😉 Welcome new and regular readers! In the article “Oscar Wilde: Biography and Amazing Facts” – about the life of an English writer, playwright and critic.
Gentlemen, many have read the works of Wilde. For example, the famous novel “The Portrait of Dorian Gray”, but few are familiar with his biography. Let’s talk about it.
Oscar Wilde biography
He was born on October 16, 1854 in Dublin, Ireland. His father was a renowned physician – Sir William Wilde, knighted. Mother – Jane Francesca – poet, philologist, fighter for the independence of Ireland. One of the earliest advocates for women’s rights. This had a significant impact on the writer’s work.
Before starting school, little Oscar is homeschooled by a French teacher and a German governess, who teach him their mother tongue. He graduated from school in 1871. Then he won a scholarship to Trinity College Dublin.
After a year of study, he takes first place, passing the classic exams and receiving the highest scholarship.
Upon completion of his studies in 1874, Wilde received a gold medal at Berkeley for perfect knowledge of the Greek language, and then a scholarship to study classical literature and philosophy at Oxford.
Oscar Wilde is a student
There he continued his academic education and quickly became famous in a new emerging direction – decadence, whose ideal is “pure art”. It was during this time that Wilde made his first serious attempts at writing. In 1878 he wrote the poem “Ravenna” and received a prize for the best poetic form.
After graduating from university, Oscar moved to London to live with his friend Frank Miles, a popular portrait painter of London’s high society.
Oscar focuses on writing poetry, publishing his first collection in 1881. Although the book was met with modest approval, Wilde earned the name of a promising future writer.
The following year, the writer goes to New York, touring America, he lectures. Ultimately, he manages to deliver 140 lectures in 9 months.
The lectures are related to contemporary art, fashion and new trends. In his spare time, the writer meets some of the most famous American literary figures of the time. After his tour in America, Oscar returns home and immediately begins his lecture tour – in England and Ireland.
Personal life
On May 29, 1884, the writer married a wealthy Englishwoman, Constance Lloyd. They had two sons – Cyril, born in 1886, and Vivian, born in 1887.
A year after the wedding, Oscar was hired as editor of Women’s World, a magazine that had lost its popularity. Wilde has been running the magazine for two years, changing its concept. Soon the popularity of the magazine begins to surpass all early indicators.
Since 1888, a 7-year period of continuous operation begins. Then he wrote some of his greatest literary works. In the same year he published a collection of short stories “The Happy Prince” and, three years later, published a collection of essays “Ideas”. In the same year, the only novel of the writer, “The Portrait of Dorian Gray”, was published.
Although it is now considered a classic, Wilde was heavily criticized for its apparent lack of any morality in the book. However, at that time, it was this novel that brought him the fame of a modern writer of an original style.
Alfred Douglas
Unfortunately, success has not been with him for long. In 1891, Wilde met Lord Alfred Douglas and an intimate relationship began between them. A few years later, Douglas’s father, the Marquis of Queensberry, finds out about this, and leaves a note in Wilde’s name, in which he calls him “gay”.
Oscar Wilde and Alfred Douglas
The writer was so upset that he decided to sue the Marquis for libel. A decision that ultimately ruined his life. When the trial began, the Marquis and his lawyers presented evidence of Wilde’s homosexuality, among them love letters he wrote to Douglas.
In May 1895, the writer received two years in prison for gross obscenity and homosexuality. After his release, he settled in Paris, where he lived in cheap hotels and apartments of friends, under the name of Sebastian Melmot on the meager support sent to him by his family.
In recent years, Wilde has written little, and his only notable work is The Ballad of Reading Prison, in which he describes his experiences in prison.
Oscar died of meningitis on November 30, 1900, when he was 46 years old, in the poor, like a beggar. His remains are buried in the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, France. The growth of the writer is 1,91 m, the zodiac sign is Libra.
He is remembered today more for his temperamental character, wit, and punishment for homosexuality than for literary works. Nevertheless, he became a successful playwright and one of the greatest celebrities of his time.
The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest are some of the greatest literary masterpieces.
Oscar Wilde: biography (video)
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