Oscar Wilde
Born	16 October 1854(1854-10-16) Dublin, Ireland
Died	30 November 1900 (aged 46) Paris, France
Occupation	Playwright, novelist, poet
Nationality	Irish

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and author of short stories. Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western Year 1854 ( MDCCCLIV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Events 1700 - Battle of Narva — A Swedish army of 8500 men under Charles XII defeats Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or Drama. A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story A poet is a person who writes Poetry. Etymology From the Ancient greek: ποιέω, poieō: "I make or compose" Nationality is a relationship between a Person and their State of Origin, Culture, association Affiliation and/or Loyalty The Irish people ( Irish: Muintir na hÉireann, na hÉireannaigh, na Gaeil) are a Western European Ethnic group who originate Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western Year 1854 ( MDCCCLIV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Events 1700 - Battle of Narva — A Swedish army of 8500 men under Charles XII defeats Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar The Irish people ( Irish: Muintir na hÉireann, na hÉireannaigh, na Gaeil) are a Western European Ethnic group who originate A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or Drama. A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story The history of Irish poetry includes the poetries of two languages one in Irish and the other in English. The short story is a literary genre of Fictional Prose Narrative that tends to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction such Known for his barbed wit, he was one of the most successful playwrights of late Victorian London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. Culture The Victorian fascination with novelty resulted in a deep interest in the relationship between modernity and cultural continuities A celebrity is a widely-recognized or famous person who commands a high degree of public and media attention

He was born in 1854 in Dublin and later studied at Trinity College, Dublin and Magdalen College, Oxford. Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. Trinity College Dublin ( TCD; Irish Coláiste na Tríonóide Baile Átha Cliath; Latin: Collegium Sacrosanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Magdalen College redirects here see also Magdalene College Cambridge Magdalen College (ˈmɔːdlɨn "maudlin" is one of the constituent After his love Florence Balcombe became engaged to Bram Stoker, Wilde left Ireland and spent the next few years in London, Paris, and the United States. Florence Balcombe (17 July 1858 &ndash 25 May 1937 was the wife of Bram Stoker, whom she married in 1878 Abraham "Bram" Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912 was an Irish writer of novels and short stories who is best known today for his 1897 horror Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world He married Constance Lloyd in 1884 and the couple had two sons. As the result of a widely covered trial, Wilde suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned for two years of hard labour after being convicted of the offence of "gross indecency. Penal labour or penal servitude is a form of Unfree labour. The term may refer to two different notions labour as a form of punishment and labour as a form of occupation "

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Birth and early life 1.2 Marriage and family 1.3 Aestheticism and philosophy 1.3.1 Politics 1.4 Sexuality 1.5 Trial, imprisonment, and transfer to Reading Gaol 1.6 Release and death 2 Modern popular culture 3 Works 3.1 Poetry 3.2 Plays 3.3 Prose 4 Notes 5 Bibliography 5.1 Print 5.2 Online 6 Online texts 7 External links

Biography

Birth and early life

Oscar Wilde was the second son born into an Anglo-Irish family, at 21 Westland Row, Dublin, to Sir William Wilde and his wife Jane Francesca Wilde (née Elgee) (her pseudonym being Speranza). " Anglo-Irish " was a term used historically to describe a privileged Social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. Sir William Robert Wills Wilde MD, FRCSI, (March 1815&ndash April 19, 1876) was an Irish eye and ear Surgeon, as well as Jane Francesca Agnes Lady Wilde ( 27 December 1821 &ndash 3 February 1896) (born Jane Francesca Elgee in Dublin) Jane was a successful writer, being a poet for the revolutionary Young Irelanders in 1848 and a life-long Irish nationalist. Young Ireland ( Irish: Éire Óg) was a political cultural and social movement which was to revolutionise the way that Irish nationalism was perceived The term nationalism can refer to an Ideology, a sentiment, a form of Culture, or a Social movement that focuses on the Nation ^[1] Sir William was Ireland's leading Oto-Ophthalmologic (ear and eye) surgeon and was knighted in 1864 for his services to medicine. Otology is a branch of Biomedicine which studies normal and pathological Anatomy and Physiology of the Ear ( hearing Ophthalmology is the branch of Medicine which deals with the diseases and surgery of the visual pathways including the Eye, Brain ^[1] William also wrote books on archaeology and folklore. Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos History The concept of folklore developed as part of the 19th century ideology of Romantic nationalism, leading to the reshaping of oral traditions to serve modern ideological He was a renowned philanthropist, and his dispensary for the care of the city's poor, in Lincoln Place at the rear of Trinity College, Dublin, was the forerunner of the Dublin Eye and Ear Hospital, now located at Adelaide Road. Trinity College Dublin ( TCD; Irish Coláiste na Tríonóide Baile Átha Cliath; Latin: Collegium Sacrosanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae

In June 1855, the family moved to 1 Merrion Square in a fashionable residential area, where Wilde's sister, Isola, was born in 1856. Merrion Square ( Cearnóg Mhuirfean in Irish) is situated on the south side of Dublin city centre and is considered one of the city's finest Georgian Here, Lady Wilde held a regular Saturday afternoon salon with guests including Sheridan le Fanu, Samuel Lever, George Petrie, Isaac Butt and Samuel Ferguson. A salon is a gathering of stimulating people of quality under the roof of an inspiring hostess or host partly to amuse one another and partly to refine their taste and increase their knowledge through Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (28 August 1814 &ndash 7 February 1873 was an Irish writer of Gothic tales and mystery novels George Petrie (1790 &ndash 1866 was an Irish painter, Musician, Antiquary and Archaeologist of the Victorian era. Isaac Butt 6 September 1813 &ndash 5 May 1879) was an Irish Barrister, and the founder and first leader of a number of Irish nationalist Sir Samuel Ferguson ( 10 March 1810 – 9 August 1886) was an Irish poet, Barrister, Antiquarian, Artist Oscar was educated at home up to the age of nine. He attended Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, Fermanagh from the ages of nine to sixteen^[2], spending the summer months with his family in rural Waterford, Wexford and at Sir William's family home in Mayo. Portora Royal School for boys located in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, is one of a number of 'free schools' founded by Royal Charter Enniskillen ( is the county town (and largest town in County Fermanagh and the west of Northern Ireland. County Fermanagh (fɚr'mænɘ Contae Fhear Manach or Fear Manach ('Men of Monach'in Irish) is the westernmost of the six counties that form Northern County Waterford (Contae Phort Láirge is a County in the province of Munster on the south coast of Ireland. County Wexford (Contae Loch Garman is a maritime county in the southeast of Ireland, in the province of Leinster. Here the Wilde brothers played with the older George Moore. George Augustus Moore (24 February 1852 – 21 January 1933 was an Irish Novelist, short-story writer, Poet, art critic,

