How Oscar Wilde Sparked a Revolution | The Downfall of Decadence

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In early 1895, Oscar Wilde dominated the literary scene. He was a key player in the Decadent literary and artistic movement and was well known on both sides of the Atlantic. His play, 'The Importance of Being Earnest', premiered to ecstatic reviews. But only a few months later, charged with the crime of gross indecency, Wilde was caught in the throes of a moral panic and experienced a spectacular downfall. He was sentenced to two years in prison, and the Decadent movement he championed was no more.
Or was it?
Did Decadence end with Wilde? How far did this late Victorian moral panic last? And what is the lasting impact of Wilde's work? Watch on to find out!
Written, presented, and edited by Rosie Whitcombe
@books_ncats
Directed, produced, and edited by Matty Phillips
@ma_ps_
mphotos.uk
Bibliography
'Art for Art's Sake', www.theartstory.org/definitio...
Bragg, Melvyn, 'Oscar Wilde', In Our Time, BBC Radio 4, 06.12.01, www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p00...
'Cambridge Dictionary' (CUP, 2024)
'"Decadent"': Luxury or Decay?', Merriam Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/wordp...
'The Decadent Short Story: An Annotated Anthology' eds. Boyiopoulos, Choi, and Brinton Tildesley (Edinburgh: EUP, 2014)
Denisoff, Dennis, 'Decadence and aestheticism', The Cambridge Companion to the Fin de Siècle, ed. Gail Marshall (Cambridge: CUP, 2008)
Dickson, Andrew, 'Life of Oscar Wilde', www.britishlibrary.cn/en/arti...
Donohue, Joseph, 'Reception and performance history of The Importance of Being Earnest', Oscar Wilde in Context, eds. Kerry Powell and Peter Raby (Cambridge: CUP, 2013)
Ellmann, Richard, Oscar Wilde (London: Penguin, 1997)
'The Importance of Being Earnest', dir. Anthony Asquith (General Film Distributors, 1952)
'The Importance of Being Earnest', dir. Oliver Parker (Miramax, 2002)
Nordau, Max, 'Degeneration' (London: William Heinemann, 1913)
'Oxford English Dictionary' (OUP, 2023)
Wilde, Oscar, 'The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays' (Oxford: OUP, 1998)
Music Licenses
Danse Macabre Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
Other music used
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
The Flight of the Bumblebee

[@toastedavalanche]

Thank you for this fun, engaging look at the work of Oscar Wilde. I'll never forget walking into my A-level English class 10 minutes late. My tutor asked "why are you always late?" and solemnly I replied: "punctuality is the thief of time". She adroitly responded: "How dare you quote Oscar Wilde and write such terrible essays!". Fair play.

[@Heyu7her3]

My fave misquoted quote comes from Oscar Wilde: *_"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness."_*

[@lilperidot8783]

Unbelievable that your doctoral literary insight is available to us book lovers free of charge. We can't thank you enough

[@books_ncats]

Aw that's so kind, thank you! - Rosie

[@Frivolous_Cake]

My drama teacher once described The Importance of Being Earnest as 'a horror of manners' & that sold me on the play instantly.

[@skyllalafey]

Perfect co-star you got there, since cats know all about self indulgence and anarchy! 😺😉

[@books_ncats]

A truer word was never spoken.

[@alexjames7144]

I feel that Oscar would take personal offence to being called "style over substance" and write an essay about it insisting he wasn't offended at all but that it was also wrong on several levels. But then he was the most dramatic of gays so of course he would.

[@thekajalflaneur]

Hahaha if you think he is a hoot, read Quentin Crisp (kinda Wilde of the post WWII era)

[@girlgenius]

Misunderstanding the "lemons" in the saying to mean something good that you make better is such an endearingly sweet, positive mistake. I like your interpretation so much better than the generally accepted meaning that I think I'll just go with that from now on.

[@Sevenpuddingsx]

"Beauty is a form of genius- is higher, indeed, than genius- as it needs no explanation"

[@wonderhollow3240]

I firmly believe he was lying when he mocked consevative victorians by tainting the noble scene of art with his claim. I honestly believe he knew exactly he wasn't creating art or beauty just for the sake of it. He was protesting, just as you said, he was critiquing victorian society.

[@LaserLady]

Oh moral panic... It sure changes flavors throughout the years, yet leaves the same taste behind. I'm glad we are further along, but there is plenty of distance to cover. 😻Extra boop for Mouse!

[@YAWSSSSSS]

I think the statement "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade" doesn't necessarily say that lemons are bad. More so that when life gives you something sour turn it into something sweet. I do agree though that the phrase kinda does make lemons sound bad lol.

