Wilde-ly Witty: Critics are a catch

"Criticism is itself an art."

This is one of the main arguments in Oscar Wilde's critical dialogue. The Critic as Artist defends criticism as an art, as well as a "record of one's own soul," with witty dialectical dialogue (betwen Ernest and Gilbert) and thoughtful arguments. This theoretical dialogue uses prime examples to discuss many elements, such as criticism as an art form, the true definition of a critic, criticism's value over art, and more.

ERNEST. But what are the two supreme and highest arts?

GILBERT. Life and Literature, life and the perfect expression of
life.

I love this. Their dialogue is so indulgent and full of life. I could hear their voices in my head as I read along. I think Wilde uses this form to write about because it mirrors the conversation between critic and artist that has existed (well, at least) since the Greeks. It would be hard to talk about criticism and have a lot of authority without having a critical voice for your own argument built in. This type of writing helps both the reader and writer fill in the holes of the argument as well as humanize the whole process of thinking about the subject.

Along with the central theme of the importance of the critic, Gilbert espouses the significance of the individual. The person makes the times; the times do not make the person. Art, for Wilde, is supremely individualistic and there is no universal truth or goodness in any art, it is the person, the critic, who makes it as one thing or another. Gilbert seems to dismiss all qualities that we would associate with some kind of absolute in art. Art, and the criticism of Art, for the general individual and especially for Wilde, seems to be the source of honesty because it is whatever the soul, the person finds in it.