Impressions of America

By Oscar Wilde

"One is impressed in America, but not favourably impressed, by the inordinate size of everything. The country seems to try to bully one into a belief in its power by its impressive bigness."In 1881 Oscar Wilde boarded the "Arizona" and sailed to New York to embark on a year-long lecture tour. In 'Impressions of America' he examines the cultural differences between America and Britain. He notes, for instance, that the Americans aren't necessarily well-dressed but comfortably dressed. He argues that the American youth is more acceptive of new ideas because their education is more practical, and he recounts how unimpressed he was with Niagara Falls and the ugly yellow protective wear he had to put on. Like Charles Dickens' 'American Notes for General Circulation' from some forty years prior, this essay is both entertaining and thought-provoking.-

• Language: English
• Publisher: SAGA Egmont
• Release date: Mar 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9788726598858

Oscar Wilde

Born in Ireland in 1856, Oscar Wilde was a noted essayist, playwright, fairy tale writer and poet, as well as an early leader of the Aesthetic Movement. His plays include: An Ideal Husband, Salome, A Woman of No Importance, and Lady Windermere's Fan. Among his best known stories are The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Canterville Ghost.

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Oscar Wilde

Impressions of America

SAGA Egmont

Impressions of America

The characters and use of language in the work do not express the views of the publisher. The work is published as a historical document that describes its contemporary human perception.

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ISBN: 9788726598858

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This work is republished as a historical document. It contains contemporary use of language.

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TO

WALTER LEDGER:

PIGNUS

AMICITIÆ.

Impressions.

I.

Le jardin.

The lily’s withered chalice falls

Around its rod of dusty gold,

And from the beech trees on the wold

The last wood-pigeon coos and calls.

The gaudy leonine sunflower

Hangs black and barren on its stalk,

And down the windy garden walk

The dead leaves scatter,—hour by hour.

Pale privet-petals white as milk

Are blown into a snowy mass;

The roses lie upon the grass,

Like little shreds of crimson silk.

II.

La mer.

A