Twain and Wilde: Parallel but Diverse

This workshop explores the striking parallels and telling divergences between Mark Twain and Oscar Wilde, two nineteenth-century writers who shaped modern literary consciousness while standing on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Both cultivated public personae as cultural celebrities and sharp social critics, yet their creative paths reveal different engagements with modernity. Twain, rooted in the American experience, chronicled the tensions of a rapidly changing society—its expansion, class dynamics, and moral contradictions—through humor, satire, and vernacular voice. His journeys, from the Mississippi to Europe and the Holy Land, gave rise to works that question progress and expose prejudice with wit and realism. Wilde, by contrast, emerged as the consummate aesthete and dandy, making life and art inseparable. His plays, essays, and novel The Picture of Dorian Gray probe beauty, morality, and social hypocrisy with polished irony and theatrical brilliance. Both men challenged their cultural contexts: Twain confronted American idealism and racism; Wilde defied Victorian morality and censorship, famously seeing his art and life tested by scandal.

Alongside discussion and analysis, the workshop includes a series of practical exercises designed to engage students directly with the texts and ideas. Participants will apply critical tools, compare passages, and experiment with interpretation, making the session interactive, reflective, and hands-on.