The Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin, Ireland, on October 16, 1854. His father was a noted surgeon and his mother was a writer.
Oscar was admitted to Trinity College, Dublin, in 1871. After three years he went to England and enrolled in Oxford University. Brilliant in literature and the classics, he attracted attention with his odd clothes and affected manners. When he was 25, he went to live in London. He became a familiar sight there, in his knee breeches and greenish-yellow jacket, carrying a single flower. People were entertained by his ready wit and amusing conversation.
In 1881 Wilde published his first volume of poems. The following year he attracted much attention on a lecture tour in the United States. In 1884 he married Constance Lloyd. She helped him financially, but they never had much in common. The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde's only novel, was published in 1891, along with a collection of essays and a volume of fairy tales. The next year Lady Windermere's Fan, Wilde's first successful comedy, was produced.
Wilde's greatest triumph came in 1895 with his plays An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest. Within a few months, however, Wilde toppled from the heights of popularity to deepest social isolation. He brought a libel suit against the well-known Marquess of Queensberry, who had accused Wilde of immoral behavior. Wilde lost the suit and was later found guilty of the Marquess' charges. He was sentenced to two years at hard labor and went to prison in disgrace. His poem The Bailad of Reading Gaol (1898) recounts his jail experiences.
Wilde was released from prison in 1897. Bankrupt and separated from his wife and two children, he went to France and lived under the name of Sebastian Melmoth. He died in Paris on November 30,1900.
