THE UKRAINIAN PICTURE OF OSCAR WILDE: FIRST TOUCHES

Abstract

Oscar Wilde – is one of the most controversial figures in world literature, having entered into a dialogue with almost all European literatures. The reception of O. Wilde in Europe can be traced back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Since that time, it is also possible to follow the reception of his name, ideas and works in the Ukrainian literary and critical discourse. The artistic critical response in numerous reviews, essays, literary and critical portraits, biographies, parodies of artistic life, etc. play an important role in the process of reception of the writer and his literary heritage in a foreign language culture. Translation is a special form of mediation and an important component of the perception of the literary heritage of a foreign author by a certain national literature. The choice of a work for translation is determined by the artistic needs of the perceiving literature. The synergy of literature with other art forms such as theatre, opera, cinema, book illustration, etc. can create an exceptional aesthetic pleasure. The explanation of a literary work by means of art often plays a primary role and sometimes replaces reading or completes it. The combination of all these components of reception allows us to characterize the introduction of the English-speaking Irish writer – Oscar Wilde – into the Slavic context in general and into the Ukrainian one in particular. Various ways of reception: original articles in Ukrainian periodicals, early literary reviews, critical studies, first Ukrainian translations have been analyzed in this research. The features of Wilde’s works reception in the cultural heritage of the representatives of Ukrainian literature and drama have been highlighted. The article under consideration argues that Oscar Wilde noticeably contributed to the emerging discourse around Decadence in art and literature in Ukrainian literary process. The existence of a receptive environment for the phenomenon of Oscar Wilde and his works in the Ukrainian cultural context during the 1st decade of the twentieth century is revealed and convincingly proved.