engagement ring"
    • The simile trivializes intellectual property, comparing ideas to romantic tokens—easily given, awkwardly reclaimed.
  • "it seems a pity the great painter did not get them [jests] off on the public before he was forestalled."
    • The backhanded compliment suggests Whistler was slow to publish his own wit.

D. Tone: Detached Amusement ​

The preface adopts a world-weary, amused tone, as if the controversies are beneath notice:

  • "To what extent an idea may be regarded as a perpetual gift..."
    • The rhetorical question feigns disinterest while provoking the reader to consider Wilde’s side.

4. Significance of the Excerpt ​

A. Wilde’s Aesthetic Manifesto in Miniature ​

The preface encapsulates Wilde’s core beliefs:

  1. Art as Performance: Life (even a preface) is a theatrical construct.
  2. Style Over Morality: The value of Wilde’s Oxford essay lies in its style, not its scholarship.
  3. Plagiarism as Creativity: Ideas are communal property, not private possessions.

B. Rewriting Literary History ​

By including "unreprintable" works, the preface challenges academic canonization. Wilde’s early, "failed" writings are presented as more revealing than his polished later works.

C. The Plagiarism Debate as Aesthetic Statement ​

The Whistler controversy becomes a meta-commentary on originality. The preface suggests:

  • All art is derivative (Wilde from Pater, Whistler from Wilde).
  • Scandal is part of the artwork—the dispute itself is a collaborative performance.

D. Wilde’s Legacy: The Artist as Martyr ​

The closing line—"some of Wilde’s more frequently quoted sayings were made at the Old Bailey or on his death-bed"—elevates Wilde to a Christ-like figure, crucified by society but immortalized by his wit. The preface mythologizes him, turning even his legal downfall into art.

5. Close Reading of Key Passages ​

Passage 1: Oxford’s "Intolerable Honour" ​

"Magdalen, which has never forgiven herself for nurturing the author of Ravenna, may be felicitated on having escaped the further intolerable honour that she might have suffered by seeing crowned again with paltry academic parsley the most highly gifted of all her children in the last century."

  • "Never forgiven herself": Personifies Oxford as regretful, implying Wilde was too radical for it.
  • "Intolerable honour": Oxymoron—suggests academic recognition would have been a burden for Wilde.
  • "Paltry academic parsley": Parsley was used to conceal the smell of decay in medieval times—here, it symbolizes academia’s attempt to mask its irrelevance.

Passage 2: The Plagiarism Dispute ​

"How far they are justified the reader can decide for himself, Wilde always admitted that, relying on an old and intimate friendship, he asked the artist’s assistance on one occasion for a lecture he had failed to prepare in time."

  • "Failed to prepare in time": Wilde’s procrastination becomes part of his myth—genius doesn’t need preparation.
  • "Old and intimate friendship": Implies Whistler’s accusations were a betrayal of camaraderie, not a legal issue.

Passage 3: Wit as Immortal ​

"Some of Wilde’s more frequently quoted sayings were made at the Old Bailey (though their provenance is often forgotten) or on his death-bed."

  • "Provenance is often forgotten": His wit transcends its origins—whether spoken in court or on his deathbed, it becomes timeless.
  • The parenthetical remark is Wildean in its casual brilliance—even in a preface, he (or Ross) cannot resist a jest.

6. Conclusion: Why This Preface Matters ​

This preface is not just an introduction—it’s a manifestation of Wilde’s aesthetic philosophy. It:

  1. Democratizes genius: Wilde’s "failures" (unpublished works, lost lectures) are as valuable as his successes.
  2. Dismantles originality: Plagiarism is recast as creative osmosis.
  3. Turns biography into art: Wilde’s life—his trials, his death—becomes part of his literary legacy.

In essence, the preface enacts the very ideas it describes: it is witty, subversive, and self-aware, proving that even a preface can be a work of art. As Wilde himself might say, "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." This preface ensures he is always talked about.