Biography of Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in 1854. William Wilde, his father, was a doctor, specialist in disease of the eye and ear. Lady Jane Francesca Wilde, his mother, was a poet, journalist and well-known intellectuals in Dublin, Ireland. Although Wilde’s were not of the aristocracy, they were nonetheless prosperous and sent Oscar to the finest schools as he grew up. His mother was a best friend for him, as Oscar seems especially influenced by his mother, a brilliantly humorous storyteller, and he was frequently invited while still a child to participate in their intellectual circle of friends (Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 23, page 596).
In 1871, Oscar attended the Portora Royal School at Enniskillen, where Oscar excelled at studying the classics, obtaining top prize his last two years, and also earning a second prize in drawing. In 1871, Oscar was awarded by the Royal School Scholarship to attend Trinity College in Dublin. Again, he did particularly well in his classics courses, placing first in his examinations in 1872 and earning the highest honor the college could give on an undergraduate, a Foundation Scholarship. In 1874, Oscar reached his successes at Trinity with two final achievements. He won the college's Berkeley Gold Medal for Greek and was awarded a Demyship scholarship to Magdalen College in Oxford. (http://www.literature-web.net/wilde, accessed on April 19th 2005)
Oscar's father died on April 19, 1876, leaving the family financially strapped. Henry, William's eldest son, take over the wild’s role. He paid the finance on the family's house and supported them until his sudden death in 1877. Meanwhile, Oscar continued to do well at Oxford. He was awarded the Newdigate prize for his poem, Ravenna, and a First Class in both his "Mods" and "Greats" by his examiners. After graduation, Oscar moved to London to live with his friend Frank Miles, a popular high society portrait painter. In 1881, he published his first collection of poetry. Poems received mixed reviews by critics, but helped to move Oscar's writing career along, and was a well-known enough entity to be satirized by a Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera. He moved to the avant-garde neighborhood of Chelsea in London (Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 23, page 596).
In December 1881, Oscar sailed for New York to travel across the United States and carry a series of lectures on aesthetics. The 50-lecture tour was originally scheduled to last four months, but extended to nearly a year, with over 140 lectures given in 260 days. In between lectures he made time to meet with Henry Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes and Walt Whitman. He also arranged for his play, Vera, and then was staged in New York the following year. When he returned from America, Oscar spent three months in Paris writing a blank-verse tragedy that had been commissioned by the actress Mary Anderson. When he sent it to her, however, she turned it down. He then started out on a lecture tour of Britain and Ireland (Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 23, page 596).
In 1884, Oscar married a shy and rich Irishwoman, Constance Lloyd. She was a skilled woman who could speak several European languages and had an outspoken, independent mind. After they had married, they moved in to a posh London house. Their marriage was awarded two children, Cyril in 1885 and Vyvyan in 1886. For supporting Oscar’s family, he briefly worked at The Woman's World magazine from 1887-1889, and he wrote a collection of fairy tales and more essays championing the Aesthetic movement. In the 1890s, he published his two works of children’s stories, The happy Prince And Other Tales (1888) and The House of Pomegranates (1892). In 1890, he also published his first and only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, a Faustian tale about beauty and youth. In February 1892 he opened his first play, Lady Windermere's Fan. The other plays such as Salome (1892), A Woman of No Importance (1893), An Ideal Husband (1895), and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) were his works which finally made him well-known as a playwright. His last play, The Importance of Being Earnest, is also considered his greatest and the modern shining example of the comedy of manners (http://www.cmgww.com/historic/wilde/, accessed on April 19th 2005).
However, by now Wilde was infatuated with the younger, beautiful poet Lord Alfred Douglas (known as "Bosie"), and he was not shy about flaunting their sexual relationship. Douglas's father, the Marquess of Queensbury, accused Wilde of sodomy. Wilde, never one to back down from a fight, charged Queensbury with slander. However, Queensbury had several of Wilde's letters to Bosie and other incriminating evidence as well. Alongside the provocative material in Wilde's work, the writer was found guilty of homosexuality in a second trial and sentenced to two years of hard labor (Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 23, page 596).
In 1897, while in prison, Wilde wrote De Profundis, an examination of his newfound spirituality. After his release, he moved to France under an assumed name. He wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol in 1898 and published two letters on the poor conditions of prison; one of the letters helped reform a law to prevent children from imprisonment. His new life in France, however, was lonely, impoverished, and humiliating. Wilde died in 1900 at the age of 46 from Meningitis, in a Paris hotel room. Nevertheless, he retained his epigrammatic wit until his last breath; he is rumored to have said in the drab hotel room, "My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One of us has to go." Critical and popular attention to Wilde has experienced a great resurgence; numerous films based on his plays and life have delighted audiences, while his writings remain a wellspring of witty and subtle thought on aestheticism, morality, and society (Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 23, page 596).