After leaving Portora, Wilde studied classics at Trinity College, Dublin, from 1871 to 1874. Trinity College Dublin ( TCD; Irish Coláiste na Tríonóide Baile Átha Cliath; Latin: Collegium Sacrosanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae He was an outstanding student, and won the Berkeley Gold Medal, the highest award available to classics students at Trinity. "Classical literature" redirects here For literature in Classical languages outside the Graeco-Roman sphere see Ancient literature. He was awarded a scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford, where he continued his studies from 1874 to 1878 and where he became a part of the Aesthetic movement, one of its tenets being to make an art of life. A scholarship is an award of access to an institution or a financial aid award for an individual student scholar for the purpose of furthering their Education Magdalen College redirects here see also Magdalene College Cambridge Magdalen College (ˈmɔːdlɨn "maudlin" is one of the constituent This article is about aestheticism a term with a root meaning of sensuous Not to be confused with the religious practice of Asceticism: an abstinence from the sensual While at Magdalen, he won the 1878 Newdigate Prize for his poem Ravenna, which he read out at Encaenia; he failed, though, to win the Chancellor's English Essay Prize for an essay that would be published posthumously as The Rise of Historical Criticism (1909). Sir Roger Newdigate's Prize is awarded to students of the University of Oxford for Best Composition in English verse by an undergraduate who has been admitted to Oxford Encaenia is an Academic Ceremony usually performed at Colleges or Universities. In November 1878, he graduated with a double first in classical moderations and Literae Humaniores, or 'Greats'. The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for Undergraduate degrees ( Bachelor's degrees and some Master's degrees Literae Humaniores is the name given to the study of Classics at Oxford and some other universities

Marriage and family

After graduating from Oxford, Wilde returned to Dublin, where he met and fell in love with Florence Balcombe. Florence Balcombe (17 July 1858 &ndash 25 May 1937 was the wife of Bram Stoker, whom she married in 1878 She in turn became engaged to Bram Stoker. Abraham "Bram" Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912 was an Irish writer of novels and short stories who is best known today for his 1897 horror On hearing of her engagement, Wilde wrote to her stating his intention to leave Ireland permanently. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world He left in 1878 and was to return to his native country only twice, for brief visits. The next six years were spent in London, Paris and the United States, where he traveled to deliver lectures. Wilde's address in the 1881 British Census is given as 1 Tite Street, London. The United Kingdom has taken a Census of its population every ten years since 1801 with the exception of 1941 ( during the Second World War) The head of the household is listed as Frank Miles with whom Wilde shared rooms at this address. George Francis Miles (1852–1891 was a London artist who specialised in Pastel portraits of society ladies

In London, he met Constance Lloyd, daughter of wealthy Queen's Counsel Horace Lloyd. Queen's Counsel ( postnominal QC) &ndash known as King's Counsel ( KC) during the reign of a male sovereign  &ndash are She was visiting Dublin in 1884, when Oscar was in the city to give lectures at the Gaiety Theatre. The Gaiety Theatre is a theatre on South King Street in Dublin, Ireland, off Grafton Street and close to St He proposed to her and they married on May 29, 1884 in Paddington, London. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian defeats the Sassanid army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the Year 1884 ( MDCCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Paddington is an area of the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Constance's allowance of £250 allowed the Wildes to live in relative luxury. The couple had two sons, Cyril (1885) and Vyvyan (1886). Cyril Holland (né Wilde) ( 5 June, 1885 – May 9, 1915) was the first son of Oscar Wilde and Constance Lloyd Vyvyan Holland OBE, LLB, ( November 3, 1886 – October 10, 1967) born Vyvyan Oscar Beresford Wilde in After Oscar's downfall, Constance took the surname Holland for herself and the boys. She died in 1898 following spinal surgery and was buried in Staglieno Cemetery in Genoa, Italy. Genoa ( Genova, ˈdʒɛːnova in Italian; Zena in Genoese and Ligurian; Genua in Latin and archaically in English Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Cyril was killed in France in World War I. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Vyvyan survived the war and went on to become an author and translator. He published his memoirs in 1954. Vyvyan's son, Merlin Holland, has edited and published several works about his grandfather. Christopher Merlin Vyvyan Holland (born 1945 London) is a Biographer and editor. Oscar Wilde's niece, Dolly Wilde, was involved in a lengthy lesbian affair with writer Natalie Clifford Barney. Dorothy Ierne Wilde, known as Dolly Wilde, ( July 11 1895 &ndash April 10 1941) was an Anglo-Irish Socialite A lesbian is a Woman who is romantically or sexually attracted only to other women Natalie Clifford Barney ( 31 October 1876 &ndash 2 February 1972) was an American Expatriate who lived wrote and hosted a literary

Aestheticism and philosophy

While at Magdalen College, Wilde became particularly well known for his role in the aesthetic and decadent movements. This article is about aestheticism a term with a root meaning of sensuous Not to be confused with the religious practice of Asceticism: an abstinence from the sensual In 19th century European and especially French literature, Decadence was the name given first by hostile critics and then triumphantly adopted by some writers He began wearing his hair long and openly scorning so-called "manly" sports, and began decorating his rooms with peacock feathers, lilies, sunflowers, blue china and other objets d'art. The term peafowl refers to Gallinaceous Birds classified within the genera Rheinardia Argusianus Afropavoand Pavo The sunflower ( Helianthus annuus) is an Annual plant in the family Asteraceae and native to the Americas, with a large flowering In Fine art, a work of art (or artwork or work) is a creation such as a Song, Book, Film, Video game,

Legends persist that his behaviour cost him a dunking in the River Cherwell in addition to having his rooms (which still survive as student accommodation at his old college) trashed, but the cult spread among certain segments of society to such an extent that languishing attitudes, "too-too" costumes and aestheticism generally became a recognised pose. The River Cherwell ( IPA /ˈtʃɑːwɛl/ is a river which flows through the Midlands of England. This article is about aestheticism a term with a root meaning of sensuous Not to be confused with the religious practice of Asceticism: an abstinence from the sensual Publications such as the Springfield Republican commented on Wilde's behaviour during his visit to Boston in order to give lectures on aestheticism, suggesting that Wilde's conduct was more of a bid for notoriety rather than a devotion to beauty and the aesthetic. The Republican is a newspaper based in Springfield Massachusetts. Wilde's mode of dress also came under attack by critics such as Higginson, who wrote in his paper Unmanly Manhood, of his general concern that Wilde's effeminacy would influence the behaviour of men and women, arguing that his poetry "eclipses masculine ideals [. . that. . ] under such influence men would become effeminate dandies". He also scrutinised the links between Oscar Wilde's writing, personal image and homosexuality, calling his work and lifestyle 'Immoral'.

