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I had known about the connection that many make of homosexuality and Plato. Furthering this, if I am reading your summary correctly, this author is proposing the connection of homosexuality and KNOWLEDGE? If so, this seems a very revolutionary direction. Did you read The Importance of Being Earnest? It seems this concept could then be tied in. What is knowledge? Why do we need knowledge? Does knowledge define who we are as you argue against in your last paragraph. If you are interested, this could be an intriguing direction to go. 10/10

Author: Stefano Evangelista

Title: 'Lovers and Philosophers at Once': Aesthetic Platonism in the Victorian Fin De Siecle Journal: Yearbook of English Studies. Volume: 36. Issue: 2. Publication Year: 2006.

Pages: 16

1) The author of "'Lovers and Philosophers at Once': Aesthetic Platonism in the Victorian Fine De Siecle" explored homosexuality and aesthetic Platonism during the late Victorian Era. He began by telling the story of how Plato's work came to be widely circulated during this time--Jowett, a scholar, brought into into the curriculum. Among Plato's work, there are some that depict homosexuality as a form of knowledge; these works were openly taught at schools such as Oxford where Oscar Wilde studied. The author mentions that people thought it dangerous to leave Plato's works to be exposed to young men who may resort to same sex love--something that was punishable under the law during the time. The author further develops his paper to state that Plato and Socrates considered homosexuality as a form of philosophy and knowledge, and that this idea of included in Oscar Wilde's work, "The Portrait of W.H.." In this novella, Wilde makes a notable connection between genius and homosexuality--he makes a statement that homosexuality is a path genius.

2) It was very unexpected to tie homosexuality with Plato and Socrates, and the idea seemed very strange at first. However, delving deeper and deeper into the article, I realized that homosexuality was very openly practiced in ancient Greece and Rome. In a way it makes complete sense that the students of Oxford were introduced to same sex love and embraced it considering the fact that they were exposed to Greek and Roman poems and literature, and embraced them, too. Prior to reading the article, I was not aware of "The Portrait of W.H." which is similar to The Picture of Dorian Gray.

3) I agree that Oscar Wilde was most likely first introduced to homosexuality in college, as he did go on to study at Oxford--the place where Plato's influence was greatest. I also second that notion that Wilde seems to connect artistic and literary genius with homosexuality. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Basil says "I have always been my own master; had at least always been so, till I met Dorian Gray. Then--but I don't know how to explain it to you. Something seemed to tell me that I was on the verge of a terrible crisis in my life" (5). Right form the beginning, Wilde introduces Basil's love for Dorian--it is not amiable love, it is the kind of love a man usually has for a woman. It is not coincidental that the only character in the novel to have homosexual tendencies is the talented artist, who is inspired to create the masterpiece of his career by Dorian.

Nonetheless, the author makes a few arguments that I cannot agree with. Wilde was probably not turned into a homosexual (or perhaps bisexual) through just being exposed to Plato's works. Supporting the theory that Homosexuality is caused by a mutation in the gene, Oscar Wilde had a niece who was also homosexual according to a biography on The Literary Network.