Portal:University of Oxford/Selected biography/39

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was an Irish writer, poet, and prominent aesthete, remembered for his many epigrams, his plays, and the tragedy of his imprisonment and early death. Wilde proved himself to be an outstanding classicist, first at Trinity College, Dublin, then at Magdalen College, Oxford. After university, Wilde moved to London and into fashionable circles. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress, and glittering conversation, Wilde was one of the best known personalities of his day. He produced a series of dialogues and essays that developed his ideas about the supremacy of art. However, it was his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray that brought him more lasting recognition. Wilde produced four society comedies in the early 1890s, culminating in his masterpiece The Importance of Being Earnest in 1895. At the height of his fame, Wilde sued his lover's father for libel. After a series of trials, Wilde was convicted of gross indecency with other men and imprisoned for two years. In prison he wrote De Profundis, a long letter which discusses his spiritual journey through his trials. Upon his release he left immediately for France. There he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol, a long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life. He died destitute in Paris at the age of forty-six. (more...)