in Greek and Latin Literature and Philosophy ( Literae Humaniores) and singlehandedly repelling a physical assault by four of his fellow students. While Wilde was ridiculed by some of his contemporaries as a lily-sniffing dandy, he surprised everyone by graduating with a double first in his B.A. While these two positions are contradictory, Wilde synthesized these theses through his espousal of Hegelian dialectics, a school of thought that recognized the inevitability (even necessity) of contradiction, stating, later, that consistency is the mark of “the dullard and the doctrinaire”. Wilde was also influenced by John Ruskin, who recognized the importance of beauty in art but believed that it behooved the artist to align his art with moral good. In context of the stifling, formulaic morality that Victorian society expected of its literature, this was quite the revolutionary slogan. “Art for art’s sake” was advocated by the movement. He is reported to have said to his friends, “I find it harder and harder every day to live up to my blue china”.Īt Oxford, Wilde was influenced by the works of Walter Pater, the foremost proponent of the aesthetic movement, which valued aesthetics and the appreciation of beauty in arts as more important than its socio-political message. Wilde dressed flamboyantly, decked up his room in finery and lavishly entertained friends.

He was once punished for a term because he was late in returning from a vacation in Greece. “The Gods had given me everything … (but) tired of being on the heights I deliberately went to the depths in the search of new sensation”Īt Oxford, Wilde’s instinctive disregard for rules and societal expectations became apparent. Join us, on this exploration of different aspects of the life and times of the king of comebacks that made him the icon that he is, guided by what he himself might have had to say about them. While he is probably one of the most misquoted authors in literary history (for example, there is no evidence of him having ever said “Be yourself everyone else is already taken”), he never seemed to have run out of funny and profoundly wise things to say. Oscar Wilde’s artistic sensibilities expressed themselves through his carefully constructed personality and his small but brilliant set of literary productions. His life was tragic as a result of being both persecuted and prosecuted for his homosexuality.

Oscar Wilde has become a literary icon for the LGBTQ+ community.

Even people who have not read any of the things he wrote are likely to know something about his sartorial elegance and a couple of quotes attributed (or misattributed) to him. Oscar Wilde has captured the imagination of several generations now, readers and non-readers alike.

Oscar wilde books