Yet Danson brings to light that Pater's influence is twofold in Intentions: Wilde plagiarizes his teacher but also uses Pater's theories to unsettle the culture of his time. Equally well known is Danson's recognition that the sentiments of Walter Pater, the famous nineteenth-century advocate of the "art for art's sake" movement and Oscar's teacher at Oxford, often reappear in Wilde's collection of criticism. Although Danson wisely recognizes "the limits to what can be known about any author's intentions" (9), his thorough documentation and extensive knowledge of the revisions and eventual publication of Wilde's essays help to validate his analyses.ĭanson writes in his opening chapter that Wilde's entire volume acts as a commodity and an indicator of cultural positions, an observation that critics have also made of Wilde's drama and fiction. In his recent publication Wilde's Intentions: The Artist in His Criticism, Lawrence Danson theorizes about Oscar Wilde's intentions in writing the various essays that comprise his 1891 volume entitled Intentions. Lawrence Danson, Wilde's Intentions: The Artist in His Criticism (Oxford UP, 1997), ix + 198 pp., $49.95.
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