1854: Born in Dublin
1900: Died of cerebral meningitis
1900: Died of cerebral meningitis
1871-79: Attends Trinity College and Oxford
1881: Publishes his first volume of verse, Poems
1884: Marries Constance Lloyd; she has financial resources
1890: Serializes The Picture of Dorian Gray
1894: Writes The Importance of Being Earnest
In 1895 Wilde flaunts his friendship with Lord Alfred Douglas, drawing public criticism from Lord Douglas's father. Wilde sues for libel. Incriminating evidence that comes to light in cross-examination leads to Wilde's arrest for homosexual offenses/sodomy. After a hung jury on his first trial, Wilde is found guilty in a second trial. The sentence is two years of hard labor. He is bankrupted. In 1897 on his release from prison, Wilde goes into exile, where he lives under an alias, Sebastian Melmoth.
3 comments:
This guy must have been an interesting character if he thought this piece of work was funny. I see the irony and stupidity of the all the lying and how unnecessary almost everything is but I didn't find this funny. But now after reading that last sentence, why do we find Anchorman, Napolean Dynamite and Superbad soo funny? Everything in them isn't necessary either. So I retract my first sentence. Although it wasn't funny to me, he was on to something and it wasn't until the talent of Will Ferrell picked up on Wilde's style that its true comedy came to light!
I think his life story serves as an example for how much times have changed. His prosecution for being homosexual was to a shocking extent, with detectives hired to monitor him and male prostitutes used to testify against him in court. Oscar Wilde had actually died before his controversial partner’s marriage to the heiress Olive Custance. The two had one son and nine years later Douglas became a Catholic. It seems as though Douglas was always less willing to be openly gay and I’m sure it was a struggle for Wilde. It really helps to understand and know Wilde’s biographical information when examining his work and his exploration of themes such as gender and sexuality.
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