What do people think of Oscar Wilde?

Question

I've read 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' but nothing else by Ozzy here. I was wondering if any of his other works are as thrilling as this one?

I'm a class.lit fan.

Answer 1

You should definitely read De Profundis which is deeply sad, beautifully written, especially under the circumstances.
He writes a letter to his love Alfred Douglas, analysing both of them as well as their relationship which in short landed him in prison.

Incidently, there are some fantastic biographies around, well worth a read, Richard Ellmann's is the standard. If you are interested in gay history, The secret life of Oscar Wilde is a good read.

Answer 2

Wilde is generally regarded as a flaming freak but a sardonic genius.

I don't think you're going to top Dorian Gray, which I think is his best work. The conclusion, where he hops up the staircase hoping things will get better because he's done a good deed, is not only brilliant but profoundly wise and insightful.

There are some slight similarities between Wilde and the great French short story writer Guy de Mauppesant. Perhaps Wilde influenced D.H. Lawrence and H.G. Welles.

Answer 3

All I read was a Picture of Dorian Gray about 25 years ago and found it utterly enchanting. Since then I've only read his poetry:
The last of his artistic works was "The ballad of Reading Gaol"- Here's an excerpt:-

"Yet each man kills the thing he loves,
By each let this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
Some with a flattering word,
The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword!

Some kill their love when they are young,
And some when they are old;
Some strangle with the hands of Lust,
Some with the hands of Gold:
The kindest use a knife, because
The dead so soon grow cold"

This haunting and poignant work was penned after his incarceration at Redding Gaol, the squalid and inhuman conditions therein moving him to campaign for prison reform.
There is plenty of written work out there both prose and poetry. People who know of Oscar Wilde at all, will surely know that he had very ascerbic wit. "The unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable" - on fox hunting often owned by me to be one of my favourite quotes of Wildes'. Recently, I've taken to using a quote a day on one of my web sites, and Wilde has figured in about 80% of them in past weeks. Wildes' quotes cover many subjects but he was a social commentator of good note combined with incisive wit.
As to whether you'd consider his other works "thrilling" is a matter of subjective opinion. I've heard no other of his novels spoken of with as much reverance as Dorian Gray.
There are plenty of reviews of his work easily accessible to web users.
Choose someone using a nom de plume if you'll be ruled by Wilde:-

"Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth".
Oscar Wilde

Answer 4

Literary people say he was a genius. His plays were hits in the West End. His poetry is refined and subtle. His prose, well, you've just read some.

If you want to know what people think, though, a good way to find out is to go to Paris, to the Pere-Lachaise cemetary, where his memorial is (he's not actually buried there). You will find the stone memorial covered in kisses (from people's lipstick), perhaps meant to soothe poor Oscar for all the viscious ridicule he had to face in his own life.

Answer 5

Oscar Wilde is a genius - Importance of being Earnest is filled with so much unobvious humour - the main majority of his work is like this. He put a lot of fun and modern issue into what are now classic plays.

Answer 6

His plays are hilarious but I've never been a fan of his poetry. Really, you read Wilde for the humor, not thrills. ;) Try The Importance of Being Ernest.

Answer 7

Can't go wrong reading any of Oscar Wilde's works.

Answer 8

He's awesome...one of my favorite authors.
He had a terrific biting wit and and great style.... ;-)

The House of Pomengrantes & A Woman of No Importance are excellent works.

Answer 9

Literary GENIUS

Answer 10

what?


i repeat...WHAT???