Wilde was deeply impressed by the English writers John Ruskin and Walter Pater, who argued for the central importance of art in life, an argument laced with a strongly philhellenic and homoerotic subtext. A caricature is either a Portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness or in literature a description Punch was a British weekly Magazine of Humour and Satire published from 1841 to 1992 and from 1996 to 2002 John Ruskin (8 February 1819 &ndash 20 January 1900 is best known for his work as an Art critic, sage writer, and Social critic, but is remembered Walter Horatio Pater ( August 4 1839 - July 30 1894) was an English Essayist and art and Literary critic. Wilde later commented ironically on Pater's suppressed emotions: on being informed of the man's death, he replied, "Was he ever alive?" Reflecting on Pater's view of art, he wrote, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, "All art is quite useless". Irony is a literary or Rhetorical device, in which there is an incongruity or Discordance between what one says or does and what one means or The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published Novel written by Oscar Wilde, first appearing as the lead story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine The statement was meant to be read literally, as it was in keeping with the doctrine of Art for art's sake, coined by the philosopher Victor Cousin, promoted by Theophile Gautier and brought into prominence by James McNeill Whistler. " Art for art's sake " is the usual English rendition of a French Slogan, from the early 19th century l'art pour l'art and expresses a philosophy Victor Cousin ( 28 November 1792 - 13 January 1867) was a French Philosopher. See also Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( August 30, 1811 – October 23, 1872) was a French Poet, Dramatist In 1879 Wilde started to teach Aesthetic values in London.

The aesthetic movement, represented by the school of William Morris and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, had a permanent influence on English decorative art. William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896 was an English Architect, Furniture and Textile designer artist writer and socialist associated Dante Gabriel Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882 was an English poet Illustrator, painter and Translator. As the leading aesthete in Britain, Wilde became one of the most prominent personalities of his day. Though he was sometimes ridiculed for them, his paradoxes and witty sayings were quoted on all sides. A paradox is a true statement or group of statements that leads to a Contradiction or a situation which defies intuition; or inversely

Aestheticism in general was caricatured in Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta Patience (1881). Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian era partnership of Librettist W Operetta is a genre of light Opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter Patience, or Bunthorne's Bride, is a Comic opera in two acts with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W While Patience was a success in New York it was not known how much the aesthetic movement had penetrated the rest of America. So Richard D'Oyly Carte invited Wilde for a lecture tour of North America. Richard D'Oyly Carte (3 May 1844 &ndash 3 April 1901 was an English talent agent theatrical Impresario and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian D'Oyly Carte felt this tour would "prime the pump" for the tour of Patience, making sure that the ticket-buying public was aware of one of the movement's charming personalities. This was duly arranged, Wilde arriving on 3 January 1882, aboard the SS Arizona. Events 1431 - Joan of Arc is handed over to the Bishop Pierre Cauchon. Year 1882 ( MDCCCLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Wilde is reputed to have told a customs officer "I have nothing to declare except my genius", although there is no contemporary evidence for the remark.

During his tour of the United States and Canada, Wilde was torn apart by no small number of critics—The Wasp, a San Francisco newspaper, published a cartoon ridiculing Wilde and Aestheticism—but he was also surprisingly well received in such rough-and-tumble settings as the mining town of Leadville, Colorado. The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city Mining is the extraction of valuable Minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually (but not always from an Ore body Leadville is a Statutory City that is the County seat of and the only incorporated municipality in [3]

On his return to the United Kingdom, he worked as a reviewer for the Pall Mall Gazette in the years 1887-1889. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Pall Mall Gazette was an evening newspaper founded in London on February 7 1865. Afterwards he became the editor of Woman's World.

Politics

Wilde, for much of his life, advocated socialism, which he argued "will be of value simply because it will lead to individualism. Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution "^[3] He also had a strong libertarian streak as shown in his poem "Sonnet to Liberty" and, subsequently to reading the works of Peter Kropotkin—whom he described as "a man with a soul of that beautiful white Christ which seems coming out of Russia"^[4]—he declared himself an anarchist. Libertarian socialism is a group of political philosophies that aim to create a society without political economic or social hierarchies – a society in which all violent Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i ^[5] Other political influences on Wilde may have been William Morris and John Ruskin. William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896 was an English Architect, Furniture and Textile designer artist writer and socialist associated John Ruskin (8 February 1819 &ndash 20 January 1900 is best known for his work as an Art critic, sage writer, and Social critic, but is remembered ^[6] Wilde was also a pacifist and quipped that "When liberty comes with hands dabbled in blood it is hard to shake hands with her". In addition to his primary political text, the essay "The Soul of Man under Socialism", Wilde wrote several letters to the Daily Chronicle advocating prison reform and was the sole signatory of George Bernard Shaw's petition for a pardon of the anarchists arrested (and later executed) after the Haymarket affair. The Soul of Man under Socialism is an 1891 essay by Oscar Wilde in which he expounds a libertarian socialist worldview (first published in the Pall Mall The Daily Chronicle was a London Newspaper company in the United Kingdom that was founded in 1872 Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside Prisons aiming at a more effective Penal system. George Bernard Shaw ( (26 July 1856 &ndash 2 November 1950 was an Irish Playwright. ^[7]

In Lady Florence Dixie's novel of 1890, Gloriana, or the Revolution of 1900, women win the right to vote, as the result of the protagonist, Gloriana, posing as a man, Hector l'Estrange, and being elected to the House of Commons. Lady Florence Caroline Dixie ( 24 May 1855 &ndash 7 November 1905) was a British traveller War correspondent, The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords The character of l'Estrange is clearly based on that of Wilde. Dixie was an aunt of Lord Alfred Douglas. ^[8]

Sexuality

Though Wilde's sexual orientation has variously been considered bisexual, homosexual, and paederastic, Wilde himself felt he belonged to a culture of male love inspired by the Greek paederastic tradition. Sexual orientation is believed to refer to "an enduring pattern of emotional romantic and/or sexual attractions to men women or both sexes Bisexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of both sexes or to a bisexual orientation Homosexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of the same sex or to a Homosexual orientation. Pederasty or paederasty refers to an erotic relationship sexually expressed or not between an adolescent boy and an adult male outside his immediate family Greek Pederasty, as idealised by the Greeks from archaic times onward was a relationship and bond between an adolescent boy and an adult man outside ^[9] In describing his own sexual identity, Wilde used the term Socratic. ^[10] He may have had significant sexual relationships with (in chronological order) Frank Miles, Constance Lloyd (his wife), Robert Baldwin Ross, and Lord Alfred Douglas ("Bosie"). George Francis Miles (1852–1891 was a London artist who specialised in Pastel portraits of society ladies Robbie Ross links here for the Australian rugby league players see Robbie Ross (rugby league. Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas ( 22 October 1870 &ndash 20 March 1945) was a Poet, a Translator and a Prose Wilde also had numerous sexual encounters with working-class male youths, who were often rent boys. A gigolo, hustler or male prostitute is a male who engages in the sale of their sexual services by Prostitution.

