6/30/2023 0 Comments Wilde de profundis text![]() ![]() ![]() These images and patterns underscore a second, deeper connection between Oscar Wilde and Walter Pater: Wilde’s use of profound suffering as a crucible in which to test and apply Pater’s ideas about art, beauty, and the ephemeral nature of time and existence. First, echoes of Pater’s motifs and imagery color Wilde’s self-descriptions as well as those of Douglas and Jesus Christ. What emerges is a spiritual and artistic autobiography of sorts, throughout which Wilde draws on Pater in two key respects. The first portion of the 50,000-word document chronicles Wilde’s relationship with Douglas, while the second explores the nature of suffering, often viewed through the lens of the Christ figure. The relationship between pain and beauty is explored in detail throughout De Profundis, a letter whose form also comprises elements of autobiography, dramatic monologue, and philosophical treatise. A lengthy letter to his lover Lord Alfred Douglas, De Profundis also represents Wilde’s final summation and application of ideas from his teacher and intellectual mentor Walter Pater. Oscar Wilde’s De Profundis, composed in early 1897 while the author was imprisoned, is Wilde’s last prose work. ![]()
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