any oscar wilde fans here? i started getting into his work years ago through my uncle's wife, who loaned me copies of the ballad of reading gaol & the picture of dorian gray. needless to say, i was instantly attracted to his unique brand of literature, though i've just recently picked up where i left off with my fascination with the king of wit. however, i'm wondering if anybody else around here is into his stuff? i'm partial to his poetry, though he was obviously an accomplished dramatist & novelist, as well.

The vilest deeds like poison weeds
Bloom well in prison air;
It is only what is good in man
That wastes and withers there;
Pale Anguish keeps the heavy gate
And the Warder is Despair.
––excerpt from The Ballad of Reading Gaol

I'm a fan although I have to admit it's been a while since I delved into his work. I believe his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is a masterpiece that doesn't get the credit it deserves. I've bought this book several times and loaned it to friends, wholoved it (and kept it).

From the Ballad of Reading Gaol, the lines that have always remained with me are (and I hope I get them right)"

It is sweet to dance to violins
When love and life are fair.
To dance to flutes, to dance to lutes
Is delicate and Rare.
But it is not sweet with nimble feet
To dance upon the air.
...........

For oak and elm have pleasant leaves
That in the spring time shoot,
But grim to see is the gallows tree
With its adder bitten root.
And green or dry, a man must die
Before it bears its fruit.
............

Yet each man kills the thing he loves
By each let this be heard.
Some do it with a bitter look
And some with a flattering word.
The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword.

Really? I think the novel is unanimously considered one of the best classics of modern literature. I even remember a movie based on it.



Worst move! Loaning a book (or a VHS, a CD, a DVD...) to friends is the best way to lose it for ever...

Maybe I'm out of school too long. It was never required reading when I was in school, and I'm always amazed at finding many educated people, who are imminently familiar with the great writers of the period, but had no or limited knowledge of Dorian Gray. They knew of some of his outstanding plays though.

Maybe I need to hang out with a more learned crowd.

well as popular as oscar wilde is, & as much lauded as much of his work is, there are still circles who know nothing about him. so as critically acclaimed as he is with certain scholars & experts, i've certainly run into many literature fans who professed to knowing little-to-nothing about him (which is part of the reason i decided to start the thread).

that is a great poem, klydon, you're right -- one of my very favorites, in fact (i'm an avid yeats fan, as well). i'm sure you're aware of when it was written -- right?

Yes. He wrote it after his release from prison around 1897 for the crime of sodomy. 5-10 years earlier he was the rage of London as his brilliant plays packed playhouses. He had also established an international reputation as the leading wit of his day.

However, his association with Lord Alfred Douglas, the son of the Marquis of Queensberry, led to his conviction and two year sentence to hard labor. Wilde's wife and children moved to Switzerland, I think, and changed their surname. Wilde died a broken destitute man in France in 1900.

Anthony, I recommend Richard Ellman's biography Oscar Wilde , which was published around 1986. Wilde's grandson also wrote a biography around 1965.

Is anyone familiar with the Canterville Ghost short story? I had to read it at school for my English class (ages ago!! ). I remember I liked it a lot and found it very fun!

I believe that is the work, in which Wilde states something to the effect of the British and Americans shar much in common, except for a language.
I'll read this story, especially since it's the Halloween season.

I'll go along with that, klydon. If you want to read the definitive Wilde biography, this is the one. Exhaustingly comprehensive and gives you a real insight into the man and the decadence that toppled him. Unbelievable that Richard Elliman wrote it whilst suffering from terminal illness.

Wilde lived a hundred years before his time.

oh i know all about the trial & conviction of his "gross indecency," i was just wondering if you did, as well. there's so many wilde biographies out there -- & many of them haphazardly done -- that it's really a pain to find the right one. since it's been so long that i've read much of his stuff, i will check into a new biography as well -- thanks for the recommendation.

he certainly was years ahead of his time -- just imagine how incredibly relevant & popular he'd be these days! though i'm not sure he would be too keen on it...

Oh yes.
I love his plays, comedies particularly!