Biographers generally believe Wilde was made fully aware of his own and others' homosexuality in 1885 (the year after his wedding) by the 17-year-old Robert Baldwin Ross. Neil McKenna's biography The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde (2003) theorises that Wilde was aware of his homosexuality much earlier, from the moment of his first kiss with another boy at the age of 16. According to McKenna, after arriving at Oxford in 1874, Wilde tentatively explored his sexuality, discovering that he could feel passionate romantic love for "fair, slim" choirboys, but was more sexually drawn towards the swarthy young rough trade. Trade refers to the (usually casual partner of a gay man or to the genre of such partners By the late 1870s, Wilde was already preoccupied with the philosophy of same-sex love, and had befriended a group of Uranian (pederastic) poets and homosexual law reformers, becoming acquainted with the work of gay-rights pioneer Karl-Heinrich Ulrichs. The Uranians were a small and somewhat clandestine group of male English Pederastic Poets a group writing between 1858 (when William Johnson Cory published for the (unrelated periodical directory see Ulrich's Periodicals Directory Karl-Heinrich Ulrichs weiner ( Aurich, 28 August Wilde also met Walt Whitman in America in 1882, writing to a friend that there was "no doubt" about the great American poet's sexual orientation — "I have the kiss of Walt Whitman still on my lips," he boasted. Walter Whitman (May 31 1819 &ndash March 26 1892 was an American poet, Essayist journalist, and humanist. He even lived with the society painter Frank Miles, who was a few years his senior and may have been his lover. However, writes McKenna, he was at one time unhappy with the direction of his sexual and romantic desires, and, hoping that marriage would 'cure' him, he married Constance Lloyd in 1884. McKenna's account has been criticised by some reviewers who find it too speculative, although not necessarily implausible. ^[11]

Regardless of whether or not Wilde was still naïve when he first met Ross, Ross did play an important role in the development of Wilde's understanding of his own sexuality. Ross was aware of Wilde's poems before they met, and indeed had been beaten for reading them. He was also unmoved by the Victorian prohibition against homosexuality. By Richard Ellmann's account, Ross, ". . . so young and yet so knowing, was determined to seduce Wilde. " Later, Ross boasted to Lord Alfred Douglas that he was "the first boy Oscar ever had" and there seems to have been much jealousy between them. Soon, Wilde entered a world of regular sex with youths such as servants and newsboys, in their mid to late teens, whom he would meet in homosexual bars or brothels. In Wilde's words, the relations were akin to "feasting with panthers", and he revelled in the risk: "the danger was half the excitement. " In his public writings, Wilde's first celebration of romantic love between men and boys can be found in The Portrait of Mr. W. H. (1889), in which he propounds a theory that Shakespeare's sonnets were written out of the poet's love of Elizabethan boy actor "Willie Hughes". William Hughes is one potential candidate for the person on whom the 'Fair Youth' of Shakespeare's Sonnets is based (if the sonnets are autobiographical

In the early summer of 1891 he was introduced by the poet Lionel Johnson to the twenty-two-year-old Lord Alfred Douglas, an undergraduate at Oxford at the time. Lionel Pigot Johnson ( 15 March 1867 - 4 October 1902) was an English poet essayist and critic An intimate friendship immediately sprang up between the two, but it was not initially sexual, nor did the sexuality progress far when it did eventually take place. According to Douglas, speaking in his old age, for the first six months their relations remained on a purely intellectual and emotional level. Despite the fact that "from the second time he saw me, when he gave me a copy of Dorian Gray which I took with me to Oxford, he made overtures to me. It was not till I had known him for at least six months and after I had seen him over and over again and he had twice stayed with me in Oxford, that I gave in to him. I did with him and allowed him to do just what was done among boys at Winchester and Oxford . . . Sodomy never took place between us, nor was it attempted or dreamed of. Wilde treated me as an older one does a younger one at school. " After Wilde realised that Douglas only consented in order to please him, as his instincts drew him not to men but to younger boys, Wilde permanently ceased his physical attentions. ^[12]

For a few years they lived together more or less openly in a number of locations. Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas ( 22 October 1870 &ndash 20 March 1945) was a Poet, a Translator and a Prose Wilde and some within his upper-class social group also began to speak about homosexual law reform, and their commitment to "The Cause" was formalised by the founding of a highly secretive organisation called the Order of Chaeronea, of which Wilde was a member. The Order of Chaeronea was a Secret society for the cultivation of a Homosexual moral ethical cutural and spiritual ethos A homosexual novel, Teleny or The Reverse of the Medal, written at about the same time and clandestinely published in 1893, has been attributed to Oscar Wilde, but was probably, in fact, a combined effort by a number of Wilde's friends, which Wilde edited. Wilde also periodically contributed to the Uranian literary journal The Chameleon. This article refers to a historical concept of sexual identity

Lord Alfred's first mentor had been his cosmopolitan grandfather Alfred Montgomery. His older brother Francis Douglas, Viscount Drumlanrig possibly had an intimate association with the Prime Minister Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, which ended on Francis' death in an unexplained shooting accident. Francis Archibald Douglas Viscount Drumlanrig ( 3 February 1867 &ndash 19 October 1894) was a Scottish nobleman and politician the Archibald Philip Primrose 5th Earl of Rosebery, KG, PC (7 May 1847 &ndash 21 May 1929 was a British Liberal Statesman and Lord Alfred's father John Sholto Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry came to believe his sons had been corrupted by older homosexuals, or as he phrased it in a letter, "Snob Queers like Rosebery". John Sholto Douglas 9th Marquess of Queensberry GCVO ( 20 July 1844 &ndash 31 January 1900) was a Scottish nobleman remembered ^[13] As he had attempted to do with Rosebery, Queensberry confronted Wilde and Lord Alfred on several occasions, but each time Wilde was able to mollify him.

Divorced and spending wildly, Queensberry was known for his outspoken views and the boxing roughs who often accompanied him. He abhorred his younger son and plagued the boy with threats to cut him off if he did not stop idling his life away. Queensberry was determined to end the friendship with Wilde. Wilde was in full flow of rehearsal when Bosie returned from a diplomatic posting to Cairo, around the time Queensberry visited Wilde at his Tite Street home. He angrily pushed past Wilde's servant and entered the ground floor study, shouting obscenities and asking Wilde about his divorce. Wilde became incensed, but it is said he calmly told his manservant that Queensberry was the most infamous brute in London, and that he was not to be shown into the house ever again. It is said that, despite the presence of a bodyguard, Wilde forced Queensberry to leave in no uncertain terms.

On the opening night of The Importance of Being Earnest Queensberry further planned to insult and socially embarrass Wilde by throwing a bouquet of turnips. The Importance of Being Earnest is a play by Oscar Wilde. It premiered on February 14, 1895 at the St Wilde was tipped off, and Queensberry was barred from entering the theatre. Wilde took legal advice against him, and wished to prosecute, but his friends refused to give evidence against the Marquess and hence the case was dropped. Wilde and Bosie left London for a holiday in Monte Carlo. Monte-Carlo ( Occitan: Montcarles, Monégasque: Monte-Carlu) is one of Monaco 's various administrative areas sometimes erroneously While they were there, on February 18, 1895, the Marquess left his calling card at Wilde's Club, with an inscription accusing Wilde of posing as a "somdomite [sic]". Events 3102 BC - Epoch (origin of the Kali Yuga. 1229 - The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II Holy Year 1895 ( MDCCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Sic is a Latin word meaning "thus" "so" "as such" or "just as that" ^[14]

