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Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), Irish poet and dramatist.
The life and
downfall of Oscar Wilde are currently being researched by
Icons of Europe in consultation with national archives and
other institutions. The outcome may eventually reflect
Oscar Wilde's own thought: "The one duty we owe to
history is to rewrite it" - The Critic As Artist
(1890). - The following information is obtained from
existing online sources.
Between 1892 and 1895, Oscar Wilde wrote a
number of acclaimed stage plays:
- Lady Windermere's Fan deals
with a blackmailing divorcée driven to self-sacrifice by
maternal love.
- A Woman of No Importance is
about an illegitimate son torn between his father and
mother.
- An Ideal Husband dealt with
blackmail, political corruption and public and private
honour.
- The Importance of Being Earnest
is about two fashionable young gentlemen and their
eventually successful courtships.
Known
for his barbed wit, Oscar Wilde was one of the most
successful playwrights of late Victorian London, and one of
the greatest celebrities of his day.
As the result of a famous trial, Oscar
Wilde suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned for
two years of hard labour after being convicted of the
offence of "gross indecency". |