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Oscar Wilde


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Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), Irish poet and dramatist whose reputation rests on his comic masterpieces Lady Windermere's Fan(1892) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). Among Wilde's other best-known works are his only novel The Picture of Dorian Gray(1891) and his fairy tales especially "The Happy Prince."

Wilde was born on October 16, 1854 in Dublin to unconventional parents - his mother Lady Jane Francesca Wilde (1820-96), was a poet and journalist. His father was Sir William Wilde, an Irish antiquarian, gifted writer, and specialist in diseases of the eye and ear. Wilde studied at Portora Royal School, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh (1864-71), Trinity College, Dublin (1871-74) and Magdalen College, Oxford (1874-78).

In 1878 Wilde received his B.A. and in the same year he moved to London. His lifestyle and humorous wit soon made him the spokesman for Aestheticism, the late 19th century movement in England that advocated art for art's sake. He worked as art reviewer (1881), lectured in the United States and Canada (1882), and lived in Paris (1883). Between the years 1883 and 1884 he lectured in Britain. From the mid-1880s he was a regular contributor for Pall Mall Gazette and Dramatic View. In 1884 Wilde married Constance Lloyd (died 1898), and to support his family Wilde edited in 1887-89 Woman's World. In 1888 he published The Happy Prince and Other Tales, fairy-stories written for his two sons. Wilde's marriage ended in 1893. He had met an few years earlier Lord Alfred Douglas, an athlete and a poet, who became both the love of the author's life and his downfall.

Wilde made his reputation in the theatre world between the years 1892 and 1895 with a series of highly popular plays. Lady Windermere's Fan (1892) dealt with a blackmailing divorcée driven to self-sacrifice by maternal love. In A Woman of No Importance (1893) an illegitimate son is torn between his father and mother. An Ideal Husband (1895) dealt with blackmail, political corruption and public and private honor. The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) was about two fashionable young gentlemen and their eventually successful courtship. Before his theatrical success Wilde produced several essays. His two major literary-theoretical works were the dialogues "The Decay of Lying" (1889) and "The Critic as Artist" (1890).

Although married and the father of two children, Wilde's personal life was open to rumors. His years of triumph ended dramatically, when his intimate association with Alfred Douglas led to his trial on charges of homosexuality (then illegal in Britain). He was sentenced to two years hard labor for the crime of sodomy. Wilde was first in Wandsworth prison, London, and then in Reading Gaol. During this time he wrote De Profundis (1905), a dramatic monologue and autobiography, which was addressed to Alfred Douglas.

After his release in 1897 Wilde in Berneval, near Dieppe. He wrote "The Ballad of Reading Gaol", revealing his concern for inhumane prison conditions. Wilde died of cerebral meningitis on November 30, 1900, penniless, in a cheap Paris hotel at the age of 46.

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Recent Forum Posts on Oscar Wilde

Oral Presentation on Oscar Wilde...

Nevermind.

Posted By Morrissey at Sun 27 Apr 2008, 4:06 AM in Wilde, Oscar || 0 Replies

Oscar Wilde?

Hi, Am thinking about getting into some of Oscar Wilde's novels, anyone have any recommendations of which i should start with? :)

Posted By Birdy123 at Sun 13 Apr 2008, 6:22 AM in Wilde, Oscar || 3 Replies

The Sphinx by Oscar Wilde...

I was wondering for anyone whose read the Sphinx by Oscar Wilde: is anyone as confused as me? The whole poem seems to me to focus on ancient egypt from a victorian perspective of it being a mysterious, sexualised/pagan world, especially where the last few lines seemed to refer to Jesus. Just my ideas. Also what do people think about Wilde as a poet in general? I read somewhere on this site that someone said he was basically an outdated poet for his time, but I read Impression du Matin and I thought it was quite evocative. I've looked on the net for people's receptions on his poetry but there's barely anything.