Trial, imprisonment, and transfer to Reading Gaol

Wilde made a complaint of criminal libel against Lord Alfred Douglas's father based on the calling card incident, and the Marquess was arrested but later freed on bail. Sic is a Latin word meaning "thus" "so" "as such" or "just as that" Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas ( 22 October 1870 &ndash 20 March 1945) was a Poet, a Translator and a Prose The libel trial became a cause célèbre as salacious details of Wilde's private life with Alfred Taylor and Lord Alfred Douglas began to appear in the press. A cause célèbre (plural causes célèbres, French famous case) is A team of detectives, with the help of the actor Charles Brookfield, had directed Queensberry's lawyers (led by Edward Carson QC) to the world of the Victorian underground. Charles Brookfield ( 19 May 1857 &ndash 20 October 1913) was a British Actor, Author, playwright and Journalist Edward Henry Carson Baron Carson, PC, Kt, KC (often known as Sir Edward Carson or Lord Carson) ( Queen's Counsel ( postnominal QC) &ndash known as King's Counsel ( KC) during the reign of a male sovereign  &ndash are Here Wilde's association with blackmailers and male prostitutes, crossdressers and homosexual brothels was recorded, and various persons involved were interviewed, some being coerced to appear as witnesses. ^[15]

The trial opened on April 3, 1895 amongst scenes of near hysteria both in the press and the public galleries. Events 1043 - Edward the Confessor is crowned King of England. Year 1895 ( MDCCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year After a shaky start, Wilde regained some ground when defending his art from attacks of perversion. The Picture of Dorian Gray came under fierce moral criticism, but Wilde fended it off with his usual charm and confidence on artistic matters. The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published Novel written by Oscar Wilde, first appearing as the lead story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine Some of his personal letters to Lord Alfred were examined, their wording challenged as inappropriate and evidence of immoral relations. Queensberry's legal team proposed that the libel was published for the public good, but it was only when the prosecution moved on to sexual matters that Wilde baulked. He was challenged on the reason given for not kissing a young servant; Wilde had replied, "He was a particularly plain boy - unfortunately ugly - I pitied him for it. "^[16] Counsel for the defence, scenting blood, pressed him on the point. Wilde hesitated, complaining of Carson's insults and attempts to unnerve him. The prosecution eventually dropped the case, after the defence threatened to bring boy prostitutes to the stand to testify to Wilde's corruption and influence over Queensberry's son, effectively crippling the case. After Wilde left the court, a warrant for his arrest was applied for and (after a delay that would have permitted Wilde, had he possessed the presence of mind to take advantage, to escape to the continent) later served on him at the Cadogan Hotel, Knightsbridge. The Cadogan Hotel is one of London 's most prestigious luxury hotels and restaurants Knightsbridge is a road which gives its name to an exclusive district lying to the west of Central London. That moment was immortalised by Sir John Betjeman's poem. Sir John Betjeman, CBE ( 28 August 1906 &ndash 19 May 1984 was an English poet writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who He was arrested for "gross indecency" under Section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 In British legislation of the time, this term implied 'homosexual acts not amounting to buggery'. The Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 (48 & 49 Victoria Cap 69 or "An Act to make further provision for the Protection of Women and Girls the suppression of brothels and other purposes" The English term Buggery is very close in meaning to the term Sodomy, and is often used interchangeably in law and popular speech ^[17] After his arrest Wilde sent Robert Ross to his home in Tite Street with orders to remove certain items and Ross broke into the bedroom to rescue some of Wilde's belongings. Wilde was then imprisoned on remand at Holloway where he received daily visits from Lord Alfred Douglas.

Events moved quickly and his prosecution opened on April 26, 1895. Events 1467 - The miraculous image in Our Lady of Good Counsel appear in Genazzano, Italy. Year 1895 ( MDCCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Wilde had already begged Douglas to leave London for Paris, but Douglas complained bitterly, even wanting to take the stand; however, he was pressed to go and soon fled to the Hotel du Monde. Ross and many others also left the United Kingdom during this time. Under cross examination Wilde presented an eloquent defence of same-sex love:

Charles Gill (pros. ): What is "the love that dares not speak its name?"

Wilde: "The love that dares not speak its name" in this century is such a great affection of an elder for a younger man as there was between David and Jonathan, such as Plato made the very basis of his philosophy, and such as you find in the sonnets of Michelangelo and Shakespeare. David and Jonathan is also the name adopted by recording duo Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni Two biographies were published of him during his lifetime One of them by Giorgio Vasari, proposed that he was the pinnacle of all William Shakespeare ( baptised It is that deep spiritual affection that is as pure as it is perfect. It dictates and pervades great works of art, like those of Shakespeare and Michelangelo, and those two letters of mine, such as they are. It is in this century misunderstood, so much misunderstood that it may be described as "the love that dares not speak its name," and on that account of it I am placed where I am now. It is beautiful, it is fine, it is the noblest form of affection. There is nothing unnatural about it. It is intellectual, and it repeatedly exists between an older and a younger man, when the older man has intellect, and the younger man has all the joy, hope and glamour of life before him. That it should be so, the world does not understand. The world mocks at it, and sometimes puts one in the pillory for it. "

The trial ended with the jury unable to reach a verdict and Wilde's counsel, Sir Edward Clark, was finally able to agree bail. Wilde was freed from Holloway and went into hiding at the house of Ernest and Ada Leverson, two of Wilde's firm friends. Ada Leverson (1862-August 1933 nee Beddington was a British writer now known as a Novelist. The Reverend Stuart Hedlam put up most of the £5,000 bail,^[18] having disagreed with Wilde's heinous treatment by the press and the courts. Edward Carson, it was said, asked for the service to let up on Wilde. ^[19] His request was denied. If the Crown was seen to give up at that point, it would have appeared that there was one rule for some and not others, and outrage could have followed.

The final trial was presided over by Justice Sir Alfred Wills. Sir Alfred Wills PC ( December 11, 1828 - August 9, 1912) was also an English High Court judge and a well-known On May 25, 1895 Wilde was convicted of gross indecency and sentenced to two years' hard labour. Events 1085 - Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo Spain back from the Moors. Year 1895 ( MDCCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Decency is conformity to sociocultural standards of conduct and speech His conviction angered some observers, one of whom demanded, in a published letter, "Why does not the Crown prosecute every boy at a public or private school or half the men in the universities?" in reference to the presumed pederastic proclivities of British upper class men. ^[20]

Wilde was imprisoned first in Pentonville and then in Wandsworth prison in London, and finally transferred in November to Reading Prison, some 30 miles west of London. HM Prison Pentonville is a Prison built in 1842 on the Caledonian Road, North London. HM Prison Wandsworth Gaol is a Prison in the Wandsworth area of London, England HM Prison & YOI Reading is a British Prison. HM Prison Reading was built in 1844 as the Berkshire County gaol in the Wilde knew the town of Reading from happier times when boating on the Thames and also from visits to the Palmer family, including a tour of the famous Huntley & Palmers biscuit factory which is quite close to the prison. The Thames ( is a major River flowing through southern England. Huntley & Palmers was a British firm of Biscuit makers based in Reading Berkshire.

