Title: From Methexis to Megalopsychia: Reexamining the Classical Foundations of Wilde’s Aestheticism through His Oxford Notebooks

Abstract: Oscar Wilde’s Oxford Notebooks, including Commonplace Book and Historical Criticism Notebook, serve as crucial paratextual materials that provide essential evidence for tracing the formation of his thought. These notebooks reveal Wilde’s particular engagement with Plato’s theory of Methexis of Beauty in the Symposium, as well as Aristotle’s discussion in Nicomachean Ethics concerning the “Megalopsychia,” which asserts that aesthetic judgment should remain autonomous from utilitarian considerations. These notes demonstrate a significant genealogical connection with his doctrine of Aestheticism. This investigation, by adopting the theoretical framework of Classical Reception Studies and embedding the analysis within the historical context of Victorian Britain, examines the profound intertextual relationship between Wilde’s early readings of ancient Greek philosophy and his Aestheticism, thereby illuminating the dialogue between English literary tradition and classical heritage.

Keywords: Oscar Wilde, Oxford Notebooks, Plato, Aristotle, Classical Reception Studies

Author: Xue Yu, Lecturer, School of English Studies, Dalian University of Foreign Languages, Dalian, Liaoning, China.

DOI: 10.19967/j.cnki.flc.2025.04.013