Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
When Oscar Wilde remarked wistfully, “I wish I’d said that,” James Whistler replied, “You will, Oscar, you will.” Try quotation books to see What Oscar Said:
PN6080 .O95 or
Online: http://www.drew.edu/library/er/oxford-dictionary-of-quotations
Oscar Wilde Encyclopedia
Summarizing the content and reception of most of Wilde’s works, from poetry to newspaper articles, this volume covers “Mr. Whistler’s Ten O’clock” and Whistler himself (among other artistic acquaintances & family), the controversy of Wilde’s tomb, the beautiful and dandyism, and Shakespeare’s “W.H.”
PR 5823 .B34
Literature Criticism Online
Literary and drama criticism and analysis of Wilde excerpted here: Dorian Grey was reviewed as “unclean, but undeniably amusing,” whereas The Importance of Being Earnest is “a stumbling block both to the detractors and admirers.”
http://www.drew.edu/library/er/literature-criticism-online
British Writers, vol V
For a thorough analysis of Wilde’s work and its connections with Aestheticism (not athleticism), as well as the complex of hidden meanings critics have found in the complex, varied work of the original “very singularly deep young man.”
PR 85 .B688
Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance
Wilde also dabbled in historical drama, verse tragedy, and symbolist drama before settling on comedy. What is the “well made play” (la pièce bien faite) tradition that Wilde was pursuing in his scripts? Did he succeed in catching it?
PN2035 .O94 or
http://www.drew.edu/library/er/oxford-encyclopedia-of-theatre-and-performance
Encyclopedia of the Victorian Era
Look here for a more complete view of Wilde’s work and life in his cultural context. To get beyond Wilde’s trial and Reading Gaol, see “Homosexuality.”
DA 550 .E527
Interested in more Victorian-era writers?
Check out the Tomlinson Collection of Byron and Whitman, the Byron Society Collection, and other 19th Century Collections in Drew Library’s Special Collections Department.
* Warning: browsing reference books can be decadent!
May 16, 2012