Aesthetic Principles in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray

Abstract: This study problematizes the criticism Oscar Wilde received for his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray and aims to explore the aesthetic style he employed when writing the novel. The theoretical approach used in this essay is based on the perspectives of New Historicism; Wilde’s life and how people reasoned during his lifetime are brought into focus and different influences on his work are examined, especially evidence of biographical aspects as well as aesthetic elements in the novel. Wilde himself refuted that he had written an immoral story, insisting that morality was not part of Aestheticism. He also made an effort to clarify his aesthetic objectives in later editions by removing some ambiguous sentences and adding a preface.