Oscar Wilde
Irish author, poet and playwright; key figure in Aestheticism; known for The Picture of Dorian Gray and his society comedies.
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Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential dramatists in London in the early 1890s. He was a key figure in the emerging Aestheticism movement of the late 19th century and is widely regarded as the greatest playwright of the Victorian era. Wilde is best known for his Gothic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), his epigrams, plays and bedtime stories for children, as well as his criminal conviction in 1895 for gross indecency and for practicing homosexual acts.
Early life
Born in Dublin to Anglo-Irish intellectuals, Wilde was the second of three children. His mother, Jane, wrote revolutionary poetry under the pseudonym Speranza and was a lifelong Irish nationalist, while his father, Sir William, was a renowned eye and ear surgeon knighted for his census work, who also wrote on archaeology and folklore. Wilde became fluent in French and German during his youth. At university, first at Trinity College Dublin and then at Magdalen College, Oxford, he excelled as a classicist.
There, he embraced the philosophy of aestheticism under tutors Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After Oxford, he moved to London, entering fashionable circles. He tried various literary forms, publishing a poetry collection and a play, and lectured in the United States and Canada on art and interior decoration. Back in London, he wrote reviews and lectured on his American travels.
Known for his sharp wit, flamboyant dress, and brilliant conversation, he became a celebrated public figure. In the early 1890s, he refined his aesthetic ideas in essays and dialogues, and explored decadence and duplicity in his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Returning to drama, he wrote Salome in French, though it was banned in England for depicting biblical subjects.
Undeterred, he produced four society comedies in the early 1890s, cementing his status as a leading playwright. At the peak of his success, while An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest were running in London, Wilde sued the Marquess of Queensberry for libel. The Marquess was the father of Wilde’s lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel hearings led Wilde to drop the case, and he was arrested and tried for gross indecency.
Lore & Background
Wilde's parents were Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin. In his youth, Wilde became conversant in French and German. At university, he read Greats; he demonstrated himself to be an exceptional classicist, first at Trinity College Dublin, then at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the emerging philosophy of aestheticism during this time, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin.
After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles. Wilde tried his hand at various literary activities: he wrote a play, published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on 'The English Renaissance' in art and interior decoration, and then returned to London where he lectured on his American travels and wrote reviews for various periodicals. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. At the turn of the 1890s, he refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in a series of dialogues and essays, and incorporated themes of decadence, duplicity and beauty into what would be his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890).
Wilde returned to drama, writing Salome (1891) in French while in Paris, but it was refused a licence for England complicated by a prohibition on the portrayal of biblical subjects on the English stage. Undiscouraged, Wilde produced four society comedies in the early 1890s, which made him one of the most successful playwrights of late-Victorian London. At the height of his fame and success, while An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) were still being performed in London, Wilde issued a civil writ against John Sholto Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel.
Regina v Wilde
The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel hearings unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and criminal prosecution for gross indecency with other males. The jury was unable to reach a verdict and so, a retrial was ordered. In the second trial, however, Wilde was convicted and sentenced to two years' hard labour, the maximum penalty, and jailed from 1895 to 1897.
Reader's Guide
Oscar Wilde was born on 16 October 1854 at 21 Westland Row, Dublin, the second of three children born to an Anglo-Irish couple: Jane, née Elgee, and Sir William Wilde. Oscar was two years younger than his brother, William (Willie) Wilde. Jane Wilde was a niece (by marriage) of the novelist, playwright and clergyman Charles Maturin. She wrote poetry for the revolutionary Young Irelanders in 1848 under the pseudonym 'Speranza' and was a lifelong Irish nationalist.
Sir William Wilde was Ireland's leading oto-ophthalmologic surgeon and was knighted in 1864. He also wrote books about Irish archaeology and peasant folklore. Wilde was baptised as an infant in St. Mark's Church, Dublin, the local Church of Ireland (Anglican) church. In addition to his two full siblings, Wilde had three paternal half-siblings born out of wedlock before his father's marriage.
The family moved to No 1 Merrion Square in 1855. Wilde's sister, Isola Francesca Emily Wilde, was born on 2 April 1857 and died at age nine of a febrile illness. Until he was nine Wilde was educated at home, where a French nursemaid and a German governess taught him their languages.
He joined his brother Willie at Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, from 1864 to 1871. He excelled academically, particularly in classics. In 1871, when Wilde was seventeen, his elder half-sisters Mary and Emily died aged 22 and 24, fatally burned at a dance. Wilde left Portora with a royal scholarship to read classics at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), from 1871 to 1874, sharing rooms with his older brother Willie Wilde.
Did You Know?
- Wilde claimed he could read two facing pages simultaneously and consume a three-volume book in half an hour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Oscar Wilde?
Oscar Wilde was an Irish writer, poet, and dramatist born in 1854 who rose to become one of London's most celebrated playwrights by the early 1890s. He is often regarded as the standout dramatist of the Victorian period.
What works is Oscar Wilde most famous for?
He is best remembered for his Gothic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, his razor-sharp epigrams, his stage plays, and his collection of children's bedtime stories. His 1895 criminal conviction for gross indecency also remains a defining part of his public legacy.
What was Oscar Wilde's connection to Aestheticism?
Wilde was a central voice in the Aestheticism movement that gained momentum in the latter part of the 19th century, championing the idea that art exists for its own beauty rather than moral instruction. His wit and flamboyant public persona made him the movement's most recognizable face.
What happened during Oscar Wilde's legal troubles?
In 1895, Wilde was found guilty of gross indecency, a verdict that led to his imprisonment and effectively ended his career as a public figure in England. The case remains one of the most widely discussed episodes in literary history.
When did Oscar Wilde die?
Wilde passed away on 30 November 1900, less than six years after his conviction. He was 46 years old at the time of his death.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Oscar Wilde (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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