The initial reception of the

Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2,3 (B), University of Freiburg (English Faculty), course: Oscar Wilde Proseminar, 13 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: This paper will be separated into three main parts. The first examines late-Victorian moral values, literary standards as well as Oscar Wilde´s view of art and its criticism. The second part explores reactions of the audience, especially the press, to Wilde´s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray.. The third part then critically analyses these arguments and explains the role Victorian values and the resulting literary expectation played in the criticism.