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II.2 Life and works of Oscar Wilde
On his graduation in 1878, Oscar Wilde returned to Dublin for a brief period. By now, his father had died virtually bankrupt. The family now sold the house and with his share of legacy Wilde moved to London, where he put up with portraitist Frank Miles, popular in London’s high circle.He wrote to various friends in Oxford and Cambridge, trying unsuccessfully for a position in classics. Concurrently, he concentrated on writing new poetry, expanding and revising old ones, which he published as ‘Poems’ in mid 1881. Although the work received mixed reviews it established him as an upcoming poet.Also in 1881, he secured his first job as an art reviewer. However, he left it towards the end of the year, to embark on a lecture tour in the United States and Canada on the invitation of Richard D'Oyly Carte, an English talent agent and impresario.
Oscar Wilde reached New York City on 2 January 1882. Although the tour was originally planned for four months, because of its commercial success, it was extended for almost a year. During this period, he delivered around 140 lectures, mostly on aestheticism.
Wherever he went, he mixed with every class of people. He drank whiskey with miners in Leadville and Colorado and at the same time, visited the most fashionable salons in cities like New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, dining with celebrities like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Walt Whitman.
Although the press was a little hostile to him, the public was intrigued by his dress code and odd character. He also admired many things about America, especially its democracy and universal education. He therefore, returned to Great Britain rich, both in money matters and experience.
On his return to Great Britain, Oscar Wilde embarked on another lecture circuit across England and Ireland, which would last up to the middle of 1884. Meanwhile sometime between February and Ma 1883, he went to Paris for three months and there he completed his play, ‘The Duchess of Padua’.
Very soon Wilde was able to establish himself as a leading proponent of aesthetic movement and became famous for it. Apart from his literally pursuits, he began to contribute regularly as a reviewer in ‘Pall Mall Gazette.’
From 1887, Wilde found employment as the editor of ‘Lady’s World,’ a magazine that dealt in women’s fashion and had lost its popularity in recent years. Soon, he was able to revive the magazine by incorporating women’s viewpoints not only on art, literature and music, but also on modern life.
In 1888, while working as editor of ‘Lady’s World,’ Wilde published his first major work titled, ‘The Happy Prince and Other Tales’, a collection of children's stories. Next in 1889, he published another of his memorable works, ‘The Decay of Lying’.7
In July 1889, he left his job to concentrate on his literary ambition. His only novel, ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ appeared in the July 1890 edition of ‘Lippincott's Monthly Magazine.’
Although the editor of the magazine had deleted roughly 500 words it was criticized by the reviewers for decadence and homosexual allusions. However, Wilde defended his work and in 1891, he had it published in book form.
In 1891, apart from ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’, he had five other major works published. Among them, ‘Intentions’ consisted of previously published essays. Others were ‘The Soul of Man under Socialism’, ‘Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories’, ‘A House of Pomegranates’ and ‘Salome’.
Wilde then continued to produce more plays, many of which satirized the upper class society. Falling in this category were ‘Lady Windermere's Fan’ (1882) and ‘A Woman of No Importance’ (1893), both of whichwere highly successful.
Contrarily, ‘An Ideal Husband’, a work which Wilde started in the summer of 1883, revolved around blackmail and political corruption. Just like ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’, which he wrote in the summer of 1894, ‘An Ideal Husband’ is also considered one of his masterpieces.
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