From ‘yellow foam’ to ‘black serpents’: Oscar Wilde and colour at the fin de siècle

Through a historicist–informed, formalist reading of a selection of his poetry, prose, and drama from 1889 to 1894 it intervenes in discussions about Wilde’s aesthetic philosophy and his adherence to the tenets of various nineteenth-century art movements.

It challenges viewpoints that have been made about Wilde’s espousal of aestheticism, Decadence, and Symbolism, and corresponding claims that have been made for the innovation and consistency of his approach to aesthetics. All too often Wilde’s creative practice is read as a working out of his theory in the Intentions essays, and his thought is annexed to various theoretical paradigms. The thesis argues that Wilde’s literary use of colour is far less radical and coherent than has hitherto been assumed.