[@theaverageglasses6197]

"It won't teach you how to be a mORallY uPstaNdiNg member of Victorian society! It's PURE, PERVERSE, PLEASURE!" ... is the essence of that "You don't have to sell it to me Harry" meme.

[@cinnasauria]

I look up definitions of words I think I know all the time just to make sure I don't have the wrong idea, but I never thought to question "decadent" so I'm just now learning this here, that's so interesting. I paused to comment so I haven't heard your insight yet, but my immediate thought is that the whole association with indulgence might have something to do with the old idea that indulgence itself, and in sweet and pleasurable and exciting experiences, drains one's "vital energy." That's something you've mentioned before, and was even a large part of the infamous Kellogg's corn flakes origin story. Also, Mouse giving herself a little sprucing up... very cute. Truly decadent in the modern colloquial sense.

[@Moeller750]

I personally subscribe to Esme Weatherwax's definition of decadence: having 10 teeth But in all earnesty, thank you, I love this video

[@Hydrocorax]

I'm old enough to remember being startled when Madison Avenue started trying to get us to put food into our mouths by calling it "decadent." In those days, perhaps the most common use of that word was to describe the later Roman Empire, and the common view of that era was a bunch of spoiled aristocrats sitting around drinking wine and gorging themselves on expensive delicacies. I always assumed (without any supportive evidence) that this was what led to the misunderstanding of what that "decadent" meant.

[@markthompson180]

"Morality" in that context = "social control & maintenance of the existing social-hierarchy" but only on a less overtly brutal and violent level than accomplished through Feudalism.

[@ekk.hilgeman]

The antidote “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”. In America we use the term “Lemon” as a bad or broken item. I’ve personally heard it used the most as an adjective to describe a rundown car. “That car is a lemon”. I’m not sure why exactly we treat the lemon as something bad lol I enjoy citrus fruits.

[@books_ncats]

Ahh yeah I've heard lemon used like that, too. Interesting that it varies between countries - Rosie

[@hannahwithah7556]

can I just say, the 3 minute introduction was flawless!

[@koisbdo]

ANOTHER BANGER INCOMING

[@MildredCady]

I took a course on decadence literature in college, and absolutely loved it.

[@MildredCady]

My husband is a composer, and periodically, I was suggested a decadence movement poet when he’s asking about inspiration.

[@efahall._.]

6:12 those cookies are available across Canada as PC brand Decadent cookies. They are a cheaply made store brand cookie that is truly garbage and if tricked into eating one I would immediately spit it out. They fall more on the side of decay than the sinfully indulgent side of decadence.

[@cinnasauria]

They're more specifically supposed to be store brand Chips Ahoy and I tend to like them better than what they're filling in for, but that's not saying much and I would rather get a completely different kind of cookie anyway.

[@efahall._.]

@@cinnasauria you're right Chips Ahoy are also garbage but I would have a hard time saying that the PC one is better or worse. I'm with you, just pick another cookie and don't waste your time with these!

[@thekajalflaneur]

Realy appreciate your green carnation ❤

[@books_ncats]

Ahh yay! - Rosie

[@Adeodatus100]

Excellent video, thank you. My favourite book on Wilde and the 19th century queer subculture is Neil Bartlett's "Who Was That Man?" - more polemic than history, but great fun. It highlights some of the points you make about Decadence as a vehicle for social critique, particularly of English bourgeois "morality". A well reviewed recent book, which is on my TBR list, is Chris Bryant's "James And John", which examines the case of the last two men hanged for sodomy in England.

[@books_ncats]

Thanks for commenting, and for your recommendations, I haven't read them so will add them to the ever-growing reading list! - Rosie

[@Reapunzil]

I love how I'm getting here before the vid and there's 14 of us already Edit- hey the 27 of us here for the premiere!

[@honeyLXIX]

🙋‍♀😊

[@nicolegriff9430]

Also, the lemons misunderstanding is such a lovely example of your infectuous optimism. ❤

[@srig3649]

Lmao the French be like- "Cookies so good it may just start ANOTHER revolution :D"

[@JestheBookWyrm]

I love that you used Danse Macabre in this.

[@emilyemiranda]

admittedly, i am not well-versed in much literature or literary-adjacent subjects. i've always loved to read, english/language arts was always my best subject by a landslide, and i am so passionate about reading and literacy that i'm starting grad school this fall to become a public librarian. a lot of this type of content goes well above my head and it's not always easy to process what you're saying - which is NO fault of your own, that's on me - but i continue to watch, and love doing so, because your passion is contagious. your editing is entertaining and captivating. it is a delight. and at the end of the day, i do always learn something which is something to be grateful for. thank you!

