The Decay of Lying : An Observation
This is a philosophical dialogue between characters that Wilde names after his own sons, Cyril and Vivian. The conversation is designed to show that Romanticism - characterized by emotion and nostalgia - wins over Realism - the truthful and unadorned - every time, coincidentally a belief that Wilde himself held too. Vivian says that gradual phasing out of literary lying is responsible for the decline in the quality of modern literature because everything written currently is too focused on the real, the factual and the completely undecorated. He believes that the worship of facts will signal the death of creative artistic expression.
The Soul of Man Under Socialism
Shortly before penning this essay, Wilde had "converted" to the philosophy of anarchy and this essay tries to denigrate the act of charity, and of doing things for others for no good reason. He contends that instead of following their own star, people tend to try to make a difference and solve the problems of the world, which may not be something they have any aptitude for at all. Not only are they wasting their own talents, they are conceivably making the problems worse. Wilde had nothing against kindness or altruism, but worried that if it was the main focus of a person's life, it would be horrendously mis-applied.
The Critic as an Artist
The objective of the essay is to dismantle the theory that there is a gap between artist and critic. Wilde argues that in order to be a great artist one must also be a great critic, otherwise, without the necessary ability to judge one's own work, how can an artist improve? He feels that instead of being led by what is societally acceptable, the artist should be driven by what they feel in their soul - in other words, they should follow what is their gut feeling and not what they have learned about their art from the outside judgements of society.
Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young
This is a sort of pocket guide to Wilde's philosophies written in his own words rather than by an outside observer. He purports that the only role one has in life is to be as artificial as possible. Wickedness is a concept that overly good people invented so that they could explain the attractiveness of the lives of other people.
He also contends that anyone who sees a difference between the body and the soul is the possessor of neither one. Religion dies only when it can be scientifically proven, because religion is based on faith. Something that can be scientifically proven is no longer a matter of faith.
Vulgarity is the ultimate crime; it is also something that someone else is doing. One never judges oneself to be vulgar.Only shallow people can know themselves completely.
The phrases Wilde uses in this essay are partly an indictment of those who believe that etiquette and propriety should be the barometer of a life well lived, and partly a collection of witty maxims that Wilde has come up with to explain his view on the importance of life, art and philosophy.
