Oscar Wilde Biography

Oscar Wilde is an Irish poet and author, he is best known for his literary works like 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' and 'The Importance of Being Earnest,' apart from the acclaimed works he is also known for his flamboyant style. Apart from his designation as a poet, he was also an eminent playwright and poet of the Victorian era. He was also a popular proponent of aestheticism. As a playwright, he wrote many important plays in the genre of satirical comedies, some of the famous plays are titled, Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest. As famous as Oscar Wilde was, his work was not appreciated by his contemporaries during the Victorian era, he was often the subject of controversy because of his views and ideologies. A lesser-known fact as mentioned in Oscar Wilde biography books is that he was a prolific journalist.

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An image of Oscar Wilde

Early Life And Family Of Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde was born on October 16, 1854. He was born at 21 Westland Row, in Dublin, Ireland. The full name of Oscar given by his parents at his birth was Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde. His parents were Jane Francesca Elgee and Sir William Wilde. His mother, Jane Francesca Elgee, was also a poet, she was deeply involved in the Young Ireland rebellion, her mother's poetry and writing style had a great influence on the mind of the young Oscar. She was an acclaimed poet; her English translation of the novel, Sidonia the Sorceress,  written by a Pomeranian novelist Wilhelm Meinhold had a deep influence on her son's later writing.

As mentioned in Oscar Wilde short biography, his father William Wilde, was a prominent otolaryngologist and ophthalmologist, he was a famous doctor in the hometown of the poet (in Dublin), apart from being an excellent doctor his father was also an author of significant works on medicine and archaeology. William was also knighted in 1864 for his services as medical adviser and assistant commissioner to the censuses of Ireland. He was also awarded for his exceptional work and contribution to the medical society. He later on in his life established the hospital called St. Mark's Ophthalmic Hospital in Dublin to treat the unprivileged members of society.

Needless to say, Oscar was born in a wealthy family, he had two siblings. He was two years younger than his brother, his brother was also named William Wilde, although he was commonly called Wille. He also had a sister named Sola who was born in 1856, she died at the age of ten. Oscar Wilde was raised as a Christian, there is evident proof mentioned in Oscar Wilde short biography that he was baptised as an infant in St. Mark's Church, which was located in Dublin.

Education Of Oscar Wilde

Since Oscar was born in a rich family he attended the most elite and prestigious school, it was his unconventional upbringing that allowed him to understand and participate in intellectual debates and conversation. Oscar’s mother was greatly involved in his education; she was also a prominent influencer in the life of the acclaimed poet and novelist.

Oscar attended Portora Royal School at Enniskillen, he was a bookish and bright kid as mentioned in various Oscar Wilde biography books. He was exceptionally talented and prolific in subjects like Roman and Greek studies. He attended the school from 1864 to 1871. During this time he established his name as an academically excellent student, he earned the third position in the school in 1869. He particularly excelled in classics, due to this he won multiple prizes, including the Carpenter Prize for Greek Testament. He was among the only three students to earn full scholarships to Trinity College in Dublin. He received his scholarship offer in 1871.

He attended Trinity College from 1871 to 1874. During his term at college he maintained his reputation of being a prodigy, he excelled in his subjects. By the end of his first year in 1872, he was awarded the college's Foundation Scholarship, the highest honour awarded to undergraduates. He earned the first position in the classics examination of the college.

At the time of his graduation in 1874, he was awarded Berkeley Gold Medal as Trinity's best student in Greek. He also earned the Demyship scholarship in the year 1874 for further study at Magdalen College in Oxford. It was during his term at Trinity college that he made acquaintance with scholars such as R. Y. Tyrell, Arthur Palmer, Edward Dowden. One of the tutors at Trinity College had greatly influenced the writing style and academic excellence of young Oscar, he was Professor J. P. Mahaffy. It is often mentioned in Oscar Wilde's brief biography that he was the most prominent personality to incline Wilde towards Greek literature, according to Oscar Wilde biography summary he claims to have worked with Mahaffy on the latter's book of the professor entitled, Social Life in Greece.

Oscar Wilde continued his higher education at Magdalen College at Oxford, he excelled academically in the institute, he gained the first position in the examination of classics and classical moderations. He attended Magdalen College from 1874 to 1878. In the year of his graduation, Wilde won the Newdigate Prize for his poem "Ravenna”. Apart from being academically excellent he was known for his style and way of conduct, he was one of the popular students in the university. Wilde graduated from the college in November 1878, he graduated with a double first in his B.A. of Classical Moderations and Literae Humaniores, the course is presently known as Greats.

Beginning Of His Literary Career

His literary career began after graduating from Magdalen College, soon after graduating he moved to London to live with his friend Frank Miles. Frank was a popular portraitist in London’s high society. He first published a collection of poems in 1881, the book was entitled Poems. It was not a huge commercial success, it received modest positive reviews. Although the book was not consumed by the mass audience it established Oscar Wilde as a young author with great potential.  Prior to the publication of the poem collection, he submitted a critical essay titled The Rise of Historical Criticism, it was his submission for the Chancellor's Essay prize of 1879. No participant was awarded the accolade that year.

Following the publication of his first poetry collection, Wilde travelled from London to New York City in 1882  to embark on an American lecture tour. During the tour, he delivered approximately 140 lectures on the English Renaissance in the span of nine months. It was during his trip to the United States of America that he made acquaintance with prominent authors like  Henry Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes and Walt Whitman. Walt Whitman was one of the great admirers of life and works of Oscar and Wilde.

Wilde returned from the United States to London, soon after return Wilde was offered to give lectures on the topic in London and Ireland. In between the lectures, Wilde maintained his time to write poetry. He gained a reputation as a proponent of the aesthetic movement, the movement was a theory of art and literature that emphasized the pursuit of beauty for its own sake, rather than to promote any political or social viewpoint. In 1885, Wilde started working in the magazine called Lady's World, he had the view for the journal that it must be a recognized organ for the expression of women's opinions on all subjects of literature, art and modern life. But it must be easily accessible and understandable to the male audience.

He published his books in 1888, the book was entitled The Happy Prince and Other Tales, it was a collection of children's stories. Following that he published Intentions, which is an essay collection arguing the tenets of aestheticism. It was published in 1891. 

In 1891 he published his most acclaimed and prominent work of literature, he published his first and only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. The premise of the novel was based on a beautiful young man, Dorian Gray, who wishes that his portrait ages while he remains youthful and lives a life of sin and pleasure. The book is often argued as a fictional Oscar Wilde autobiography.

He wrote many plays during his lifetime, his first play Lady Windermere's Fan, opened in February 1892. Some of the other important plays written by the author include A Woman of No Importance published in 1893, An Ideal Husband published in 1895 and The Importance of Being Earnest published in 1895. His plays were satirical comedies based on the plight of the character in a real society. The Importance of Being Earnest is one of his most famous plays to date.

Family, Death And Legacy Of The Author

He was married to a wealthy Englishwoman named Constance Lloyd. They were married on May 29, 1884. As mentioned in the Constance wilde biography, the couple had two sons. The elder son was named Cyril, who was born in 1885. A year later in 1886, the younger son named Vyvyan was born. Wilde died of meningitis on 30 November 1900, he was only 46 years old at the time. The legacy of Wilde contains his prominent literary works, although his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray did not gain much appreciation and was surrounded by controversy, it is to date regarded as a complex and beautiful piece of literature. Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is complex and vital and needless to say all the literary works of the author are vital pieces of  Victorian literature.