“ No spectator of art needs a more perfect mood of receptivity than the spectator of a play. ”
Oscar Wilde, The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891). copy citation
| Author | Oscar Wilde |
|---|---|
| Source | The Soul of Man under Socialism |
| Topic | mood art |
| Date | 1891 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1017/1017-0.txt |
Context
“But when the play is over one realises that the laughter of the witches in ‘Macbeth’ is as terrible as the laughter of madness in ‘Lear,’ more terrible than the laughter of Iago in the tragedy of the p. 68Moor. No spectator of art needs a more perfect mood of receptivity than the spectator of a play. The moment he seeks to exercise authority he becomes the avowed enemy of Art and of himself. Art does not mind. It is he who suffers.
With the novel it is the same thing. Popular authority and the recognition of popular authority are fatal.”
source
