Appearance
Excerpt
Excerpt from A House of Pomegranates, by Oscar Wilde
‘There are nine gates to this city, and in front of each gate stands a
bronze horse that neighs when the Bedouins come down from the mountains.
The walls are cased with copper, and the watch-towers on the walls are
roofed with brass. In every tower stands an archer with a bow in his
hand. At sunrise he strikes with an arrow on a gong, and at sunset he
blows through a horn of horn.
‘When I sought to enter, the guards stopped me and asked of me who I was.
I made answer that I was a Dervish and on my way to the city of Mecca,
where there was a green veil on which the Koran was embroidered in silver
letters by the hands of the angels. They were filled with wonder, and
entreated me to pass in.
‘Inside it is even as a bazaar. Surely thou shouldst have been with me.
Across the narrow streets the gay lanterns of paper flutter like large
butterflies. When the wind blows over the roofs they rise and fall as
painted bubbles do. In front of their booths sit the merchants on silken
carpets. They have straight black beards, and their turbans are covered
with golden sequins, and long strings of amber and carved peach-stones
glide through their cool fingers. Some of them sell galbanum and nard,
and curious perfumes from the islands of the Indian Sea, and the thick
oil of red roses, and myrrh and little nail-shaped cloves. When one
stops to speak to them, they throw pinches of frankincense upon a
charcoal brazier and make the air sweet. I saw a Syrian who held in his
hands a thin rod like a reed. Grey threads of smoke came from it, and
its odour as it burned was as the odour of the pink almond in spring.
Others sell silver bracelets embossed all over with creamy blue turquoise
stones, and anklets of brass wire fringed with little pearls, and tigers’
claws set in gold, and the claws of that gilt cat, the leopard, set in
gold also, and earrings of pierced emerald, and finger-rings of hollowed
jade. From the tea-houses comes the sound of the guitar, and the
opium-smokers with their white smiling faces look out at the passers-by.
Explanation
Oscar Wilde’s A House of Pomegranates (1891) is a collection of fairy tales written in his signature decadent, lyrical style, blending moral allegory with rich, sensory prose. The excerpt you’ve provided comes from "The Young King"—one of the four stories in the collection—though it also echoes the exotic, dreamlike descriptions found in Wilde’s other works, such as The Picture of Dorian Gray and his plays. This passage is a vivid, almost hallucinatory depiction of an unnamed city, likely inspired by Orientalist fantasies of the Middle East and North Africa, which were popular in 19th-century European literature. Wilde’s description is less about geographical accuracy and more about evoking a sense of mystery, sensuality, and spiritual longing.
Context and Themes
Orientalism and Exoticism Wilde’s description is steeped in Orientalist tropes—Western artistic depictions of the East as a place of romance, mystery, and decadence. The city’s gates, bronze horses, copper walls, and bazaars filled with spices and jewels reflect a European imagination of the "exotic East," blending elements of Arabic, Persian, and Indian cultures. This was not an attempt at realism but a fantasy of the Other, a place where the ordinary rules of the world seem suspended.
- The nine gates may symbolize the nine levels of heaven in some Islamic traditions or the nine openings of the human body in Sufi mysticism, reinforcing the city’s spiritual aura.
- The Bedouins (nomadic Arab tribes) and the Dervish (a Sufi ascetic) suggest a world where faith and wanderlust intersect.
Spiritual Quest and Deception The narrator gains entry by claiming to be a Dervish on a pilgrimage to Mecca, where a green veil embroidered with the Quran by angels awaits. This is a lie, but it is a beautiful lie—one that appeals to the guards’ reverence for the sacred. The green veil may symbolize:
- The Kaaba’s black cloth (Kiswah), which is traditionally green in some interpretations.
- The veil between the divine and the mortal, suggesting that the city itself is a liminal, almost holy space.
- Wilde often played with the idea of art as a sacred deception—beauty as a form of truth, even if factually untrue.
