"The Critic as Artist" is an essay by

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

, containing the most extensive statements of his

aesthetic philosophy Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed thr ...

. A dialogue in two parts, it is by far the longest one included in his collection of essays titled ''Intentions'' published on 1 May 1891. "The Critic as Artist" is a significantly revised version of articles that first appeared in the July and September 1890 issues of ''

The Nineteenth Century ''The Nineteenth Century'' was a British monthly literary magazine founded in 1877 by James Knowles. It is regarded by historians as 'one of the most important and distinguished monthlies of serious thought in the last quarter of the nineteent ...

'', originally entitled "The True Function and Value of Criticism." The essay is a conversation between its leading voice Gilbert and Ernest, who suggests ideas for Gilbert to reject.

Summary

The essay sets to collapse the distinction between fine art and criticism cherished by artists and critics such as

Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the celebrated headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, lite ...

and

James Abbott McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...

- only critical faculty enables any artistic creation at all, while criticism is independent of the object it criticises and not necessarily subject to it. The essay champions a contemplative life to the life of action. According to Gilbert, scientific principle of heredity shows we are never less free, never have more illusions than when we try to act with some conscious aim in mind. Critical contemplation is guided by conscious aesthetic sense as well as by the soul. The soul is wiser than we are, writes Wilde, it is the concentrated racial experience revealed by the imagination. Criticism is above reason, sincerity and fairness; it is necessarily subjective. It is increasingly more to criticism than to creation that future belongs as its subject matter and the need to impose form on chaos constantly increases. It is criticism rather than emotional sympathies, abstract ethics or commercial advantages that would make us cosmopolitan and serve as the basis of peace.The Critic as Artist
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Notes

References

* Wilde, Oscar. "The Decay of Lying" in ''Intentions'' (1891) * Wilde, Oscar, ''Complete Works'' (Collins, 2003) * Josephine M. Guy, ed., ''The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde'', vol. iv (Oxford University Press, 2007)

External links

* * Works by Oscar Wilde 1891 essays Aesthetics literature Works originally published in Nineteenth Century (periodical) {{aesthetics-stub