Was "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" by Oscar Wilde his best work, and what became of his lover?

Question

Homosexuality was called "sodomy" under old British law, and Wilde, the author of a number of popular satires, served a sentence in the jail (or "gaol") at Reading, upon being convicted of illegal acts during a liaison with a young man.

The popular playwright and poet was deeply moved upon witnessing a man being executed for slaying the woman he loved, as he was himself a fellow convict in a case centering around love. Straights, of course, were then as now unlikely to reciprocate with compassion for a man or woman suffering as a result of acting on his or her homosexuality.

The poem says in part:

"For all men kill the thing they love...By all let this be heard!...Some men do it with a smile,...Some with a flattering word. The coward does it with a kiss, ...The brave man with a sword."

Earnest and immortal words by the author of the satirical play, "The Importance of Being Earnest". Judas had kissed Jesus in betrayal, and Wilde's paramour had kissed and told!

Answer 1

im partial to "earnest" rather than reading gaol,as his best work...then again,i played cecily in high school,so thats a biased opinion....bosie douglas married,wrote a few books few now remember,and died .bcause of oscar, he's immortal.not a good thing for him....as he certainly didnt treat oscar very well,did he ????????

Answer 2

I actually like the picture of dorian gray by oscar wilde. I have not ready the ballad of reading gaol before, but i do know that hanging was also a result of commiting sodomy.