Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)

Oscar Wilde was born in 1854 to William Wilde and Lady Jane Francesca Wilde, prominent intellectuals in Dublin, Ireland. Though not of the aristocracy, the Wildes were nonetheless well off and sent Oscar to the finest schools as he grew up. Oscar seems especially influenced by his mother, a brilliantly witty raconteur, and he was frequently invited while still a child to participate in their intellectual circle of friends. Wilde entered Trinity College Dublin in 1871 and …

…he retained his epigrammatic wit until his last breath; he is rumored to have said in the drab hotel room, "My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One of us has to go." Critical and popular attention to Wilde has experienced a great resurgence; numerous films based on his plays and life have delighted audiences, while his writings remain a wellspring of witty and subtle thought on aestheticism, morality, and society.