Sensuality and Decadence The bazaar is a feast for the senses, overflowing with:
- Colors (turquoise, emerald, gold, silver)
- Scents (frankincense, myrrh, rose oil, almond blossoms)
- Sounds (guitars, the hum of merchants, the gong and horn of the watchmen)
- Textures (silken carpets, pearls, carved peach-stones)
This overwhelming sensory experience reflects Wilde’s Aesthetic Movement beliefs—art should be beautiful above all else, even if it serves no moral or practical purpose. The opium-smokers with their "white smiling faces" hint at both pleasure and danger, a recurring theme in Wilde’s work (e.g., Dorian Gray’s descent into hedonism).
Wealth and Imperialism The city’s copper walls, brass roofs, and precious goods suggest immense wealth, possibly alluding to:
- The myth of El Dorado or Solomon’s mines—places of legendary riches.
- The exploitation of colonial trade (spices, jewels, and perfumes were highly sought-after European imports from Asia and the Middle East).
- Wilde, though critical of Victorian hypocrisy, was not immune to the romanticization of colonial plunder—the bazaar’s treasures are described with awe, not ethical concern.
Literary Devices
Imagery (Visual, Olfactory, Auditory) Wilde’s prose is synesthetic—it blends senses to create an immersive experience.
- Visual: "gay lanterns of paper flutter like large butterflies" (simile), "turbans covered with golden sequins"
- Olfactory: "thick oil of red roses, and myrrh and little nail-shaped cloves", "odour of the pink almond in spring"
- Auditory: "the sound of the guitar", "strikes with an arrow on a gong", "blows through a horn of horn"
Metaphor and Simile
- The lanterns are compared to butterflies and bubbles, emphasizing their fragility and transience.
- The city itself is a metaphor for a dream or a work of art—ephemeral, beautiful, and slightly unreal.
Symbolism
- The Nine Gates: Could represent nine stages of spiritual enlightenment (as in Sufism) or nine senses (beyond the usual five).
- The Bronze Horses: Guardians of the city, perhaps symbolizing strength, vigilance, or the untamed spirit of the Bedouins.
- The Green Veil: A symbol of divine mystery, the unknowable text of the Quran embroidered by angels—something too sacred to be seen directly.
Repetition and Rhythmic Prose
- Wilde uses parallel structure ("Some of them sell… Others sell…") to create a hypnotic, incantatory effect, mimicking the rhythm of a marketplace or a storyteller’s tale.
- The listing of exotic goods (galbanum, nard, tigers’ claws) builds a sense of abundance and wonder.
Irony and Paradox
- The narrator lies to enter the city, yet his lie is more poetic and compelling than the truth. This reflects Wilde’s belief that artifice can be more profound than reality.
- The city is both sacred and decadent—a place of pilgrimage and opium dens, prayer and pleasure.
Significance of the Passage
Escapism and Fantasy Wilde’s city is a dreamworld, a refuge from the dull morality of Victorian England. It represents the allure of the unknown, a place where beauty and danger coexist.
The Power of Storytelling The narrator’s false identity as a Dervish shows how language and imagination can shape reality. This is a meta-commentary on Wilde’s own art—his stories are elaborate fictions that feel more real than life.
Critique of Materialism vs. Spirituality The bazaar is both sacred and commercial—perfumes burned as offerings are also commodities for sale. Wilde questions whether spirituality can exist in a world obsessed with beauty and wealth, a theme that recurs in The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Orientalism as a Mirror While Wilde’s depiction is not culturally accurate, it reveals more about European desires than about the actual East. The city is a projection of Western longing—for mystery, for sensuality, for a world unburdened by industrialization.
Conclusion: The City as a Work of Art
This passage is not just a description of a place—it is a description of a mood, a longing, a piece of art. The city is alive, breathing through its scents, sounds, and shifting lights. It is both inviting and elusive, a place where truth and fiction blur, much like Wilde’s own life and work.
In the end, the city may not exist at all—it is a metaphor for the power of imagination, a place we can only visit through stories. And that, perhaps, is Wilde’s greatest lesson: the most beautiful places are those we create in our minds.
Would you like a deeper analysis of any specific element (e.g., the Dervish’s lie, the symbolism of the gates, or the opium-smokers)?