"Literary Links" - Oscar Wilde in Oxford

"Literary Links" is a series of posts celebrating Britain's wonderful links with great authors, dramatists and poets.

·         Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wils Wilde  (1854-1900) found a confidence in Oxford that ignited him.  He was a brilliant student but craved an audience to perform to.  Oxford’s ancient walls had served their preparatory purpose, but now he yearned to break out and please the world.  He became a playwright, novelist, essayist, poet and wit.  Some of his more well known works include The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895).  He was prone to shock, and was imprisoned for being homosexual (1895).  He said, “The two great turning points of my life were when my father sent me to Oxford, and when society sent me to prison.”   He continued to love Oxford:

“I envy you going to Oxford: it is the most flower-like time of one’s life.  One sees the shadow of things in silver mirrors.”

 “In spite of the roaring of the young lions at the Union, and the screaming of the rabbits in the home of the vivisect, in spite of Keble College, and the tramways, and the sporting prints, Oxford still remains the most beautiful thing in England, and nowhere else are life and art so exquisitely blended, so perfectly made one.”

This is an excerpt from the tour Oxford’s Noble and Great Ones - Part 1  which explores around the southern part of Oxford.  The full tour is found on www.obelisktours.co.uk