Posted By Ulalume at Sat 8 Mar 2008, 1:46 AM in Wilde, Oscar || 1 Reply

Very Strange! Oscar Wild Mentioned Prophet Mohammed!!

hello all, this is my first thread, acuattly i've joined your forum because while i was reading online one of Oscar Wilde's stories; "The Fisherman and his Soul" on this website http://www.online-literature.com/wilde/2318/ the author;Oscar Wilde mentioned the Name of prophet Mohammed PBUH!! isn't that strange!! so i thought i need to share this with someone here is the part that i'm talking about "'********* I answered that I was a Prince in my own land, and that I had escaped from the Tartars, who had sought to make me their slave. The chief smiled, and showed me five heads fixed upon long reeds of bamboo. 'Then he asked me who was the prophet of God, and I answered him Mohammed. 'When he heard the name of the false prophet, he bowed and took me by the hand, and placed me by his side. A negro brought me some mare's milk in a wooden dish, and a piece of lamb's flesh roasted." what do you think??

Posted By Muna at Fri 16 Nov 2007, 5:24 AM in Wilde, Oscar || 4 Replies

Poem of sexual love?

Hi, I'm writing an essay on poems concerning sexual love and was wondering which poem of Wilde's is the strongest in terms of sexual love content. Thanks! Oh and I have to compare the poem to another, I was thinking John Donne's "The Flea".

Posted By grimmjow4 at Wed 31 Oct 2007, 10:19 AM in Wilde, Oscar || 0 Replies

OSCAR WILDE - Thoughts

Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900, was an amazing man. He was contraversial yet never truly over-powered, thanks to his wit. Why do you think people still remember him today? What did he do and/or say that was so important/special? How does he affect modern day novels, poems and theatre?

Posted By chubbz at Thu 31 May 2007, 12:41 AM in Wilde, Oscar || 3 Replies

why was Oscar Wilde protestant?

I'm writing a term paper on Oscar Wilde, and for some reason I'm really struggling with this question. He's Irish, born to Irish nationalist parents living in Dublin, not Ulster. Although his mother had some brief dalliances with Catholicism, it seems to me that his father was pretty strongly Protestant. How did that come about? I apologize if this is a rediculous question...

Posted By metzler at Tue 10 Apr 2007, 12:20 PM in Wilde, Oscar || 1 Reply

About Oscar Wilde's poetry 'The Sphinx'

Hi... I want to ask a few might-sound-shallow question about Oscar Wilde's poetry 'The Sphinx'... I came across that poetry while reading and I found that (I realize that this might sound both ridiculous and pathetic or even shallow and stupid) there are some things that I don't understand in that poetry. 1. The 'I' character in the poetry, I found him a little bit confusing and somehow ridiculous. Why would he speak to the sphinx so admiringly only to push her away in the end? Why would he do that in the first place, anyway? Was it just because the loathsome mystery, the hideous animal wouldn't answer his questions and keep 'tarrying'? Was his reason that simple, or was there another really significant not-so-simple reason that my simple mind overlooked? (See, my question's shallow, right? Well, what would you expect from a newbie?) 2. Who's Marcel Schwob to whom Oscar Wilde dedicated this poetry? 3. In the line 'Only one God has ever died. Only one God has ever let His side be wounded by a soldier's spear'. Is it true that Oscar Wilde's referring to Jesus Christ? Well, I think that's all...:blush:

Posted By MonicaGabriella at Mon 29 Jan 2007, 10:53 PM in Wilde, Oscar || 1 Reply

Wilde's Salome in Vanity Fair Movie?

Hi! I'm reading Oscar Wilde's biography in the introduction of the book "The Importance of Being Earnest." and I came across the history of this play, Salome. It stated that Salome performed the sensuous "Dance of the Seven Veils" and I found this quite similar with the dance that Rebecca Sharp performed with some veiled women in the Vanity Fair movie (starring Reese Witherspoon) I have yet to read the book by Thackeray so I can't confirm if "The Dance of the Seven Veils was indeed taken from Wilde's Salome. If anyone could shed light, it would be most welcome..

Posted By toni at Tue 7 Nov 2006, 10:57 PM in Wilde, Oscar || 5 Replies

public speaking tour of britain

Anyone have a list of places wilde visited on his tour?

Posted By alan barker at Fri 29 Sep 2006, 12:00 PM in Wilde, Oscar || 1 Reply

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