Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Irish writer

The Irish writer Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in Dublin on 16 October 1854. His reputation rests on his masterpieces "Lady Windermere's Fan" and "The Importance of Being Earnest". Oscar Wilde was the object of civil and criminal suits involving homosexuality, ending in his imprisonment.

Bohemian life-style

Wilde was educated at Trinity College in Dublin. Later, as a student at the Magdalen University of Oxford, he excelled in classics and wrote poetry. Here he incorporated the Bohemian life-style into a unique way of life. Wilde was impressed by the teachings of the English writers John Ruskin and Walter Pater.

Aestheticism

In the early 1880s, Aestheticism was the rage and despair of literary London. Oscar Wilde established himself in social life and artistic circles by his wit and flamboyance. Wilde's first book was "Poems" (1881). His first play "Vera, or the Nihilists" (1882) was produced in New York. After a very successful lecture tour in the United States and Canada, Wilde returned to London and married a wealthy Irish woman in 1884. With Constance Lloyd, the daughter of an Irish barrister, he had two children, Cyril and Vyvyan.
Oscar Wilde became a reviewer for the Pall Mall Gazette and then became editor of Woman's World. During this period he published "The Happy Prince and Other Tales" (1888).

The Picture of Dorian Gray

After 1890, Wilde wrote and published his major work. "The Picture of Dorian Gray" was published in 1890. In this work Wilde combined the Gothic novel with the sins of French decadent fiction. "Intentions" (1891) consisted of previously published essays and restated the aesthetic attitude toward art. In the same year two volumes of stories and fairy tales appeared: "Lord Arthur Savile's Crime" and "A House of Pomegranates".

Lady Windermere's Fan

Wilde's greatest successes were his society comedies like "Lady Windermere's Fan" and "A Woman of No Importance". Wilde's final plays, "An Ideal Husband" and "The Importance of Being Earnest" were produced at the peak of his career in 1895. The plays sparkle with his clever paradoxes and proverbs.

Sensational court trials

In 1895 Oscar Wilde became the central figure in one of the most sensational court trials of the nineteenth century. Wilde, who had been a close friend of the young Lord Alfred Douglas, was convicted of sodomy. He was sentenced to two years in prison. While in prison Wilde composed "De Profundis", which is an apology for his life.

Ballad of Reading Gaol

After his release in 1897, Wilde was bankrupt and went to France to regenerate himself as a writer. At Berneval-le-Grand he wrote "The Ballad of Reading Gaol", which was published anonymously in England. It is the most powerful of all his poems and reveals his concern for inhumane prison conditions.
An acute meningitis brought on by an ear infection resulted in Wilde's sudden death in 1900.

More information

Oscar Wilde Homepage

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