Oscar Wilde

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Oscar Wilde rose to become the toast of London–appreciated not only for his plays, Lady Windemere’s Fan, The Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest, and his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, but for his grace, wit, and charm.

And then at the height of his success his star fell. On trial at the Old Bailey, he was convicted of indecent behaviour and sentenced to two years of hard labour, which ultimately broke his spirit and heart. Though he wrote two last pieces, now classics–De Profundis and The Ballad of Reading Gaol, Wilde also said ‘I wrote when I did not know life; now that I do know the meaning of life, I have no more to write. Life cannot be written, life can only be lived–I have lived.’

One Wilde biographer, Richard Ellman, wrote, ‘he was conducting, in the most civilized way, an anatomy of his society, and a radical reconsideration of its ethics.’ But art and life were for Wilde intertwined, and he did not fit the proper Victorian mold. Wilde’s career as writer was tied up with his flamboyant personality and lifestyle. Oscar Finegal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was born on 16th October 1854 at 21 Westland Row in Dublin. His parents were Sir William Wilde, a successful aural surgeon and writer; and Jane Francesco Elgee, who translated and wrote poetry and called herself ‘the voice in poetry of all the people in Ireland.’ Oscar had two siblings–an older brother named Willie, and a sister, Isola, born when Oscar was two.

Isola especially seems to have been a major influence in his life. His little blond sister died at age 10, and he never really got over that loss. After his death, an envelope was found with the lines, ‘My Isola’s Hair’ and ‘She is not dead but sleepeth.’

Oscar Wilde poses for a photo by Napoleon Sarony in 1882. (Library of Congress)

Oscar Wilde grew up in a household constantly full of Dublin’s artists and intellectuals. His mother regularly held a salon, and there artists, writers, intellectuals and members of the medical profession gathered.

When Oscar was ready for college he went on scholarship to Trinity College, the Protestant College in Dublin, where he excelled in Greek.

With another scholarship he went to Oxford in 1874 and studied with John Ruskin, yet disagreed with Ruskin’s belief that art should be infused with a moral purpose. Oscar grew to love beauty, and art for art’s sake. He was influenced by Keats and the idea that beauty is truth and truth beauty. He wrote, ‘Love art for its own sake, and then all things that you need will be added to you.’

While at Oxford, Oscar wrote to a friend, saying ‘God knows, I won’t be an Oxford don anyhow, I’ll be a poet, a writer, a dramatist. Somehow or other I’ll be famous, and if not famous, I’ll be notorious.’ And indeed, Wilde’s reputation as an eccentric, a wit, and an apostle of Aestheticism quickly grew. At Oxford, he began to write reviews of London art exhibits. In 1880 he wrote his first play, Vera, though it was not performed. The following year, he published his collected poems at his own expense. They elicited a somewhat hostile reaction from critics, but they had popular appeal and went into five editions.

Interest in Wilde spread across the ocean to America. Miss Mary Anderson, a New York actress, asked him to write a play for her. He began a five-act tragedy that developed into The Duchess of Padua. Soon after, he was invited to come to America himself to lecture on Aesthetics. On his arrival he told the customs agent, ‘I have nothing to declare but my genius.’

When Wilde returned from America he went to Paris. In France he met Victor Hugo, Paul Verlaine, Mallarme, Toulouse Lautrec, Degas, and Pissaro.

Wilde attracted attention from the ladies wherever he went, and often returned the favour. He fell for a girl for the first time when he met Florence Balcombe and gave her a cross inscribed with his name. He also did a delicate pencil sketch of her, showing a sweet, wistful look. Florence later married Bram Stoker, author of Dracula. Wilde was later smitten with the actress Lillie Langtry.

On 29th May 1884 he married Constance Mary Lloyd, daughter of an Irish barrister living in London. The two made their home in Chelsea at No. 16 Tite Street. Wilde took a job as a book reviewer for the Pall Mall Gazette. He had little money but quite a reputation as a conversationalist. Their first son, Cyril, was born in 1885, followed the next year by another, Vyvyan. Wilde adored his children and spent hours playing with them.

Tags: British Heritage, Historical Figures, People, Social History

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