Oscar Wilde

Between the years of 1837 and 1901, British history experienced a revolutionary period of economic and cultural growth. The new wealth that came with expansion created new class structures as an age of domesticity was inspired. As a result of this, the art world changed too. Writers became realistic as they believed they were serving a higher moral purpose while creating. They wrote of actual and practical life in the form of dramatic monologues. Visual imagery illustrated their emotions while their tone and sound reflected the poems meaning. Though many authors became known during this time period, Oscar Wilde is –debatably- one of the most controversial poets of the Victorian Era.

Otherwise known as the ‘first modern man’, Wilde was born on the 16th of October in 1854. He notably attended Porotra Royal School in Enniskillen, Trinity College in Dublin and Magdalen College in Oxford during his early education. During this time his poetic notoriety began to grow; in 1879, his first collection of poetry was published. After several years of touring countries and playwriting he married Constance Lloyd, with whom he had two sons. In order to advance his reputation, Wilde cultivated his own “aesthetic code of life”, stating that “a man who does not think for himself does not think at all.” (EPG Bio).He dressed in a way that did not fit domestic sensibilities and in doing so, attracted both detractors and admirers. His literary work followed this pattern.

Wilde held the belief that style outweighed sincerity or substance. Therefore, his aesthetic way of being and writing reflected and perhaps helped in molding the image of a Victorian author. As Wilde was gifted with an early affinity for language, his attention paved towards form and...

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...anity and experience.

Oscar Wilde may not have been the most upright man of his time. He dressed and acted and loved in ways that mocked the domesticity of the Victorian era. That being said, his literary genius created classics works that have both compelled and inspired. He may have been controversial but his wit never allowed for him to be truly overpowered. His life ultimately ended at odds with Victorian morals but his ways live on within his literature.

Works Cited

"Oscar Wilde Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.

"Oscar Wilde." The Literature Network. N.p., 2008. Web. 10 Dec. 2013.

“Oscar Wilde - Biography." Oscar Wilde. European Graduate School, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.

Wilde, Oscar, and John Vassos. The Ballad of Reading Gaol. New York: E.P. Dutton &, 1928.

Print.

Wilde, Oscar. Requiescat. N.p.: Carpathian, 1991. Print.