Oscar Wilde, an Irish playwright, author, and poet, was born on October 16, 1854. He was the second of three children and was born to a surgeon father, Sir William Wilde, and a writer mother, Jane Wilde, to whom Oscar was very close to. Jane was a poet, translator, and public intellectual, acting as a political journalist in Ireland in 1848.
Wilde attended Trinity College, Dublin, where he studied classics. He then attended Magdalen College, Oxford University, where he focused on poetry and literature. He did not finish his schooling at Oxford and instead moved to London.
His first play, Vera, or the Nihilists, opened in New York in 1883. The play was not well-received and has not been staged since its premiere, except for a 2014 adaptation of the play. (Vera, or the Nihilists will be discussed in a separate post, as it is one of my favorite plays and I think it is a shame it has been dismissed by critics).
Despite the failure of Vera, or the Nihilists, Wilde found success in his next play, Lady Windemere’s Fan, which premiered in 1892. Previously, Wilde published his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, which would become one of his most famous works (and personally, my favorite book). Wilde would further find success with plays such as, Salomé, An Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest.
Wilde became known as a socialist and was often the subject of cartoons. In 1887, he became the editor of The Lady’s World magazine, to which he renamed, The Woman’s World. As editor, he kept the articles about fashion and art, but he also added articles pertaining to parenting, culture, and politics. Wilde said that he wanted the magazine to be “…an organ for the expression of woman’s opinions on all subjects of literature, art, and modern life, and yet it should be a magazine that men could read with pleasure, and consider it a privilege to contribute to.” (Wilde’s focus on giving women an avenue to express their opinions can be directly correlated to the influence of his mother, who was a strong woman).
Wilde married Constance Lloyd in 1884. They had two sons named Cyril, born in 1885, and Vyvyan, born in 1886. (As an avid reader of Wilde’s works, I was unaware myself that he married and had children). In 1891, Wilde began an affair with Lord Alfred ‘Bosie’ Douglas, the third son of John Douglas, the Marquess of Queensberry. Wilde and Bosie remained lovers until Wilde’s arrest in 1895.
In 1895, Bosie’s father, John Douglas, left a note for Wilde at a dining club, in which he accused Wilde of being a sodomite. Despite pressure from his friends not to, Wilde sued Douglas for criminal libel. (I found this fact to be very interesting, as I knew Wilde had been tried and arrested for being gay, but I did not know he had sued for criminal libel, which eventually led to his imprisonment).
During his defense, Douglas argued that Wilde had solicited twelve boys to commit sodomy. Evidence of Wilde’s gifts to young men were produced during the defense. Due to the substantial evidence proving Wilde’s guilt, his lawyer withdrew the suit. The Crown then issued a warrant for Wilde’s arrest on gross indecency charges (homosexuality was a criminal offense), to which Wilde pleaded not guilty.
During Wilde’s trial, male witnesses were brought to testify against him, revealing to the court their sexual relationships with Wilde. Wilde’s book, The Picture of Dorian Gray, was also used against Wilde, with the prosecution pointing to its homosexual themes. Bosie did not help Wilde during his trial and eventually abandoned him when Wilde was sent to prison.
Wilde was granted a mistrial, but by the end of his second trial he was sentenced to two years of prison and hard labor. Wilde served his two-year sentence, and upon his release, he lived out his final years in exile. He died in 1900 from cerebral meningitis at the age of 45. He was buried in Paris.
If you are looking to read Oscar Wilde’s works, which I suggest you do, I recommend reading Vera, or the Nihilists (play), The Importance of Being Earnest (play), The Picture of Dorian Gray (novel), and The Nightingale and the Rose (short story). Since Wilde is known for his witty humor, when reading his plays, I suggest reading his stage directions carefully, as these are often very funny (you could probably write a whole play just containing his stage directions).
[Images of an Oscar Wilde statue in London; LB Playwright in middle]
December 19, 2018
Works Cited
*Note: Sources do vary regarding premiere dates for Wilde's plays*
“History - Historic Figures: Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900).” BBC, BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/wilde_oscar.shtml.
“Oscar Wilde Chronology.” The Victorian Web, www.victorianweb.org/authors/wilde/wildetl.html.
“Oscar Wilde Is Sent to Prison for Indecency.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/oscar-wilde-is-sent-to-prison-for-indecency.
“Oscar Wilde Timeline.” World History Project, worldhistoryproject.org/topics/oscar-wilde.
O'Sullivan, Emer. “The Boundless Love of Jane Wilde, Oscar Wilde's Mother.” Signature Reads, Signature Reads, 5 Oct. 2016, www.signature-reads.com/2016/10/the-boundless-love-of-jane-wilde-oscar-wildes-mother/.
Wilson, Jennifer. “When Oscar Wilde Colluded with the Russians.” The Paris Review, 18 Oct. 2017, www.theparisreview.org/blog/2017/10/18/oscar-wilde-colluded-russians/.
Sources for Images
Collins Complete Works of Oscar Wilde, Centenary Edition
https://worldhistoryproject.org/1887/oscar-wilde-is-appointed-editor-of-the-ladys-world
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jan/15/wildes-women-how-oscar-wilde-was-shaped-by-the-women-he-knew-eleanor-fitzsimons-review
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