Intentions

Oscar Wilde's Intensions is a dazzling collection of critical essays in which wit, paradox, and aesthetic philosophy turn literary argument into performance. Across "The Decay of Lying," "Pen, Pencil, and Poison," "The Critic as Artist," and "The Truth of Masks," Wilde explores art, criticism, creativity, morality, and the power of appearances to shape meaning, inviting readers into a sparkling debate about beauty and truth. Here Wilde argues that art is strongest when it transforms life rather than merely imitating it, and that realism, left to itself, dulls imagination into fact and vulgarity. He defends criticism as a creative force, looking to the Greeks as proof that great art and great criticism are inseparable, and to Shakespeare as a dramatist whose genius lay in selecting and shaping historical detail into living illusion. Costume, setting, and stage atmosphere become essential tools, not decorative extras: archaeology should serve the artist, historical accuracy should deepen dramatic effect, and beauty must always outrank pedantic exactness. In Wilde's hands, theatre becomes the perfect meeting place of illusion, style, and truth. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.