On the question of the function of Art in general, and of poetry in particular the Victorians were divided into two campuses. One camp represented by Carlyle and Ruskin who advocated the theory of Art for Life's Sake, and the other camp represented by Oscar Wilde and Walter Pater pleaded for Art for Art's Sake.
Pater became the champion of the theory of 'Art for Art's Sake.' The central point of this theory was that the only function of Art should be to 'give aesthetic pleasure' 'to give rapture to the soul', 'to give an elevating excitement to the soul.' Art should have nothing to do with moral preaching or teaching man 'how to live.' Art should have no exterior motive beyond the aesthetic pleasure of the highest order that it must give. Pater says that the true function of art is 'to give nothing but the highest quality of aesthetic excitement to the moments of life as they pass'. That Art delights and enriches the soul is its sufficient justification. Thus art is its own reward: it beholds the spectacle of life 'for the mere joy of beholding' and for no other purpose. It is a delightful experience in itself. When applied to literature, it means literature of power, as against the literature of knowledge. Literature of power gives new and beautiful shape to the facts of life. Whether written in prose or verse, it must add to the grandeur of thought, to the nobility of emotions, and to the elevation of the soul. This approach would make art 'not only good art, but also great art.'
