Topical issues of foreign classics reprints (by example of Oscar Wilde)

In the trend to an increase in reprints of the classics, Oscar Wilde is re-released more often, every two years on average. But foreign classics may not be readily available to the reader of the 21st century. Language is an evolving complex system, it displays the realities of its time, so the perception of the classics over time may not conform to the intent of the author. In addition, the structure of the artistic text is layered, and the reader may not penetrate the deeper layers due to lack of understanding of the intent of the author. Readers are alone with a work that is seemingly simple, but actually far from their ideas. A skillfully constructed auxiliary apparatus helps to get into the art world of the writer. Reissue of the classics traditionally includes a preface, an introductory article, a biography, commentaries and notes, an afterword. In reality, these traditions are not supported. The study of Wilde's books in the collections of the Kirov largest Library named after A. I. Herzen showed that 80% of editions contain only the main text and the publisher's imprint. Rare (10-12% of cases) are commentaries or notes, sometimes a preface or an afterword (4-6%). There is a serious socio-psychological problem. Bad preparation of a publication affects the reader: there is a low level of reading culture, reading becomes superficial. The reader is limited to the text only, without explanations to deepen the understanding. The need for the comprehension of universal human meanings is destroyed. It is one of the reasons of a person's internal world paring down, spiritual experience inferiority. Today it is impossible to fully perceive Wilde's texts without commentaries and notes. This is due to the artistic ideals of the writer: the principles of paradoxicality (a paradox is the way of truth), aesthetics (beauty is not utilitarian), design (the external and internal world of the person obeys it). "The Wilde phenomenon" is the inseparability of the writer's life and work, the creation and support of the "author's design" that permeates his works and his life. The texts contain many hidden meanings associated with the complex and mysterious personality of the writer. It is therefore important not just to reprint the text, changing the design. The starting point for the re-edition of Wilde is the identification of implicit meanings in his texts. It helps to "highlight" fragments, potentially unavailable to the reader, which need to be explained. The editorial assistance to the reader is shown on the example of Wilde's fairy tales as a standard of literary tales. Here, external beauty is opposed to inner beauty that is synonymous with kindness, as expressed in the act. The consequences of the act can be diverse: it may not affect life; the sacrifice may be in vain; it can ruin one's outer beauty. But it does not matter: kindness as inner beauty is valuable as such, the reward awaits it in heaven. Thus the principle of aesthetics is implemented: beauty is useless in a practical sense, it is beyond the utilitarian idea of happiness.

Keywords

Authors

References