On this date in English literary history – May 19, 1897, Irish
playwright Oscar Wilde was released from jail after serving two years of hard
labor. His experiences in prison were the basis for his last work, The
Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898). Wilde was born and educated in Ireland. He
studied at both Trinity College, Dublin and Oxford University. He remained in
London where he became a popular society figure valued at dinner parties for
his witty remarks. Embracing the late 19th century aesthetic movement, which
embraced art for art's sake, Wilde adopted the flamboyant style of a passionate
poet and self-published a volume of verse in 1881. He spent the following year
in the United States lecturing on poetry and art. Wilde's dapper wardrobe and
excessive devotion to art were parodied in Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta Patience
in 1882. After returning to Britain, Wilde married and had two children. In
1888, he published a collection of fairy tales he wrote for his children.
Meanwhile, he wrote reviews and became editor of Women's World. In 1891,
his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, was published. He wrote his
first play, The Duchess of Padua, the same year and wrote five more
before his arrest. His most successful comedies, including The Importance of
Being Earnest and Lady Windermere's Fan, are still performed today. In
1891, the Marquess of Queensbury denounced Wilde as a homosexual. Wilde, who
was involved with the marquess' son, sued the Marquess for libel but lost the
case when evidence supported the marquess' allegations. Because homosexuality
was still considered a crime in England, Wilde was arrested. Although his first
trial resulted in a hung jury, a second jury sentenced him to two years of hard
labor. After his release, Wilde fled to Paris and began writing again. He died
of acute meningitis just three years after his release.
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