In 1871, Oscar attended the Portora Royal School at Enniskillen, where Oscar excelled at studying the classics, obtaining top prize his last two years, and also earning a second prize in drawing. In 1871, Oscar was awarded by the Royal School Scholarship to attend Trinity College in Dublin. Again, he did particularly well in his classics courses, placing first in his examinations in 1872 and earning the highest honor the college could give on an undergraduate, a Foundation Scholarship. In 1874, Oscar reached his successes at Trinity with two final achievements. He won the college's Berkeley Gold Medal for Greek and was awarded a Demyship scholarship to Magdalen College in Oxford. (http://www.literature-web.net/wilde, accessed on April 19th 2005)
Oscar's father died on April 19, 1876, leaving the family financially strapped. Henry, William's eldest son, take over the wild’s role. He paid the finance on the family's house and supported them until his sudden death in 1877. Meanwhile, Oscar continued to do well at Oxford. He was awarded the Newdigate prize for his poem, Ravenna, and a First Class in both his "Mods" and "Greats" by his examiners. After graduation, Oscar moved to London to live with his friend Frank Miles, a popular high society portrait painter. In 1881, he published his first collection of poetry. Poems received mixed reviews by critics, but helped to move Oscar's writing career along, and was a well-known enough entity to be satirized by a Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera. He moved to the avant-garde neighborhood of Chelsea in London (Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 23, page 596).
In December 1881, Oscar sailed for New York to travel across the United States and carry a series of lectures on aesthetics. The 50-lecture tour was originally scheduled to last four months, but extended to nearly a year, with over 140 lectures given in 260 days. In between lectures he made time to meet with Henry Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes and Walt Whitman. He also arranged for his play, Vera, and then was staged in New York the following year. When he returned from America, Oscar spent three months in Paris writing a blank-verse tragedy that had been commissioned by the actress Mary Anderson. When he sent it to her, however, she turned it down. He then started out on a lecture tour of Britain and Ireland (Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 23, page 596).
In 1884, Oscar married a shy and rich Irishwoman, Constance Lloyd. She was a skilled woman who could speak several European languages and had an outspoken, independent mind. After they had married, they moved in to a posh London house. Their marriage was awarded two children, Cyril in 1885 and Vyvyan in 1886. For supporting Oscar’s family, he briefly worked at The Woman's World magazine from 1887-1889, and he wrote a collection of fairy tales and more essays championing the Aesthetic movement. In the 1890s, he published his two works of children’s stories, The happy Prince And Other Tales (1888) and The House of Pomegranates (1892). In 1890, he also published his first and only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, a Faustian tale about beauty and youth. In February 1892 he opened his first play, Lady Windermere's Fan. The other plays such as Salome (1892), A Woman of No Importance (1893), An Ideal Husband (1895), and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) were his works which finally made him well-known as a playwright. His last play, The Importance of Being Earnest, is also considered his greatest and the modern shining example of the comedy of manners (http://www.cmgww.com/historic/wilde/, accessed on April 19th 2005).
However, by now Wilde was infatuated with the younger, beautiful poet Lord Alfred Douglas (known as "Bosie"), and he was not shy about flaunting their sexual relationship. Douglas's father, the Marquess of Queensbury, accused Wilde of sodomy. Wilde, never one to back down from a fight, charged Queensbury with slander. However, Queensbury had several of Wilde's letters to Bosie and other incriminating evidence as well. Alongside the provocative material in Wilde's work, the writer was found guilty of homosexuality in a second trial and sentenced to two years of hard labor (Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 23, page 596).
In 1897, while in prison, Wilde wrote De Profundis, an examination of his newfound spirituality. After his release, he moved to France under an assumed name. He wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol in 1898 and published two letters on the poor conditions of prison; one of the letters helped reform a law to prevent children from imprisonment. His new life in France, however, was lonely, impoverished, and humiliating. Wilde died in 1900 at the age of 46 from Meningitis, in a Paris hotel room. Nevertheless, he retained his epigrammatic wit until his last breath; he is rumored to have said in the drab hotel room, "My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One of us has to go." Critical and popular attention to Wilde has experienced a great resurgence; numerous films based on his plays and life have delighted audiences, while his writings remain a wellspring of witty and subtle thought on aestheticism, morality, and society (Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 23, page 596).