On the Aesthetic Value of “The Fleeting”—A Case Study of Wilde’s Fairy Tales such as The Nightingale and the Rose

Abstract

The quality of “the fleeting” clearly runs counter to the traditional pursuit of eternal life. This reflected a major shift in social values at the time: the rise of aestheticism. And it is this temperament of rebellious that has elucidated its unique aesthetic value. This paper will discuss the quality of “the fleeting” itself, focus on “moment” and “gone”, the two main part of it, and will try to explore its aesthetic value. From this perspective, the paper will reexamine Wilde’s classic fairy tales such as “The Nightingale and the Rose”, and further explain the aesthetic value of “fleeting”.