Now known as prisoner C. 3. 3, (which described the fact that he was in block C, floor three, cell three) he was not, at first, even allowed paper and pen, but a later governor was more amenable. Wilde was championed by the reformer Lord Haldane who had helped transfer him and afforded him the literary catharsis he needed. During his time in prison, Wilde wrote a 50,000 word letter to Douglas, which he was not allowed to send while still a prisoner, but which he was allowed to take with him at the end of his sentence. On his release, he gave the manuscript to Ross, who may or may not have carried out Wilde's instructions to send a copy to Douglas (who later denied having received it). Ross published a much expurgated version of the letter (about a third of it) in 1905 (four years after Wilde's death) with the title De Profundis, expanding it slightly for an edition of Wilde's collected works in 1908, and then donated it to the British Museum on the understanding that it would not be made public until 1960. Psalm 130 ( Greek numbering Psalm 129 traditionally referred to as De profundis, after its Latin incipit is one of the penitential psalms. The British Museum is a Museum of human history and culture in London. In 1949, Wilde's son Vyvyan Holland published it again, including parts formerly omitted, but relying on a faulty typescript bequeathed to him by Ross. Vyvyan Holland OBE, LLB, ( November 3, 1886 – October 10, 1967) born Vyvyan Oscar Beresford Wilde in Its complete and correct publication occurred in 1962, in The Letters of Oscar Wilde. The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde is a Book that contains over 1000 pages of letters written by Oscar Wilde.

Release and death

Prison was unkind to Wilde's health and after he was released on May 19, 1897, he spent his last three years penniless, in self-imposed exile from society and artistic circles. Events 1535 - French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships 110 men and Year 1897 ( MDCCCXCVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common He went under the assumed name of Sebastian Melmoth, after the famously "penetrated" Saint Sebastian and the devilish central character of Wilde's great-uncle Charles Robert Maturin's gothic novel Melmoth the Wanderer. Saint Sebastian (traditionally died January 20, 287 was a Christian Saint and Martyr, who is said to have been killed while the Roman emperor Charles Robert Maturin, also known as CR Maturin ( September 25, 1782 in Dublin – October 30, 1824 in Dublin was an Gothic fiction (sometimes referred to as Gothic horror) is a genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Melmoth the Wanderer is a Gothic novel published in 1820 written by Charles Robert Maturin (uncle of Jane Wilde who was mother of Oscar

Nevertheless, Wilde lost no time in returning to his previous pleasures. According to Douglas, Ross "dragged [him] back to homosexual practices" during the summer of 1897, which they spent together in Berneval. After his release, he also wrote the famous poem The Ballad of Reading Gaol. The Ballad of Reading Gaol is a famous poem by Oscar Wilde, written after his release from Reading prison on 19 May 1897. Wilde spent his last years in the Hôtel d'Alsace, now known as L'Hôtel, in Paris, where it is said he was notorious and uninhibited about enjoying the pleasures he had been denied in Britain. L'Hôtel is a 4-star luxury Hotel in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris. Again, according to Douglas, "he was hand in glove with all the little boys on the Boulevard. He never attempted to conceal it. " In a letter to Ross, Wilde laments, "Today I bade good-bye, with tears and one kiss, to the beautiful Greek boy. . . he is the nicest boy you ever introduced to me. "^[21] Just a month before his death he is quoted as saying, "My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. This page refers to the material used for Interior decoration. One or other of us has got to go. " His moods fluctuated; Max Beerbohm relates how, a few days before Wilde's death, their mutual friend Reginald 'Reggie' Turner had found Wilde very depressed after a nightmare. Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm ( August 24, 1872 &ndash May 20, 1956) was an English parodist and caricaturist. "I dreamt that I had died, and was supping with the dead!" "I am sure," Turner replied, "that you must have been the life and soul of the party. "^[22] Reggie Turner was one of the very few of the old circle who remained with Wilde right to the end, and was at his bedside when he died.

Wilde died of cerebral meningitis on November 30, 1900. Père Lachaise Cemetery (Cimetière du Père-Lachaise officially cimetière de l'Est, "East Cemetery" is the largest Cemetery in the city of Paris Meningitis is Inflammation of the protective membranes covering the Brain and Spinal cord, known collectively as the Meninges. Events 1700 - Battle of Narva — A Swedish army of 8500 men under Charles XII defeats Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar Different opinions are given as to the cause of the meningitis; Richard Ellmann claimed it was syphilitic; Merlin Holland, Wilde's grandson, thought this to be a misconception, noting that Wilde's meningitis followed a surgical intervention, perhaps a mastoidectomy; Wilde's physicians, Dr. Syphilis is a Sexually transmitted disease caused by the spirochetal Bacterium Treponema pallidum pallidum. Christopher Merlin Vyvyan Holland (born 1945 London) is a Biographer and editor. Mastoiditis is an infection of the Mastoid process, the portion of the Temporal bone of the Skull that is behind the Ear. Paul Cleiss and A'Court Tucker, reported that the condition stemmed from an old suppuration of the right ear (une ancienne suppuration de l'oreille droite d'ailleurs en traitement depuis plusieurs années) and did not allude to syphilis. Most modern scholars and doctors agree that syphilis was unlikely to have been the cause of his death. ^[23]

On his deathbed Wilde was received into the Roman Catholic church and Robert Ross, in his letter to More Adey (dated 14 December 1900), states "He was conscious that people were in the room, and raised his hand when I asked him whether he understood. He pressed our hands. I then sent in search of a priest, and after great difficulty found Father Cuthbert Dunne. . . who came with me at once and administered Baptism and Extreme Unction. In Christianity, baptism ( Greek, "immersing" "performing Ablutions " is the ritual act with the use of water by which one is admitted Anointing of the Sick is the ritual anointing of a sick person and is a Sacrament of the Catholic Church. - Oscar could not take the Eucharist". The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lord's Supper and other names is a Christian Sacrament by which in a common interpretation those ^[24]

Wilde was buried in the Cimetière de Bagneux outside Paris but was later moved to Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Located to the southwest of the city of Paris, France, the Cimetière de Bagneux is located at 44 avenue Marx-Dormoy in Montrouge, Hauts-de-Seine Père Lachaise Cemetery (Cimetière du Père-Lachaise officially cimetière de l'Est, "East Cemetery" is the largest Cemetery in the city of Paris Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city His tomb in Père Lachaise was designed by sculptor Sir Jacob Epstein, at the request of Robert Ross, who also asked for a small compartment to be made for his own ashes. Sir Jacob Epstein ( 10 November 1880 – 19 August 1959) was an American-born sculptor who worked chiefly in the UK where Ross's ashes were transferred to the tomb in 1950. The numerous spots on the tombstone are lipstick traces from admirers. ^[25]

The modernist angel depicted as a relief on the tomb was originally complete with male genitals which were broken off and kept as a paperweight by a succession of Père Lachaise Cemetery keepers; their current whereabouts are unknown. A sex organ, or primary sexual characteristic, as narrowly defined is any of the anatomical parts of the body which are involved in sexual reproduction and constitute Père Lachaise Cemetery (Cimetière du Père-Lachaise officially cimetière de l'Est, "East Cemetery" is the largest Cemetery in the city of Paris In the summer of 2000, intermedia artist Leon Johnson performed a forty minute ceremony entitled Re-membering Wilde in which a commissioned silver prosthesis was installed to replace the vandalised genitals. ^[26]

