Epigrams and paradoxes as stylistic devices are used for creating generalised images. Usually it is the Present Indefinite Tense. This form of the verb makes paradoxes and epigrams abstract.

e.g. “Men marry because they are tired,

women because they are curious.

Both are disappointed.” (p.138).111 here and further the examples taken from “Plays” by O.Wilde, Foreign Languages publishing house, Moscow,1961.1

“Nothing spoils a romance so much as

a sense of humour in the woman”. (p.108).

“Ideals are dangerous things,

realities are better. They wound,

but they are better.” (p.85).

“Women are pictures,

Men are problems.” (p.138).

In Wilde’s paradoxes and epigrams the verb “to be” is widely used. This verb intensifies the genetic function and makes aphorisms and paradoxes humorous. It makes also the ironical definition of phenomena of life.

e.g. “Curious thing, plain women are always jealous

of their husbands,

beautiful women never are.”(p.108).

“The men are all dowdies and the women

are all dandies.” (p.186).

“A man who moralises is usually a hypocrite,

and a woman who moralises is invariably

plain.” (p.69).

Another means which helps to create the generalisation is the choice of words. Wilde often resorts to the use of some abstract notions, concrete notions are rare.

e.g. “Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit ;

touch it and the bloom is gone.” (p.296).

“Duty is what one expects from others,

it is not what one does himself.” (p.131).

“Life is terrible. It rules us,

we do not rule it.” (p.75).

“Experience is a question of instinct

about life.”(p.72).

All kinds of works – intensifiers, such as “Never, always, often” are used by Oscar Wilde for creating the abstractness and generalisation.

e.g. “Questions are never indiscreet.

Answers sometimes are.” (p. 180)

“Beautiful women never have time. They are

always so occupied in being jealous of other

people’s husbands.” (p.108)

“All men are married women’s property” (p.114)

“The clever people never listen and the stupid

people never talk.”(p.109)

For creating the abstractness Wilde also uses such words as “men, women, people, we, one”, etc.

e.g. “One should never trust a woman who tells one

her real age” (p.110).

“We men know life too early. And we women

know life too late. That is the difference between

men and women” (p.165).

“People are either hunting for husbands, or hiding

from them” (p.181).

One of the most characteristic and essential features of epigrams and paradoxes is their shortness and conciseness. They are achieved by the syntactical pattern of an epigram or paradox. The syntax of these stylistic devices is laconic and clear – cut.

e.g. “Men become old, but they never become good”

(p.33).

“Do not use bid words. They mean so little”

(p.252).

In these examples we can see the parallel constructions widely used by Oscar Wilde. They serve a perfect means of creating the clear-cut syntax of epigrams and paradoxes.

Another peculiarity of Wilde’s epigrams and paradoxes is his use of such construction as “that is the difference…”

e.g. “Cecil Graham: Oh, wicked women bother one. Good

women bore one. That is the difference between them”

(p.68)

“Lord Illingworth: we men know life too early.

Mrs. Arbuthnot: And we women know life too late. That

is the difference between men and women” (p.165).

This phrase “That is the difference…” seems to sum up the whole epigram or paradox. With the help of this phrase Oscar Wilde tries to show how great the difference is between the two objects or phenomena compared. Some of Wilde’s paradoxes and epigrams are formed with the help of contextual antonyms and contrasting pairs:

e.g. “The body is born young and grows old. That is life’s

tragedy. The soul is born old but grows young. That is

the comedy of life” (p.111).

“Men become old, but they never become good” (p.33).

One of the most important functions of epigrams and paradoxes is that of speech characterisation. But Wilde’s epigrams and paradoxes have another important function also. It is the showing of bourgeois morality. With the help of his epigrams and paradoxes the author shows us his characters, their way of life, manners, their thoughts and the bourgeois society of his time.

In these four Wilde’s plays there is a group of people such as Lady Bracknell, Mrs.Cheveley, Lord Illingworth and others , whose behaviour and way of life give us a clear picture of the upper-class society. These very people with their paradoxes and epigrams open their thoughts and feelings.

e.g. “A man who allows himself to be convinced by an argument is a

thoroughly unreasonable person”(p.185).

“The world was made for men and not for women”(p.100).

We can see the corruptibility of the ruling classes, their mean, shallow spirited interests, and their intrigues against each other. At first sight they seem to be real gentlemen and ladies. But in fact they are spoiled people who try to achieve their aims, however bad and selfish they sometimes may be, at all costs.

e.g. “Sir Robert Chiltern: Every man of ambition has to fight his

century with its own weapons. What this century worships is

wealth. The God of this century is wealth.”(206).

It is evident what