[@bazzfromthebackground3696]

I can't hear the "Life gives you lemons" without cracking up. My brain either goes to Cave Johnson(Portal) and his lemon rant, or the God Emperor of Mankind(40k) and his lemon rant! 😂

[@amazinggrapes3045]

I think of that vine where the guy poors lemons out of a box of Life cereal and the Thomas the Tank Engine thrme plays

[@Heyu7her3]

Lemons are sour, so make something sweet (lemonade). But decadent DEFINITELY threw me off lol.

[@GooeyGremlin]

Oh I am definitely going to watch the film adaptation now.

[@naftalibendavid]

Ineffable. You are so good at this stuff! You make me love literature again. Thank you.

[@books_ncats]

So pleased to hear it! Thank you - Rosie

[@warcats-cat]

My personal irony for the night - having this playing on my "favorite video essays" playlist, and hearing it start as I'm warming up a brownie to have with ice cream. I know that's not the point, but I find it very funny. I literally am watching the video cake-fork first 😂

[@books_ncats]

Excellent! Hope it was a decadent dessert - Rosie

[@otakugril67]

Ah yes, Oscar Wilde, the reason I always say "Yo who cares, just do what feels good."

[@paulagodebrito]

YES!! I WAS WAITING FOR THIS AAAAAAAA SO EXCITED LESGOOO oh my god your OUTFIT, THE SCENARIO, EVERYTHING, AMAZING

[@mattz6874]

As a novice student in teaching English as a second language your videos help a great deal with bringing introspection and joy into my literature classes. I am so glad to have stumbled upon this channel and hope to watch many more of your videos. Mostly thanks to the the thoughtfull input of Dr. Mousy of course.

[@iamverytired6322]

I love Wilde. Both as a historical figure and as a writer. His contradictions and wordplay are fascinating, and I was so happy when I noticed you'd published a video about him heheh

[@teodorapetkovic]

Excellent point! I shall make a decadent cake to enjoy this decadent discussion.

[@BlazeTheFierce]

It was a big surprise for me when moving to France for my masters was that decadent is really just used with a negative moral connotation. As an American, I always just imagine luxury or some particularly good food haha. My French friends were surprised that it could be seen as a good word in English!

[@Charlotte66666]

Wonderful stuff ❤

[@beneath.the.rosesluciddrea8470]

Stoked for thiiiis!!!!!

[@mizushirokanon9174]

I love your videos so much!

[@jerrimenard3092]

So Good! Thanks for this video.

[@googaasponcon]

One of my favorite authors!!!!!! So excited for thiis one

[@fedoraborealis5791]

I've been hungry for Oscar Wilde history content, so this video has arrived perfectly! I cant believe with such excellent editing and fabulous details that you dont have more views! You're bound to become more popular in the YT history community, i just know it! (And you deserve it!💅) Keep it up, you've got a new subscriber :D

[@books_ncats]

Ahh thanks so much, that's lovely to hear. Glad to have satiated your Wilde hunger! - Rosie

[@ellywhitcombe5007]

Fantastic analysis, thoroughly enjoyed ✨

[@jean-lucleblanc5825]

Super well-timed! I just finished reading The Picture of Dorian Gray! Subscribed after your first few words lol I was already sold.

[@books_ncats]

Ah thank you! - Rosie

[@johannacagan3658]

I loved this celebration of Wilde!

[@Soilfood365]

Usually I like to listen to a whole video essay before I like. But I will engage early this time, because I have also committed to dying on the hill that lemons are peak citrus.

[@shenotski]

If you burn all your foundations down you’ll have nothing but embers to keep you warm and not a thing to hold you up.

[@Boggythefroggy]

6:04 you can buy these all over Canada in Loblaws stores! They’re just called Decadent in English. I frickin love them lol, I’ve been eating them since I was a kid😂

[@drytoasts]

Big fan of decadence/fin de siecle culture, but/and Nordau's Degeneration is one of the funniest reads I've ever encountered

[@silverish9081]

Just came across your channel and had to subscribe: loved how you delved into the topic just as much as the presentation itself. Oh, and the cat is just adorable!

[@books_ncats]

Thanks so much! Pleased you enjoyed - Rosie

[@c5ini]

It is a joy listening to you, thank you. And I am very fond of OW, the revolutionary OW.

[@books_ncats]

You're very welcome! Thanks for watching - Rosie

[@Snowfoxie1]

It’s so funny looking back. I went to a super conservative, deep east Texas school in the mid 00s and our drama club performed The Importance of Being Earnest and it was a huge success. It was praised by the super conservative school district, aka the people who 100 years ago would have been horrified by it.

