The Artist Lyrics
And he went forth into the world to look for bronze. For he could only think in bronze.
But all the bronze of the whole world had disappeared,
nor anywhere in the whole world was there any bronze to be found, save only the bronze of the image of The Sorrow that Endureth For Ever.
Now this image he had himself, and with his own hands, fashioned,
and had set it on the tomb of the one thing he had loved in life.
On the tomb of the dead thing he had most loved had he set this image of his own fashioning, that it might serve as a sign of the love of man that dieth not, and a symbol of the sorrow of man that endureth for ever. And in the whole world there was no other bronze save the bronze of this image.
And he took the image he had fashioned, and set it in a great furnace, and gave it to the fire.
And out of the bronze of the image of The Sorrow that Endureth For Ever he fashioned an image of The Pleasure that Abideth for a Moment.
About
“The Artist” is the first prose piece among the six found in Poems in Prose, a short collection part of Essays and Lectures.
As with The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde again philosophizes about how temporary pleasure can only be achieved through pain, searching, and hard work (physical, or emotional). Wilde’s philosophy of pleasure being a form of delightful and worthwhile sin people fight for through suffering is one reason why he was (and still is) such a controversial figure.
He also expressed the idea that pleasure was the opposite of morality on multiple occasions–especially when Dorian expressed his pleasure found in killing Sybil.
{For more on Wilde’s drive for pleasure in his life, take a peek at Wilde’s biography using Beta}
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
