Oscar Wilde

The century's wittiest writer, destroyed by its morality: comedies, a novel, and a ballad from prison.

Specifications & Metrics

era

1854 – 1900

language

English

region

Dublin, London, Paris

notable works

The Importance of Being Earnest, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Ballad of Reading Gaol

Core Principles & Analysis

• Convicted in 1895 after libeling the Marquess of Queensberry, he served two years' hard labour.
• The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898) was published under his prison number, C.3.3.
• He died in Paris in 1900, exiled and bankrupt at forty-six.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Oscar Wilde