Future post

In the next post, we'll make a journey through images the Anglo-Saxon world

Oscar Wilde

Hello, this post is dedicated to Oscar Wilde, the English famous writer. He is best known for his brilliant,  comedies including the play The Importance of Being Earnest and his classic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. But the reason we're posting about him is because we've readen one adaptation of his boook, "Lord Arthur Savile's Crime". 

Childhood

Oscar Fingall O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in Dublin, Ireland, on October 16, 1854.

Oscar enjoyed a cultured and privileged childhood. After attending Portora Royal School in  Ireland, Wilde moved on to study the classics at Trinity College, Dublin, from 1871 to 1874. There, he began attracting public attention through the uniqueness of his writing and his lifestyle. Before leaving Trinity College, Wilde was awarded many honors, including the Berkely Gold Medal for Greek.

Begins writing career

At the age of twenty-three Wilde entered Magdalen College, Oxford, England. In 1878 he was awarded the Newdigate Prize for his poem "Ravenna." He attracted a group of followers. After leaving Oxford he expanded his cult. His iconoclasm clashed with the holiness that came with the Victorian era of the late nineteenth century, but this contradiction was one that he aimed for. Another of his aims was the glorification of youth.

He spent an entire year lecturing in the United States and then returned to lecture in England. He applied unsuccessfully for a position as a school inspector. . He began to publish extensively in the following year. His writing activity became as intense and as inconsistent as his life had been for the previous six years. 

The Plays

Wilde turned more fully to drama after Dorian Gray. He's really best known as a playwright, so we're going to quickly go over what he wrote for the stage, although we have readen his novel.

The first play was a tragedy - Vera or The Nihilists; that was in 1880.

Next, we're moving on. The tragedy The Duchess of Padua was his next play. This was written in 1883. No one performed it until 1891.

These first two were not that successful. In 1892, Wilde completes Lady Windermere's Fan, which is very different from his first two, primarily, because it's not a tragedy. It's a comedy. It's a satire of Victorian society, which sounds more fun than Russian nihilists plotting against tsars.

In 1893, Wilde has another hit with the dark comedy A Woman of No Importance.

In 1893, Wilde publishes the tragedy Salome. He actually wrote it in 1891, but it was censored because it was too racy.

He completed An Ideal Husband in 1895. There was a movie version of this play in 1999 with Julianne Moore and Cate Blanchett. It's Wilde's second most popular play after his most popular play, which is The Importance of Being Earnest. This is first performed in 1895.

And Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, 1891. This is the story that we've readen for our English class, and we recommend you to read the story, because we think that it is very interesting and entertaining.