Preview

Oscar Wilde

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
496 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Oscar Wilde
Born on October 16, 1854 in Dublin, Irish writer Oscar Wilde is best known for the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray and the play The Importance of Being Earnest, as well as for his infamous arrest and imprisonment for being gay.
Beginning in 1888, while he was still serving as editor of Lady's World, Wilde entered a seven-year period of furious creativity, during which he produced nearly all of his great literary works. Around the same time that he was enjoying his greatest literary success, Wilde commenced an affair with a young man named Lord Alfred Douglas. Oscar Wilde was convicted on charges of gross indecency on May 25, 1895 and sentenced to two years in prison. He later died of meningitis on November 30, 1900 at the age of 46.

Born on October 16, 1854 in Dublin, Irish writer Oscar Wilde is best known for the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray and the play The Importance of Being Earnest, as well as for his infamous arrest and imprisonment for being gay.
Beginning in 1888, while he was still serving as editor of Lady's World, Wilde entered a seven-year period of furious creativity, during which he produced nearly all of his great literary works. Around the same time that he was enjoying his greatest literary success, Wilde commenced an affair with a young man named Lord Alfred Douglas. Oscar Wilde was convicted on charges of gross indecency on May 25, 1895 and sentenced to two years in prison. He later died of meningitis on November 30, 1900 at the age of 46.

Born on October 16, 1854 in Dublin, Irish writer Oscar Wilde is best known for the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray and the play The Importance of Being Earnest, as well as for his infamous arrest and imprisonment for being gay.
Beginning in 1888, while he was still serving as editor of Lady's World, Wilde entered a seven-year period of furious creativity, during which he produced nearly all of his great literary works. Around the same time that he was enjoying his greatest literary

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Author: Oscar Wilde Date of Publication: December, 1898 Genre: Satire, Comedy of Manners Historical information about the period of publications: Wilde originally wrote the play during the summer of 1894 in Worthing, England. Although it was performed the following year, it wasn’t published until 1898 due to Wilde’s tainted reputation and bankruptcy. Wilde had prosecuted the Marquis of Queensbury, the father of his male lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, for publicly harassing him and calling him a “posing sodomite”.…

    • 1467 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oscar Wilde is known as a comedic playwright to much of the world, although his plays address issues with contemporary society in a nonchalant way by turning these issues into a joke. In The Importance Of Being Earnest Wilde uses irony and mockery to ridicule the narcissistic attitude of the victorian aristocracy as well as to expose their hypocrisy, ridiculous social norms, and their sheer stupidity that results in a myriad of silly and funny situations.…

    • 201 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the year of 1980, Oscar Wilde published his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, before he reached his height of fame. The first edition of his book appeared in the summer edition of Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine. Although, many criticized the novel as being scandalous and immoral. Wilde, being disappointed with its outcome, revised the novel in 1891, adding a preface and six new chapters. One of the main themes throughout this book would be the purpose of art, Wilde believed art did not serve any other purpose than being beautiful. He adopted this attitude from old Victorian England, where the most popular belief stated that art was not only a figure of morality but also had the means of enforcing it. In addition, two other contributing…

    • 835 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Even though his last years were horrible for him, being sent to prison and criticized by lots of people because of one of his own novels, one can’t deny that Oscar Wilde lived a really interesting life. His wittiness -shown in his numerous epigrams, like «The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about»-, sense of humor, vividness and way of thinking made him one of the most interesting people of his time, and also in the history of the literature. His only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, received terrible reviews from critics and from the society in the moment it was first published, mostly due to its homosexual content (during the trials where he was judged, the book was used as an evidence to prove his homosexuality). It is considered a Gothic novel and one where religion is a prominent theme, with some characters wondering about it and comparing Anglicanism with Catholicism.…

    • 2014 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    His characters learn their moral lessons—that selfishness and vanity are corruption, that Victorian morality is hypocritical and empty, and that only a balanced life can lead to true moral satisfaction—through the individual situations with which they are presented and through the different ways in which they deal with those situations. Ultimately, the genius of these works lies in the fact that though they are so different, it is only when considering them together that Wilde’s full criticism of Victorian society in his writing can be…

    • 995 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The famous writer, Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde, was born October 16, 1854 and died…

    • 3260 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Oscar Wilde's first and only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, was written in 1890 and was first published in the Lippincott’s monthly magazine. Published before Wilde would reach the height of his career through his critically acclaimed plays, The Picture Of Dorian Gray was received to much scandal and uproar, many claiming the book was immoral. The gothic tale tells the exploits of Dorian Gray, a young man who is the subject of a painting by Basil Hallward. In one of his sitting, he meets Lord Henry who tells Dorian that only things worth pursuing in life is beauty and pleasure. These words have a profound affect on Dorian, realizing he will once grow old and his beauty will fade, he wishes that he could sell his soul in order that the portrait would grow old and he would remain young and beautiful forever. Dorian wish is granted which pushes him into the world of immorality and sin. Every corrupt action shows itself as a mark or sign of aging on the Portrait.…

