Oscar Wilde
About Him:
- Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde on October 16, 1854 in Dublin, Ireland
- Did very well in school and won multiple scholarships
- Married Constance Lloyd on May 29, 1884 and had 2 sons with her, Cyril and Vyvyan
- Had an affair with Lord Alfred Douglas and was eventually arrested and convicted on May 25, 1995 because of it
- Was released from prison 2 years later, broke and mentally and physically exhausted
- Eventually died on November 30, 1900 at the age of 46 from meningitisBorn
Famous Works:
- The Happy Prince and Other Tales – a collection of children’s stories https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/w/wilde/oscar/happy/contents.html
- The Picture of Dorian Gray – his first and only novel and his most well-known work
- Lady Windermere’s Fan – first play https://www.gutenberg.org/files/790/790-h/790-h.htm
- The Importance of Being Earnest – his most popular play https://www.gutenberg.org/files/844/844-h/844-h.htm
- “The Ballad of Reading Gaol” – from his time in prison https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/ballad-reading-gaol
- Salome – Different from the comedic themes he tended to write about, a tragic and haunting play https://www.gutenberg.org/files/42704/42704-h/42704-h.htm
- De Profundis – a letter written to Bosie while in prison http://upword.com/wilde/de_profundis.html
The Picture of Dorian Gray:
- When the Picture of Dorian Gray was published in 1890, it was met with harsh critical opprobrium for being immoral and pervasive, and promoting themes of moral degeneracy, narcissism, and even homosexuality.
- The book follows young Dorian Gray, and his degeneration into vanity, hedonism, and selfishness in his quest for eternal youth and beauty.
- The harsh criticism sparked Wildes strong rhetoric opposing the idea of dangerous morality within writing, which is addressed directly in the book itself.
Style and Emulation on The Ballad of Reading Gaol https://m.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/ballad-reading-gaol
Style and Emulation Part Two
“Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.” — The Picture of BDorian Gray
“It is dangerous to meet a woman who fully understands you. It may end up in marriage.”
“There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants. The other is getting it.”
My Emulation
He walked amongst the trial men,
amongst the red poppies,
he walked paying reparation for his sins.
They found him with the dead
with his cold grey eyes shining
Evil they whispered into the smoggy air
not knowing that the man with the silver eyes
was just a boy with grey sadness in his soul.
Lost he had been
and in that loss he had found peace
in the wistful night he drank from the golden cup
praying to the moon for a beautiful surrender.
