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Oscar Wilde Questions

Posted by Ruth Julius on February 21, 2005

First I'd like to thank all of you. It looks like a lot of people like to discuss Oscar Wilde, and for me that's wonderful.
I'd like to ask what is the meaning of the word "poor" in sentences that have nothing to do with being poor, such as: "His poor dear mother and I are inseperable" or "Poor lady Brandon treats her guests exactly as an auctioneer treats his goods. She either explains them entirely away, or tells one about them except what one wants to know."
I was also wondering about the expression "explains them entirely away" in this context.

Another question: How would you interpret the word "genius" in the sentence: "Beauty is a form of Genius - is higher, indeed, than genius, as it needs no explanation."?

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