Modern popular culture

Wilde is an iconic figure in modern popular culture, both as a wit and as an archetype of gay identity. Such references to him include a Monty Python skit called "Oscar Wilde and Friends,"^[27], a Kids in the Hall sketch featuring Dave Foley as Wilde, a brief depiction in Todd Haynes' 1998 film Velvet Goldmine (where Wilde's persona is presented as a precursor to glam rock); Dorian, Will Self's 2004 reworking of Wilde's novel, set in 1981; and Melmoth, Dave Sim's comic book, which retells the story of Wilde's final months with the names and places slightly altered to fit the world of Cerebus the Aardvark. Monty Python (sometimes known as The Pythons) is the collective name of the six creators of Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British Television David Scott Foley (born January 4, 1963, in Etobicoke Ontario) is a Canadian actor best known for his work in The Kids in the Todd Haynes (born January 2, 1961, in Encino, California) is an award-winning American Film director. Velvet Goldmine is a 1998 film directed and co-written by Todd Haynes. Glam rock (also known as glitter rock) is a sub-genre of Rock music that developed in the UK in the post- Hippie early 1970s which was "performed by William Self (born 26 September, 1961) is an English Novelist, Reviewer and Columnist. David Victor Sim (born May 17 1956 in Hamilton, Ontario) is a Canadian Comic book Writer and Artist, best known as the A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative Cerebus the Aardvark, or simply Cerebus ( IPA: ˈsɛrəbʌs is an award-winning independent comic book, written and illustrated by In Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel Love in the Time of Cholera, the protagonists are mentioned to have seen a glimpse of Oscar Wilde while strolling through Paris. Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (born March 6 1927 is a Colombian Love in the Time of Cholera (El amor en los tiempos del cólera is a novel by Nobel Prize winning Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez He can be found as an influence to The Beatles on the cover of the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the British rock band The Beatles.

Many songs have alluded to Wilde or his works, including The Smiths' "Cemetry Gates" and British singer / songwriter James Blunt's "Tears and Rain" (which mentions Dorian Gray). The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982 James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount, 22 February 1974 is an English Acoustic / Folk rock Singer-songwriter whose debut album The Libertines sing about how nice it would be to be "Dorian Gray, just for a day" in their song "Narcissist" on their 2004 LP. The Libertines were an English Indie rock band Formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Pete Doherty (vocals/rhythm guitar and Carl Barât (vocals/lead The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published Novel written by Oscar Wilde, first appearing as the lead story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine Narcissism describes the trait of excessive Self-love, based on Self-image or Ego. The Pretenders paraphrase the famous quote "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars" in their song " Message of Love". The Pretenders are a British rock band The original band consisted of group founder and main Songwriter Chrissie Hynde ( lead vocals Mötley Crüe makes mention of Dorian Gray as well in the song "New Tattoo". Mötley Crüe ( IPA pronunciation: /'mɒtliː There is also a mention of Dorian Gray and "A picture in gray. . . " in the song "The Ocean" by U2 from their debut album Boy. " The Ocean " is the seventh track of U2 's debut album Boy. Boy is the debut album from Irish rock band U2, released October 20, 1980. The Rock Band, Savatage sings "I walk away, a Shadow of Dorian Grey" in the song "Tonight he grins again". Likewise, Darren Hayes's "The Future Holds a Lion's Heart" quotes ". Darren Stanley Hayes (born May 8, 1972) is an Australian Singer-songwriter. . . that dare not speak it's name" and admits his heart is "like The Picture of Dorian Gray". "The Long Voyage" from French producer Hector Zazou's 1994 album Chansons des mers froides, on which Suzanne Vega and John Cale recite lyrics based on Wilde's poem "Silhouettes". Hector Zazou ( July 11, 1948 — September 8, 2008) was a prolific French Composer and Record producer who has Chansons des mers froides ( French: "songs from the cold seas" is a 1994 album by French musician Hector Zazou. Suzanne Nadine Vega (born 11 July 1959 in Santa Monica, California) is an American Songwriter and Singer John Davies Cale (born March 9, 1942) better known as John Cale, is a Welsh Musician, Composer, Singer-songwriter "Resist", by Canadian rock group Rush, includes the line "I can resist everything except temptation," a quote from the play "Lady Windermere's Fan" by Wilde. Rush is a Canadian rock band originally formed in August 1968 in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, currently comprised of Marilyn Manson includes references to Wilde on the 2003 album The Golden Age of Grotesque, particularly the song "Mobscene". Marilyn Manson is an American Alternative metal band based in Los Angeles California. The Golden Age of Grotesque is the fifth full length album by Marilyn Manson released in 2003 " Mobscene " trademarked as " mOBSCENE " is the inaugural single taken from the 2003 album The Golden Age of Grotesque by Additionally, during the Perth show of his 2007-2008 Rape of the World tour on October 13, Manson dedicated his performance of "Mobscense" to Wilde, whose birthday was 3 days later. Rape of the World is a tour of Marilyn Manson in 2007-2008 from their album Eat Me Drink Me. Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969) better known by his Stage name Marilyn Manson, is an American Musician and The Wikipedia parody Uncyclopedia contains many fictional quotes attributed to him. ***************************************************************************************** * * ^[28][29]

Works

The bulk of Wilde's letters, manuscripts, and other material relating to his literary circle are housed at the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library. The William Andrews Clark Memorial Library ( Clark Library) the oldest building and one of twelve Libraries at the University of California Los Angeles ^[30][31] A number of Wilde's letters and manuscripts can also be found at The British Library, as well as public and private collections throughout Britain, the United States and France. The British Library ( BL) is the National library of the United Kingdom. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.

Poetry

• Ravenna (1878)
• Poems (1881)
• The Sphinx (1894)
• The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898)

Plays

• Vera; or, The Nihilists (1880)
• The Duchess of Padua (1883)
• Salomé (French version) (1893, first performed in Paris 1896)
• Lady Windermere's Fan (1892)
• A Woman of No Importance (1893)
• Salomé: A Tragedy in One Act: Translated from the French of Oscar Wilde by Lord Alfred Douglas with illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley (1894)
• An Ideal Husband (1895) (text)
• The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) (text)
• La Sainte Courtisane and A Florentine Tragedy Fragmentary. The Ballad of Reading Gaol is a famous poem by Oscar Wilde, written after his release from Reading prison on 19 May 1897. Vera or The Nihilists is a play by Oscar Wilde. It is a melodramatic Tragedy set in Russia. The Duchess of Padua is a play by Oscar Wilde: it is a melodramatic tragedy set in Padua and written in blank verse Salome (or in French: Salomé) is a Tragedy by Oscar Wilde.The original 1891 version of the play was in Lady Windermere's Fan A Play About a Good Woman is a four act Comedy by Oscar Wilde, first produced 22 February 1892 at the A Woman of No Importance is a play by Irish Playwright Oscar Wilde. Salome (or in French: Salomé) is a Tragedy by Oscar Wilde.The original 1891 version of the play was in Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas ( 22 October 1870 &ndash 20 March 1945) was a Poet, a Translator and a Prose Aubrey Vincent Beardsley ( August 21, 1872 &ndash March 16, 1898) was an influential English An Ideal Husband is an 1895 comedic stage play by Oscar Wilde which revolves around Blackmail and political corruption and touches on the themes The Importance of Being Earnest is a play by Oscar Wilde. It premiered on February 14, 1895 at the St A Florentine Tragedy is a fragment of a never-completed play by Oscar Wilde. First published 1908 in Methuen's Collected Works

