Concetti Chiave
- Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin in 1854 to a surgeon and a literary-minded mother, and educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and Oxford.
- He became a prominent figure in London for his wit and style, promoting Aestheticism and the concept of “Art for Art’s Sake.”
- Wilde gained fame in America for his irony and became a celebrated author, producing notable works like "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and successful plays.
- His reputation suffered after a public trial for his relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas, leading to a conviction and two years of hard labor.
- Wilde spent his final years in poverty in France, where he published "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" before dying of meningitis in 1900.
Origins and Formation
He is the son of a surgeon and of an ambitious literary woman; he was born in Dublin in 1854.
He attended the Trinity College in Dublin; then, he went to Oxford and he took a degree in Classics.
He was a disciple of Walter Pater, the theorist of Aestheticism in England; he promoted the theory of “Art for Art’s Sake”.
Then, he left Oxford and he moved to London, where he soon became a celebrity for his wit and his dress as a dandy.
1881: Wilde edited Poems and then was engaged for a tour in the United States. When he arrived in New York, he told the reporters that Aestheticism was a search for the beautiful, a science through which men looked for the relationship between painting, sculpture and poetry, which were considered simply different forms of the same truth.
Wilde, in America, became famous for his irony, his attitudes and his poses.
Return to Europe and Family Life
1883: he came back in Europe and he married a woman, Constance Lloyd.
He was considered a great talker; also his remarks appeared in the most fashionable London magazines.
In the late 1880’s, Wilde produced a series of short stories: The Canterville Ghost, Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime, The Happy Prince and Other Tales, written for his two children; and then he came out with a novel too, The Picture of Dorian Gray, in 1891.
Then, he developed his interest in drama; in fact, in the late 1890’s he produced several plays which were very successful on the London stage: Lady Windermere’s Fan, A Woman of No Importance (1893) and his masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest, in 1895.
Decline and Final Years
However, after the publication in 1893 of Salomé, a tragedy written in French, Wilde’s reputation became to be damaged.
1891: he met the young Lord Alfred Douglas, called Bosie, and with him he had an affair. Then the boy’s father, the Marquess of Queensbury, forced a public trial: so Wilde was convicted of homosexual practices and he was sentenced of two-years of hard labour.
In prison he wrote De Profundis: it was a long letter for Bosie, and it was published in 1905.
When he was released, he was a broken man: his wife refused him and so Wilde went into exile in France; there, he lived his last years in poverty.
The Ballad of Reading Gaol is a work of 1898, that Wilde published under his prison identity, C.3.3., and it is his last work.
He died of meningitis in Paris in 1900.
Domande da interrogazione
- What were the early influences on Wilde's education and career?
- What led to the decline of Wilde's reputation and career?
Wilde was influenced by his education at Trinity College in Dublin and Oxford, where he studied Classics. He was a disciple of Walter Pater, a key figure in Aestheticism, which shaped his belief in "Art for Art’s Sake."
Wilde's reputation declined after his affair with Lord Alfred Douglas led to a public trial initiated by Douglas's father. Wilde was convicted of homosexual practices and sentenced to two years of hard labor, which severely impacted his life and career.
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