Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde is one of the most popular and influential writers of the Victorian era. He wrote plays, poetry, essays and novels, such as Lady Windermere’s Fan, The Picture of Dorian Gray, An Ideal Husband, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Salomé. He was a brilliant conversationalist as well as a flamboyant figure in society, a man of wit and humour, who was unafraid of speaking his mind. Wilde’s works have a timeless quality and his characters, vivid and memorable.
Wilde’s life was full of tumult, conflict and controversy. He was born in Dublin in 1854, to a father who was admired as a leading surgeon, and a mother who was considered a renowned author and poet. His youth was largely spent living between Dublin and London, surrounded by the elite of literature. At the age of twenty-five, he married Constance Lloyd and had two sons with her. After his marriage, Wilde began to pen some of his best-known works and also criticize Victorian society’s rigid conventions on ideas such as love and desire. His views on such matters were revolutionary for the time and were not always welcomed.
Wilde was an outspoken advocate for the movement for homosexual rights and he famously had a homosexual affair with the aristocrat Lord Alfred Douglas. In 1895, Wilde and Lord Douglas were charged with gross indecency and Wilde was sentenced to two years of hard labour, effectively ruining his public reputation. Following his release, Wilde left England and travelled throughout Europe, where he wrote his spiritual autobiography, The Ballad of Reading Gaol.
After Wilde’s death in 1900, his works began to gain recognition outside of the artistic community and are now regarded as some of the greatest writing of the Victorian era. The passionate and powerful expression of Wilde’s writing, the bold challenge of traditional conventions and his outspoken advocacy for equality and freedom of speech have made him an enduring literary figure. His impressive body of work, comedic wit and intoxicating subversion of traditional standards continue to influence and inspire modern authors, poets and even activists around the globe.
Oscar Wilde’s Plays
Oscar Wilde wrote more than a dozen plays, including Salomé, Lady Windermere’s Fan, The Importance of Being Earnest, and A Woman of No Importance. His plays have been performed on stages all around the world, and they often explore critical topics such as gender, class, morality and societal conventions. They contain a combination of satire, satire and genuine emotion, and are notable for their sharp wit and humour. Wilde’s plays are typically set in upper-class English society and often focus on the relationships between men, women and the conventions of society.
Wilde’s plays often subvert gender roles. In The Importance of Being Earnest, two men, Jack and Algernon, create identities for themselves to escape from their upper-class obligations. Lady Windermere’s Fan also examines gender roles as Lady Windermere must choose between her husband and her lover. Wilde also examines class distinctions in his plays, as seen in Lady Windermere’s Fan where Lady Windermere discovers her husband’s indiscretions with a woman of the lower classes.
In the play Salomé, Wilde challenges both gender and cultural roles as Salomé proclaims her own identity in a world run by men. Salomé’s actions challenge the traditional view of women as passive, powerless and subservient. Through his playful use of language and clever reversals of convention, Wilde often forces his characters to confront issues of morality in a world governed by oppressive social orders.
Oscar Wilde’s Poetry
Oscar Wilde wrote several volumes of poetry throughout his life, including The Ballad of Reading Gaol, which was published in 1898. His poems were often highly personal and dealt with his own emotions. These works prompted criticism from the Victorian establishment for their frank exploration of the inner life and their use of unconventional language and imagery.
Two of Wilde’s most famous poem collections include The Sphinx and Poems in Prose. The themes in these works include love and loss, mortality and immortality, and the beauty of nature and the human form. Through his use of vivid imagery and poetic devices such as rhythm, metre and alliteration, Wilde departed from the high-mindedness of much of the poetry of the time to embrace themes far closer to ordinary human experience.
Wilde’s poems critique the Victorian moral code and often interrogate the idea of living a life of restraint. He celebrated beauty and life in his poetry and his works have often been seen has having a decadent tone, particularly in works such as The Harlot’s House and The Burden of Itys. These poems explore the idea of sexual freedom and the transgressions of Victorian taboos, such as the lines in The Harlot’s House, “We are the young who love and shrink not, /And dare to keep alive a name by deeds”.
Oscar Wilde’s Novels
Oscar Wilde wrote two novels, the most famous being The Picture of Dorian Gray. Written in 1890, the story follows a young man, Dorian Gray, who trades his soul in exchange for youth and beauty. The novel was controversial in its time due to its exploration of themes such as secrecy, power, hedonism and the subversion of traditional standards. Wilde uses Dorian’s journey to explore the dangers of obsession and the pursuit of beauty above all else.
Wilde’s second novel, The Importance of Being Earnest, is widely considered one of the greatest comedies of all time. First staged in 1895, the play features two young men, Jack and Algernon, pretending to be people they are not so they can escape the strict conventions of Victorian society. Through his comical dialogue and witty wordplay, Wilde challenges the restrictive roles of women and men in Victorian society and uses irony to mock the upper classes.
Oscar Wilde’s Essays
Oscar Wilde wrote several essays including 1888’s ‘The Soul of Man Under Socialism’ and 1899’s ‘The Critic as Artist’. In these works, he explored the freedom of individual expression and the power of art, ideas which were still considered rather daring in Victorian society. He argued that society should be built around individual liberty and the value of art for its own sake, rather than for the glory of the state.
In his essay The Soul of Man Under Socialism, Wilde argued for the abolition of private property and for leisure for all as a means of expanding individuals’ intellectual, artistic and moral capabilities. He saw socialism as a system more consistent with individual liberty and creativity, and argued that “unchecked capitalist competition leads to other forms of degradation and demoralization.”
In The Critic as Artist, Wilde argued that criticism should be creative and that it was the critic’s job to explain the meaning of the work, rather than simply just judge it. He argued that criticism could elucidate and challenge the ideas at the heart of a work. He further explored the idea that criticism should be an art in itself, with the critic as an artist in their own right.
Oscar Wilde’s Impact
Oscar Wilde was one of the most influential literary figures of the Victorian era. He was an author, poet and playwright whose works have been adapted, performed, and studied all around the world. His charismatic wit and outspokenness in daringly challenging conventions have continued to inspire future authors and activists.
Wilde’s works have been instrumental in changing attitudes towards gender, class and sexuality. His characters often subvert traditional gender roles and challenge established norms. Through his brilliant use of satire and wit, he was able to open people’s minds and encourage them to question their own prejudices.
Wilde’s works are also seen as important cultural documents, as they allow us to witness the shifting values of Victorian society. He wrote openly and honestly about what it was to be an individual in the late 19th century, with all its struggles and constraints, and this has resonated with generations of readers. Wilde’s emphatic works celebrate the power of individual freedom, intellectual curiosity and artistic expression, encouraging generations of readers to follow the lead of his timeless writing.
Oscar Wilde’s Legacy
Oscar Wilde’s works continue to be performed, studied and admired today, impacting people all around the world. His plays in particular have been interpreted in different ways and adapted for new contexts, allowing people to experience and explore his works in new and innovative ways.
Wilde’s works and life have inspired artists in a number of ways, from film and literature adaptations to paintings and audio plays. His writings have transcended culture, generation and genre, and he is seen as a revolutionary, avant-garde figure in the world of literature. Wilde’s legacy has been further strengthened by the artistic movements and revolutions he helped to create and aided, such as the Nouveau Roman or New Novel and Theatre of the Absurd.
Wilde’s writing and persona continue to capture people’s imaginations, and his works remain as popular today as ever. He remains one of the most prominent figures of the Victorian-era, his witty words and passionate declarations still echoing in the minds of readers more than a hundred years on.
