Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray

The beautiful Dorian stays young while his hidden portrait ages and records every sin.

💡 Did you know? „The Picture of Dorian Gray“ was deemed so immoral on publication that it was censored.

It ages for him

In the end Dorian stabs the picture and dies himself as a withered old man, while the portrait turns beautiful again.

💡 Did you know? While Dorian stays forever young, only his hidden portrait ages and decays: an uncanny idea.

The Importance of Being Earnest

Premiered in 1895: the 'Earnest/Ernest' pun is considered untranslatable.

💡 Did you know? The pun-laden comedy about being „earnest“ is regarded as one of the wittiest in the English language.

Aestheticism

'All art is quite useless,' he declared in the preface to Dorian Gray: meant as a compliment.

💡 Did you know? Wilde's motto „art for art's sake“ made him a dazzling star of London's salons.

nothing except his genius

On his 1882 American tour: whether he said it verbatim is uncertain; it fits regardless.

💡 Did you know? The year-long lecture tour made the young dandy a star in America.

for his homosexuality

The trigger was his lost libel case against the Marquess of Queensberry, his lover's father.

💡 Did you know? Wilde's sentence of two years' hard labour destroyed his health and his reputation.

Lord Alfred Douglas

To him Wilde addressed the long prison letter 'De Profundis'.

💡 Did you know? The father of his lover „Bosie“ provoked Wilde: whose libel suit led to his own downfall.

The Ballad of Reading Gaol

'Each man kills the thing he loves': published under his prison number, C.3.3.

💡 Did you know? „The Ballad of Reading Gaol“ processes Wilde's prison experience and turned against the death penalty.

Sebastian Melmoth

Broken and impoverished: the name alludes to the Gothic novel 'Melmoth the Wanderer' by his great-uncle.

💡 Did you know? Impoverished and broken, Wilde died at 46 in a Paris hotel: reputedly with a final quip about the wallpaper.

with kisses

Since 2011 a glass barrier protects the monument: now people kiss the glass.

💡 Did you know? His tomb at Père Lachaise was so covered in lipstick kisses that it had to be shielded with glass.

The Happy Prince

The statue gives away its gold leaf and jewels to the poor: written for his sons.

💡 Did you know? „The Happy Prince“ shows Wilde's tender, socially critical side beyond his wit.

2017

Under the 'Alan Turing law', named after the mathematician convicted under the same statutes.

💡 Did you know? In 2017 Britain posthumously pardoned Wilde along with thousands convicted for their homosexuality.

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde (1854 to 1900) was an Irish writer, playwright and celebrated wit. Famous for his repartee, he wrote classics such as „The Picture of Dorian Gray.“

💡 Did you know? At the height of his fame Wilde was imprisoned for his homosexuality and died impoverished in exile a few years later.