    • 4180 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel written by Oscar Wilde in 1890. The book was written during the Victorian era, a period of time that brought Britain several changes concerning technology, science, culture, religion and others. The Picture of Dorian Gray talks about a character called Dorian Gray, who is a young and handsome man that owned a portrait of himself. An artist and friend called Basil Hallward painted it. The artwork was different from a normal painting. It showed Dorian’s physical changes through years while his physical aspects in real life were always the same without any change. Every time Dorian saw the painting, he saw his true self rather than the one he showed to society. Basil introduced Dorian to Lord Henry Wotton,…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Picture of Dorian Gray was written by Oscar Wilde in 1891, who himself was a key proponent of the aesthetic movement created by Walter Pater. Within the novel Wilde shows blatant contradictions and struggles within his characters, particularly those of the upper echelons of British society. Wilde parodies with great success main characters such as Lord and Henry and later on Dorian, yet also lesser characters, such as Lord Fermor.…

    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Atlantic Ocean Rabbit Run

    • 1496 Words
    • 6 Pages

    During childhood, Wilde was known for his passion for Roman and Greek studies, as well as his literary dexterity. Upon graduating in 1871, Wilde was awarded the Royal School Scholarship to attend Trinity College in Dublin. By the end of his first year he placed first in the school's classics examination and received the college's Foundation Scholarship, the highest honor awarded to undergraduates. After receiving yet another scholarship, Wilde went on to study at Oxford University, where he began his first attempts at creative writing. In 1888, Wilde would find employment as a magazine editor while simultaneously publishing his most renowned works. In 1891, he published his first and only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Wilde was harshly criticized for the novel’s perceived lack of morality. However, Wilde vehemently defended his work, stating "vice and virtue are to the artist materials for an art." At the same time Wilde was basking in his success, he was also involved in an affair with a young man named Lord Alfred Douglas. Wilde was tried and convicted for “gross indecency”, and was sentenced to two years in prison. After his release from prison, Wilde was left physically and emotionally depleted, and moved to France in exile. It would be in Paris, France that meningitis would end Wilde’s life at the age of 46 (Biography…

    • 1496 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) also faces allegations of possible homosexuality. His novel The Picture of Dorian Gray causes scholars to speculate about his attraction to men. This novel is about beautiful, wealthy, and young Dorian Gray who wishes to remain young forever. He meets artist Basil Hallward who quickly becomes obsessed with Gray. Hallward’s portrait of Gray is what keeps him young. He then meets Lord Henry who pushes Gray live his life selfishly. Gray falls in love with actress Sibyl Vane who quits her acting career for him. He broke their engagement, which led her to kill herself. Gray reunites with Hallward who begs him to change his lifestyle, but Gray refused and killed Hallward. He finally realizes he needs to change, and his decision to repent is reflected in his portrait. In a bout of rage, he attempts to destroy the painting that shows him as a beautiful young man. He ends up killing himself, and his servants find him dead next to the painting as an old man. Wilde’s decision to write so fondly of a beautiful young man raised suspicions amongst his peers who took him to court. “There are a number of direct parallels between Dorian Gray and those [Shakespeare’s homoerotic sonnets] poems. Wilde himself pointed this out. When questioned about the homoeroticism of the novel during his first trial, he told the court: "The whole idea was borrowed from Shakespeare, I regret to say — yes,…

    • 1291 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oscar Wilde, author of The Picture of Dorian Gray, was an Irish author who lived from October 16, 1854 until his death, at the age of 46, on November 30, 1900. He attended the Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland and the Magdalene College in Oxford, England. Mr. Wilde was an active member of the aestheticism literary movement, during his day, although he lived during the Victorian Era. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, there are many passages or episodes that hold key meanings in the book as a whole, and without them; a large amount of the underlying tones and themes would be lost. In chapter two, there is a very significant key passage that has to do with the roles of Lord Henry and Dorian Gray and how they are going to affect each other. The key passage pushes Lord Henry under the role of the victimizer and Dorian Gray as the victim.…

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At first glance, Oscar Wilde’s works The Picture of Dorian Gray, Lady Windermere’s Fan, and The Importance of Being Earnest seem quite disparate. The first is horror, while the latter two are comedies; the first is a novel, while the latter two are plays; the list of the differences between the works could continue. The striking thing about these works however, is their unified theme. Wilde uses the symbolism in each work—images of self in The Picture of Dorian Gray, the fan in Lady Windermere’s Fan, and the use of names in The Importance of Being Earnest—to criticize Victorian society.…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oscar wilde was born October 16,1854 in Dublin, Ireland, and died November 30,1900 in Paris, France. Oscar WIlde was a popular figure in late victorian England.…

    • 919 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oscar Wilde was an Irish playwright and writer known primarily for his comedies and satires. His play, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” is one of his most famous satires about Victorian society. There are two different types of satire. Horatian satire is lighthearted and mocks human flaws, and Juvenalian satire which is bitter and negative and attacks an institution. In this piece Wilde uses Horatian satire to mock the values and morals of the upper-class in Victorian society.…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays