Was oscar wild gay
A Spotlight on Oscar Wilde
#WildeWednesdays – Each Wednesday of Self-acceptance Month, 2021
Putting a spotlight in honor of Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish literary figure tragically imprisoned for his sexuality.
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Imprisoned for his sexuality in 1895, Oscar Wilde is one of Ireland’s most popular literary figures, with iconic works such as The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Organism Earnest.
Known for exploring the aesthetic and decadent movements in his work and in his personal life, Wilde had long hair, wore white silk stockings, and carried peacock feathers and orchids around the Trinity and Oxford campuses. Embracing his confidence and passion for surpassing cultural norms of the day, he became celebrated for his glance and his individuality, long before his work was widely published.
Wilde was acknowledged for his poetry, stories, plays, and witticisms. He first started publishing poetry in the 1880s, and his operate has continued to be published since his death – most recently in 2008, The Oscar Wilde Society published The Women of Homer.
Many of his works were acclaimed during the moment they were published, and continue to
Oscar Wilde was sentenced to two years imprisonment for homosexuality, which in his day was a crime under gross indecency.
During his jail term, first at Wandsworth prison and then at Reading, Wilde underwent a transformation.
The indulgent, witty playwright and author was released a broken man, humiliated and bankrupt.
Dr Ronan McDonald says:"After his moment in jail Wilde was much more serious, much more religious and there's certainly a sturdy Christian element to Wilde. But to some extent that element was always in his perform, if you gaze at his earlier children stories, The Happy Prince etc, there's a feeling of the redemptive powers of suffering."
Dr Ronan McDonald reads outside Reading Gaol |
At Reading, Wilde was reduced from a famous highly-acclaimed name down to a code.
"He had cell number C33", says Dr McDonald, "which was also a pseudonym under which the Ballad of Reading Gaol was first published,
Oscar Wilde and his Complex Sexuality. Learn about the Inner Life of the Victorian artist
Famous Irish writer and poet of the XIX century, Oscar Wilde is established not only for his brilliant works but also for is controversial inner life and his complex sexuality. Especially, his sexuality is a topic that has aroused the interest of many who to fully understand it, they had to look social convention of the Victorian era.
Social convention of the Victorian era
Before analyzing Oscar Wilde’s sexuality, it’s fine to consider the social contest in which he lived. From 1837 to 1901, the United Kingdom was characterized by the Victorian era with the reign of Queen Victoria. The main features of this period were: a complex system of social conventions with a marked division between social classes, where the nobility held the supreme power monitoring by the middle class and working class.
The way of dressing was a hallmark of social class and people were required to dress appropriately according to their social position, as a sign of respect towards the culture. Marriage was considered a sacred institution, it was placed at the heart of Victorian social conventio
Andrew Elfenbein, “On the Trials of Oscar Wilde: Myths and Realities”
Figure 1: Photograph of Oscar Wilde, by Napoleon Sarony
This sketch has the seeds of a great story. It makes Wilde a gay martyr; proves stereotypes about the Victorians as judgmental, ignorant hypocrites; and confirms paranoia about “the system” when faced with supposedly deviant behaviors. Unfortunately, although some parts of this story are true, others are not. By turning Wilde into the archetypal gay martyr, it washes out the contingencies, surprises, and sheer strangeness of his trials. All their events develop the seemingly inevitable consequ