We are all in the gutter but some
of us are looking at the stars
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde
B: 16 October 1854
D: 30 November 1900 aged 46
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Whilst rightly remembered for his eloquent written works and sheer flamboyant charm, it was
Wilde's turbulent relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas and ill-advised legal action
against Douglas' father, the Marquess of Queensberry, that would herald
his infamous fall from grace.
Yet such was the nature of the crime, that the legal proceedings would, in effect, come
to mark the trial of homosexuality itself.
The verdict was devastating; one that kept those of Wilde inclinations firmly in the closet for
many a decade to come and the man himself broken and impoverished by a society that courted
his wit, but not the sexual orientation such was born out of.
Sentenced to two years hard labour, Wilde was released from prison in May 1897, only to spend
his final years in self-imposed exile, a shadow of his former self.
He died virtually penniless in Paris on the 30th November 1900 aged 46. His words and plays
however live on to this day, with his life story subject to numerous film adaptations,
including Brian Gilbert's acclaimed 1997 feature WILDE, one that saw Stephen Fry
cast in a role that for many he was born to play.
For mention the name Wilde and such works as LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN / 1892, A WOMAN OF NO
IMPORTANCE / 1893, AN IDEAL HUSBAND / 1895 and the classic THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST / 1895
immediately spring to mind. Added to which is the brilliance of his only novel THE PICTURE OF
DORIAN GRAY / 1891 and the moving text of THE BALLAD OF READING GAOL / 1898, namely
his poetic cry of prison hell.
In short, if the greatness of a man lies in his immortality, then the name and words
of Oscar Wilde, will never die.
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