(Dates are dates of first performance, which approximate better with the probable date of composition than dates of publication. )

Prose

• The Canterville Ghost (1887)
• The Happy Prince and Other Stories (1888, fairy tales) [4]
• The Decay Of Lying (First published in 1889, republished in Intentions, 1891)
• Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories (1891)
• Intentions (1891, critical dialogues and essays)
• The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891, Wilde's only novel)
• A House of Pomegranates (1891, fairy tales)
• The Soul of Man under Socialism (First published in the Pall Mall Gazette, 1891, first book publication 1904)
• De Profundis (1905)
• The Rise of Historical Criticism (published in incomplete form 1905 and completed form in 1908)
• The Letters of Oscar Wilde (1960) This was re-released in 2000, with letters uncovered since 1960, and new, detailed, footnotes by Merlin Holland. The Canterville Ghost is a popular 1887 novella by Oscar Wilde, widely adapted for the screen and stage The Happy Prince and Other Tales (also sometimes called The Happy Prince and Other Stories) is an 1888 collection of stories for children by Oscar The Decay Of Lying - An Observation is an essay by Oscar Wilde included in his collection of essays titled Intentions, published in 1891 Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories is collection of short semi-comic mystery stories that were written by Oscar Wilde and published in 1891 The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published Novel written by Oscar Wilde, first appearing as the lead story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine A House of Pomegranates is a collection of Fairy tales written by Oscar Wilde, that was published as a second collection for ''The Happy Prince and The Soul of Man under Socialism is an 1891 essay by Oscar Wilde in which he expounds a libertarian socialist worldview (first published in the Pall Mall Psalm 130 ( Greek numbering Psalm 129 traditionally referred to as De profundis, after its Latin incipit is one of the penitential psalms. The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde is a Book that contains over 1000 pages of letters written by Oscar Wilde.
• Teleny or The Reverse of the Medal (Paris, 1893) has been attributed to Wilde, but was more likely a combined effort by a several of Wilde's friends, which he may have edited.

Notes

Bibliography

Print

• Beckson, Karl. Karl E Beckson ( February 4 1926 - April 29 2008) was an American Author of numerous articles and sixteen books on The Oscar Wilde Encyclopedia. (AMS, 1998)
• Ellmann, Richard. Richard Ellmann ( March 15 1918 – May 13 1987) was a prominent American / British Literary critic and Biographer Oscar Wilde. (Vintage, 1988) ISBN 0-521-47987-8
• Holland, Merlin. The Wilde Album. (Fourth Estate, 1997) ISBN 1-85702-782-5
• Igoe, Vivien. A Literary Guide to Dublin. (Methuen, 1994) ISBN 0-413-69120-9
• Mason, Stuart [Christopher Millard]. Bibliography of Oscar Wilde. (Laurie, 1914; latest edition Oak Knoll Press, 1999) ISBN 1-578-98104-2
• McKenna, Neil. The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde. (Random House, 2004) ISBN 0-09-941545-3
• Raby, Peter (ed. ). The Cambridge Companion to Oscar Wilde. (CUP, 1997) ISBN 0-521-47987-8
• Tufescu, Florina. Oscar Wilde's Plagiarism: The Triumph of Art over Ego. (Irish Academic Press, 2008) ISBN 9780716529040
• Wilde, Oscar. The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde. (Collins, 2003) ISBN 0-00-714436-9
• Whittington-Egan, Molly. Such White Lillies: Frank Miles & Oscar Wilde (Rivendale Jan. 2008) ISBN 1-904201-09-1
• Wood, Julia: The Resurrection of Oscar Wilde; The Lutterworth Press 2007, Cambridge: ISBN 9780718830717

Online

• Oscar Wilde's brief biography and works
• Dissertation about the relationship between "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and Postmodernism
• 10 most popular misconceptions about Oscar Wilde
• King, Steve. "Wilde in America" from Today in Literature, captured November 12, 2004. Events 764 - Tibetan troops occupy Chang'an, the capital of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, for fifteen days "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again "
• Biblio.com ~ Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
• OSCHOLARS website and e-journals devoted to Wilde and his circles

Online texts

• Collected Works
• The Oscar Wilde Collection
• Online Books by Oscar Wilde
• Oscar Wilde Online The Works and Life of Oscar Wilde
• Illustrated Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde with original illustrations by Jessie M. King and Charles Robinson
• Vera; or, the Nihilists. The Modern Woman's Guide To Oscar Wilde. Retrieved on December 11, 2005.
• Selected Oscar Wilde Poems
• The Soul of Man Under Socialism
• "The Happy Prince" Creative Commons audio recording.
• Works by Oscar Wilde at Project Gutenberg
• Works by Oscar Wilde in audio format from LibriVox

External links

• Oscar Wilde – Standing Ovations. Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works LibriVox is a Digital library of free Public domain Audiobooks read by Volunteers The project started in August 2005 and as of 2008-09-14 Retrieved on 2008-01-15. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah 's reign
• The Oscar Wilde Society. Retrieved on 2008-01-15. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah 's reign
• Rev. Edmund Burke, C. P. (May 1961). Oscar Wilde: The Final Scene. poetrymagazines. co. uk. Retrieved on 2008-01-15. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah 's reign (Information concerning Wilde's conversion to Catholicism. )
• Douglas O. Linder (2007). Famous World Trials - The Trials of Oscar Wilde (transcripts). University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. Retrieved on 2008-01-15. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah 's reign
• Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde. Knitting Circle. Retrieved on 2008-01-15. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah 's reign (Includes information about Maggi Hambling's Wilde statue in London, and the controversy that has attended it. Maggi Hambling (born 23 October 1945 in Suffolk) is an English painter and sculptor. )
• Oscar Wilde and "art for art's sake". World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved on 2008-01-15. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah 's reign
• Record of Oscar Wilde's indictment and conviction. Old Bailey Online. Retrieved on 2008-05-21. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 878 - Syracuse Italy is captured by the Muslim sultan of Sicily.

Persondata
NAME	Wilde, Oscar
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Wilde, Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Irish writer
DATE OF BIRTH	16 October 1854
PLACE OF BIRTH	Dublin, Ireland
DATE OF DEATH	30 November 1900
PLACE OF DEATH	Paris, France

A writer is anyone who creates a written work although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally as well as those who have written in many different forms Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western Year 1854 ( MDCCCLIV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. Events 1700 - Battle of Narva — A Swedish army of 8500 men under Charles XII defeats Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city

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