Oscar Wilde once said, “Art is the most intense form of individualism that the world has known”(Bolander 20). A man who truly believed in the importance of art and its significance in and reflections on society, Wilde references artists to describe nearly every character in his four-act play An Ideal Husband (Nassaar 123). Wilde uses an artist’s stereotypical model to “visually emphasize the values which are paramount to [his characters and] society,” as seen through …showed first 75 words of 3034 total…

…showed last 75 words of 3034 total…Boucher, François.” World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago: World Book, Inc., 1986. Nassaar, Christopher S. Into the Demon Universe: A Literary Exploration of Oscar Wilde. Binghamton: The Vail-Ballou Press, Inc., 1974. Raby, Peter. Explanatory Notes to Oscar Wilde’s Plays. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. Sloane, Joseph. “Watteau, Antione.” The World Book Encyclopedia. Chiccago: World Book, Inc., 1986. Stokes, John. Oscar Wilde: Myths Miracles, and Imitations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Wilde, Oscar. An Ideal Husband. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.