[@jenford7078]

A wonderful topic and presentation today! I have always seen the word decadence as meaning self-indulgent and sinful beyond average, but hen what is average sin or indulgence?

[@kristinmarra7005]

I love your videos. Thank you ❤

[@books_ncats]

You're very welcome :) - Rosie

[@Dave-hp4vh]

Where have you been all my life... 10/10, this is great. Very decedent.

[@sofiewauters7539]

Thank you for your wonderful videos! Might you consider shining the light of your literary intellect on Ursula K. Le Guin? I am currently reading Space Crone ( Silver Press , 2023 ) and I think you might find her opinions an gender, feminism, and aging women, very interesting. Also, the fact she was open to criticism, and able to change her mind and point of view. Amazing.

[@books_ncats]

YES, absolutely. I loved Space Crone so much! There may be a Le Guin video on the cards soon... - Rosie

[@sofiewauters7539]

@@books_ncatsAmazing!! Thank you.

[@amazinggrapes3045]

What I find most interesting about Oscar Wilde is the fact that, while he is a popular gay icon, he had a wife. In An Ideal Husband especially he seems to be lamenting the way women can put men on pedestals, imagining them to be flawless. Why can't they accept that those they love are imperfect? I heard his wife stayed out of it when he was put on trial and charged for homosexuality. I wonder if she knew. On top of that, there's the idea of living in a facade. In Lady Windermere's Fan people are portrayed as better off not knowing everything about each other. And then there's the fantasies everybody is caught up in in The Importance of Being Earnest. I think that you can see what someone is going through mentally from the stories they make and I just find him such an interesting case study.

[@theoriginalsuzycat]

She knew why he went to prison, yes. She made no contact with Bosie a condition of paying Oscar's allowance (she had the money in their marriage) after his release

[@mazeemadaline3091]

Me and my sis love this channel. I come for the literature and she comes for the cats lmaooo

[@books_ncats]

haha yay, glad there's something for everyone! - Rosie

[@allpau6199]

I remember reading and learning about the importance of being Ernest in high school and that it was incredibly silly and ridiculous. I don’t remember anything about the decadence movement at all. Though it has been 25 years since then. P.S. The decadence movement is exactly the type of lifestyle belief system I’ve been living without having a name for till now. So thank you 😊

[@nicolegriff9430]

Ah, those cookies are amazing. They're actually available across all of Canada in Loblaws (boo) owned stores, so I suspect the name is meant to be taken in the English sense. Still rather funny, if expected, that it's also used in Quebec.

[@jackiec860]

i would love if you talked about more queer literature, if that is something you are also interested in of course!

[@books_ncats]

Yes, I am v interested and plan to write on more queer writers in the future! - Rosie

[@jackiec860]

@@books_ncats yay! thank you, i am excited to hear that and i’ll look forward to whenever you get around to it!!! 💗

[@EosFunk]

This reeeallly puts Dorian Gray into perspective 😮

[@NINacide]

Hmm, a utilitarian is a crowd pleaser. They get their social status from the esteem of others. This is a different option. Its like symbiot vs parasite

[@13laylam]

i love this

[@Paul90173]

He was put on trial for simpley being himself in an uptight victorian society

[@maryroberts9315]

Wilde doesn't seem shocking these days. "A Rebours" and "Le Bas" are still quite disturbing. I think the first decadent writer was the Marquis de Sade. He went to prison for his writing.

[@bigbiggoblin2873]

Noice

[@My3LittleBirds]

Oscar Wilde persecution was a result of racism as well as homophobia. Being unapologetically Irish in England at that time might have been the less forgivable of his sins.

[@titrimetry]

I cannot stop to admire your confident voice. I never learned english but thanks to you I understand almost everything. But I always thought that decadence is also about a despair. At least that's what I see in "the King in yellow" by R. Chambers (I always thought how funny that everyone remembers from this book only first four stories but nobody sees that "The Demoiselle d'Ys" is practically a little version of "Le Petit Prince" with the snake bite in the end). Also I agree with you about the lemons. There is a saying "work is not a wolf, it won’t run into the forest". I thought that this means that you still have to do your job no matter how long you will be hide your tasks under the rug, but actually it means that you can be lasy sometimes and do your job later. Sorry for my bad english and thank you for the video

[@TheDraculaPapers]

Great insights in Oscar Wilde!!!! I like your cake!!!!!!! 🥮

[@lovelyshirlt2766]

I'll be waiting impatiently 🫣