Oscar Wilde
(real name Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde) was born on
October 16th, 1854 in Dublin. His father, William Robert Wilde, was an eminent
eye doctor, with an interest in myths and folklore. He was the founder of the
first eye and ear hospital in Great Britain, as well as the appointed Surgeon
Occultist to the Queen, who knighted him. His mother, Jane Francesca Elgee
Wilde, was a poet who wrote patriotic Irish verse under the pen name Speranza,
and had a considerable following. As a youngster, Wilde was exposed to the
brilliant literary talk of the day at his mother's Dublin salon.
In 1864 Wilde entered the Portora Royal School at Enniskillen, and in
1871 entered Trinity College in ...
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wore long hair
and velvet knee breeches, and became known for his eccentricity as well as his
academic ability. His rooms were filled with various objets d'art such as
sunflowers, peacock feathers, and blue china. Wilde frequently confided that
his greatest challenge at University was learning to live up to the perfection
of the china. Wilde won numerous academic prizes while studying there,
including the Newdigate Prize, a coveted poetry award, for his poem Ravenna.
In 1879 Wilde moved to London to make himself famous. He set about
establishing himself as the leader and model of the aesthetic movement. Besides
his hair and breeches, he added loose-fitting wide-collared silk shirts with
flowing ties and lavender colored gloves. He frequently carried a jewel-topped
cane and was caricatured in the press flamboyantly attired and holding an over-
sized sunflower, an icon of the movement. Wilde quickly became well known
despite having any substantial achievements to build on. ...
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1884, he married Constance Lloyd, the daughter of an Irish barrister. They
had two sons, Cyril and Vyvyan. The family moved into a house in Chelsea, an
artist section of London. In 1887, he took a job at Woman's World, a popular
magazine for which he wrote literary criticism. In 1888 he published The Happy
Prince and Other Tales, a collection of original fairy tales which he wrote for
his sons. Two years later he tired of journalism and journalists. He returned
to partying and spending his time with friends and lovers, often overstepping
the bounds of what was considered morally and socially proper for the time.
In 1890 his novel, The Picture Of Dorian Gray, was published ...
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Oscar Wilde. (2003, December 27). Retrieved November 4, 2025, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Oscar-Wilde/552
"Oscar Wilde." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 27 Dec. 2003. Web. 4 Nov. 2025. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Oscar-Wilde/552>
"Oscar Wilde." Essayworld.com. December 27, 2003. Accessed November 4, 2025. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Oscar-Wilde/552.
"Oscar Wilde." Essayworld.com. December 27, 2003. Accessed November 4, 2025. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Oscar-Wilde/552.
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