Imagining Utopia

This chapter presents a cultural-historical analysis of Oscar Wilde’s aesthetic criticism, focusing on the use of imperial rhetoric in ‘The Critic as Artist’ and The Soul of Man. It explores the political implications of the Oxford classical curriculum (Greats) through an account of Benjamin Jowett’s involvement in designing the Indian Civil Service entrance examination. It is argued that Wilde’s critique of the British Empire and the intellectual culture of nineteenth-century England doubles as a critique of the imperialist objectives that defined the Greats curriculum. This analysis pinpoints the anti-imperialist strains which surface in Wilde’s critical writing by exploring how the term ‘civilized’ is deployed in his work. It also addresses how Wilde positions aesthetic consumption as an alternative model of education which enables individuals to engage with Plato’s philosophy in the home.