The course unit will focus in the analysis of three plays by Oscar Wilde in which the individual is represented by excess, paradox, humor and satire. "The Importance of Being Earnest", probably the best-known of Wilde’s plays, stages the problem of identity with a paradox in order to denounce triviality and deception in late-Victorian society. "An Ideal Husband" is also a representation of London society in the ‘90s with its aristocracy and dandies, its intrigues and corruption in politics and finance, which Wilde treats with humor and a cultivated but desecrating language. "Salomé", on the other hand, represents the most obscure side of Wilde’s dramatic production. Inspired by the biblical figure of Erodiade’s daughter, this is a one-act play which was forbidden by the British authorities because it was considered as scandalous. The three plays altogether tell us about Wilde the man and the author-playwright but also about the Victorian age which was to be dissolved by the modernity of the twentieth century.
Primary sources:
Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, BUR English-Italian text;
Oscar Wilde, The Ideal Husband, BUR, English-Italian text;
Oscar Wilde, Salomé, BUR, English-Italian text.
Secondary Sources:
Richard Ellmann, Oscar Wilde, Vintage, 1988;
Paolo Bertinetti, Il teatro inglese. Storia e capolavori, Einaudi, 2013;
M. Cavecchi e S. Soncini, Percorsi nel teatro inglese dell'Ottocento e del primo Novecento, ETS, 2012. 
Further critical essays and articles will be provided during the course.