Current Events > Oscar Wilde was a cool guy. Sad life, though.

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His wit was legendary, his plays and sole novel (The Picture of Dorian Gray) are classics for good reason and the fairytales he wrote for his kids were emotionally mature while being fanciful enough for the imaginations of children. Have you ever heard about "The Prince and the Swallow"? I had a tape of fairytales with that on it, and it's a piece of art that became incredibly important as I grew up.

He was imprisoned for gross indecency with men, basically a charge for homosexuality, sentenced to hard labor, and he died destitute in Paris at the age of 46. The Picture of Dorian Gray was edited by Wilde to tone down or excise potential homoerotic themes when changed from a serial into a novel. He left two children behind, as he had children during his life and was married when imprisoned - the signs point to bisexuality rather than homosexuality.

His work, coming 200 years after Shakespeare, can still ring true today. Dorian Gray dealt with the corruption, moral indecency and enabled ignorance that comes with being a part of the upper class, and how one's physical beauty and good standing in society can hide degeneracy, awfulness and stupidity. He was one of the best essayists and playwrights of the late 19th century, and it's sad how his light was snuffed out by prison-time and illness that stemmed from it. May the errors of his time stay where they belong, and the great minds of today be better respected than he was.
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I should have guessed he was gay due to the picture of Dorian Gray. Then there's a way he dressed. But yeah it is a shame, so many of the great authors die penniless but this dude needlessly suffered.

MrMallard posted...

Have you ever heard about "The Prince and the Swallow"? I had a tape of fairytales with that on it,

Hell yeah I have, was it this one? I watched this as a kid and it was awesome, and very sad of course.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t57Cg5j6EPc
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I read through the Importance of being Earnest a few years ago, and it was very funny. I can definitely see how it was so popular. Give that play a go if you've never read it before. It's very lighthearted and an enjoyable read.
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