Branding Oscar Wilde (Routledge Studies in Nineteenth Century Literature)

Branding Oscar Wilde traces the development and perception of Wilde’s public persona and examines the impact of interpretations of his writing. Through calculated behavior, provocative language, and arresting dress, Wilde self-consciously created a brand initially recognized by family and friends, then by the British public, and ultimately by large audiences over the world. That brand changed over the course of his public career—both in the way Wilde projected it and in the way it was perceived. Comprehending the fundamental elements of the Wilde brand and following its evolution are integral to a full understanding of his art. The study focuses on how branding established important assumptions about Wilde and his work in his own mind and in those of his readers, and it examines how each stage of brand development affected the immediate responses to Wilde’s writings and, as it continued to evolve, progressively shaped our understanding of the Wilde canon. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Prologue: Enhancing Criticism through the Brand 10 Acknowledgments 14 Introduction: A Synopsis of the Evolution of Branding 16 PART I: The Path to Brand Development: An Interval: Seeing Wilde Inhabiting His Works 28 1 Growing Up with the Brand 30 2 Early Days in London and the Tour of America 37 3 The Conquest of London 47 4 The Zenith and the Nadir of the Wilde Brand 54 PART II: Representative Writing at Various Brand Stages: A Second Interval: How Brand and Art Blended 62 5 The First Creative Steps—Poetry and Plays 65 6 Essays 1885–1891—Moments of Public Reflection 75 7 Wilde’s Preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray 92 8 De Profundis and “The Ballad of Reading Gaol”: Writing a New Brand into Existence 103 PART III: Applying Brand Concepts to Close Readings: A Final Interval: Where Does It All Lead 116 9 The Picture of Dorian Gray as a Post-Modern Work 118 10 A Close Reading of The Importance of Being Earnest 133 Appendix: A Selected Survey of Critical Approaches to Wilde’s Writing 148 Works Cited 154 Index 160