Data di Pubblicazione:
2025
Abstract:
After his release from prison in May 1897, Oscar Wilde left England for good and mainly
relocated in northern France, southern Italy, and Paris, where he died within three years
and a half. Frequently dismissed in the past as a period of personal and professional
decline, Wilde’s exile was far from insignificant and unproductive, as recognised in recent
years by Nicholas Frankel and Stefano Evangelista, among others. Not only was it the
time in which The Ballad of Reading Goal was composed and published, with
unprecedented commercial success and Wilde’s name at last reappearing on a
frontispiece, in a kind of authorial rebirth, but the exile also gave him opportunities to
establish or consolidate transcultural networks. These led to translations – either printed or
planned – and reviews of his texts, periodical contributions, and projects to stage some of
his plays. Wilde also edited and published The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal
Husband, reprised work on A Florentine Tragedy and La Sainte Courtisane, and briefly
explored such new art forms as the opera libretto and “romantic dramas” taken from
Biblical stories.
These achievements deserve to be fully acknowledged by Wilde studies and included into
the author’s canon. The proposed contribution will reassess his exile works by placing the
emphasis on how they were shaped by the two foreign cultures that had become part of
his everyday experience. The analysis will explore Wilde’s personal, social, and artistic
self-refashioning to adjust to life in France and Italy and the strategies he adopted to
revitalise his career from abroad. Constantly moving between centre – Paris, Naples, and
Rome – and periphery – Northern France and the Riviera, Capri and Sicily – in both
countries he experienced enormous difficulties and marginalisation, though also
ephemeral success and notoriety. The contribution will consider how the complex
dynamics of those last years became instrumental in setting Wilde’s reception on the
Continent, and consequently repositioning his literary reputation in Britain and across
cultures.
relocated in northern France, southern Italy, and Paris, where he died within three years
and a half. Frequently dismissed in the past as a period of personal and professional
decline, Wilde’s exile was far from insignificant and unproductive, as recognised in recent
years by Nicholas Frankel and Stefano Evangelista, among others. Not only was it the
time in which The Ballad of Reading Goal was composed and published, with
unprecedented commercial success and Wilde’s name at last reappearing on a
frontispiece, in a kind of authorial rebirth, but the exile also gave him opportunities to
establish or consolidate transcultural networks. These led to translations – either printed or
planned – and reviews of his texts, periodical contributions, and projects to stage some of
his plays. Wilde also edited and published The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal
Husband, reprised work on A Florentine Tragedy and La Sainte Courtisane, and briefly
explored such new art forms as the opera libretto and “romantic dramas” taken from
Biblical stories.
These achievements deserve to be fully acknowledged by Wilde studies and included into
the author’s canon. The proposed contribution will reassess his exile works by placing the
emphasis on how they were shaped by the two foreign cultures that had become part of
his everyday experience. The analysis will explore Wilde’s personal, social, and artistic
self-refashioning to adjust to life in France and Italy and the strategies he adopted to
revitalise his career from abroad. Constantly moving between centre – Paris, Naples, and
Rome – and periphery – Northern France and the Riviera, Capri and Sicily – in both
countries he experienced enormous difficulties and marginalisation, though also
ephemeral success and notoriety. The contribution will consider how the complex
dynamics of those last years became instrumental in setting Wilde’s reception on the
Continent, and consequently repositioning his literary reputation in Britain and across
cultures.
Tipologia CRIS:
2.1 Contributo in Volume(Capitolo,Saggio)
Keywords:
Oscar Wilde, Wilde's reception in France, Wilde's reception in Italy, Wilde's post-prison years
Elenco autori:
Bizzotto, Elisa
Link alla scheda completa:
Titolo del libro:
The Oxford Handbook of Oscar Wilde