*whistles* YO! Atheists who love English lit.....Who wrote E Tennebris? and WHY???

Question

Prison can't do THAT much of a number on a brilliant man's mind, can it?

Unless you plan to give me more than the author's name, yer not finished yet, Kathryn ;)

Dang. There's only one 'n'. Yes, Kathryn, I DID mean E Tenebris.

OKAY...I'm seeing a lot of "probablies." I'm not sure this fine work of art is reflective of a man whose mind and spirit has just been broken by solitary confinement.

I say, more research is needed before anyone gets the 10 points!

Hey DingDong boy, welcome to yahoo answers.

OK, I'm cutting out for awhile.

Ding dong boy. Sleeping light, sleeping light...hmmm....I heard about a Light that fell asleep in the back of a boat once...I think many people, who will read what you've written, are looking for a light. A very bright one.

Elphaba: Gay might be too mild a term. Flamer might suit better, because he was so...FLAMboyant. But was he 'til the very end? that is the question. E Tenebris was written in 1881, and O.Wilde died in 1900.

Eric von Cartman...Unfortunately, if you as a young male went to jail today, you most certainly would NOT emerge unscathed, unless you were already accustomed to the more violent expressions of "the love that dares not speak its name."

Is anybody else besides me doing some digging on this one? I am seeing much delightful sarcasm along the way!

"E tenebris" mustn't have had anything to do with his time in jail, Kathryn. It was written in 1881, whereas Wilde's two year jail sentence began in 1895.

Wow! This poem makes Wilde sound like a FUNDY!

"And thus we rust Life's iron chain Degraded and alone: And some men curse, and some men weep, And some men make no moan: But God's eternal Laws are kind And break the heart of stone. And every human heart that breaks, In prison-cell or yard, Is as that broken box that gave Its treasure to the Lord, And filled the unclean leper's house With the scent of costliest nard. Ah! happy they whose hearts can break And peace of pardon win! How else may man make straight his plan And cleanse his soul from sin? How else but through a broken heart May Lord Christ enter in?"

I guess I'm going to have to read Wilde's autobiographical "De Profundis" to get some answers.
It's online.

http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/lit/drama/DeProfundisbyOscarWilde/toc.html

"De Profundis" was written by Wilde from prison. Here is an excerpt:
http://www.upword.com/wilde/de_profundis.html

It's clearly written by someone who identifies with Christ and Christianity. But prison seems to have only deepened this identification with Jesus, which had existed since 1881 at least (14 years before the prison experience.)

Ichi---you flatter a lady. School was many a long moon ago, and I *wish* I'd studied Wilde then. I discovered him after my second child was born.

Answer 1

Do you mean E Tenebris by Oscar Wilde? Poor guy was probably kept in solitary for the "crime" of homosexuality. Solitary could do a number on almost anyone. It sure wouldn't have me begging to Christ, I can guarantee that.

Answer 2

Why Oscar Wilde of course! He was one of the first openly gay authors in English lit and one of the most successful playwrights.

Answer 3

e tenebris, lux dormiens.

Are we not all prisoners of our own darkness, searching for a light that is brighter than a candle, whiter than a robe, irrespective of religion, that will awaken us from our sleeping ignorance?

Answer 4

everybody has their own experience in prison, some can't cope, some come out the exact same

Answer 5

I had to study all this at when I was at school too...you are bringing back memories that are best left forgotton...