Memorable Passage

“It often happens that the real tragedies of life occur in such
 an inartistic manner that they hurt us by their crude violence, their

absolute incoherence, their absurd want of meaning, their entire lack

of style. They affect us just as vulgarity affects us. They give us

an impression of sheer brute force, and we revolt against that.
Sometimes, however, a tragedy that possesses artistic elements of

beauty crosses our lives. If these elements of beauty are real, the

whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly

we find that we are no longer the actors, but the spectators of the

play. Or rather we are both. We watch ourselves, and the mere wonder

of the spectacle enthralls us.”

When I first read this in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, it made so much sense to me. I think that it was the quote that really got me reeled in to Oscar's life. The reason I admire Oscar is for his quotes like this. I really like his views on life and beauty; that anything and everything can have an artistic aspect to it.
I've always thought that life tries to be as poetic as it can, and that it often goes unnoticed. Sadness and disappointment are just other aspects of life that also have the potential to be beautiful, just as much as the happy things. And when they happen in such a way that wouldn't belong in an ideal story, that wouldn't be considered poetic, those are the events that just so ugly to us.
With being both the actors and spectators of the "play," our own lives, at first it sounds like watching your life pass by. But what I think it means is that when things "appeal to our sense of dramatic effect," we go along with it and become conscious of what actions and reaction would create the best scene for the audience, ourselves.