Oscar Wilde, The Decay of Lying

The line between truth and untruth can be blurred in such a way one would question if there are any truths at all. Wilde’s play, the Decay of Lying, defined lying in a way to make one question if truth is even worth knowing. Does truth have to define the existence of man? Or is man free enough to define his own existence based on what he believes?

These questions tackled my own ideas of truth and untruth. Raised a Christian, I have always been taught to the “morbid and unhealthy faculty of truth-telling” (834), and have allowed it guide my thoughts and actions. Trained as a writer, I have always been taught truth is priority, but embellishment sells; even if that embellishment crosses the line into a lie. Admittedly, I have told some lies. Some I thought were pretty good, but according to Wilde, I might as well have told the truth. My lies didn’t stretch the boundaries even. They weren’t so random and fabricated that they crossed the line of so unbelievable that someone else had no choice but to believe it was true. That is the craft of the writer. And it is the reader’s responsibility to enjoy.

In the play, Vivian expresses that “art never expresses anything but itself. It has an independent life, just as Thought has, and develops purely on its own lines.” (845) I believe this statement embodies how Wilde felt about art itself. I think he wanted writers to be more creative and expanded their minds beyond what they could touch, taste, smell, and/or hear. He implies that it is the writer’s responsibility to produce something that many initially seem unreal, but as time continues, and people buy into, it becomes truth to all.

A great example of the fiction turning into fact is man going outer space. It was once an untruth that is was possible, but someone believed it was so, and now man has been to the moon and back. We are to continue in the direction and explore ideas and styles no one has done before.