Monthly Archives: March 2022

I saw a woman on the other side of the street dancing and singing without any music, she looked like a wild woman to me. 

There was a wild man running around the store with a gun, I was scared that he would shoot anyone who got in his way. 

I heard a very strange noise in the backyard that sounded like a wailing baby but, upon further review, it was just a wild animal. 

When I first met my friend’s dog he ran towards me and seemed more like a wild beast than a dog, but once he calmed down, he was tame at heart. 

My daughter is a little wild thing, constantly running and flailing around outside.

Anna Ranslem

Wild Woman: She was considered a wild woman for her time. Staying out late and paving her own path was more unknown for women of the 1900s. 

Wild Man: He was a wild man living out in a cabin all alone with just his beer and an ax. 

Wild Animal: Wild animals can often be found in their natural habitat if you stay quiet and don’t alert them of your presence. 

Wild Beast: His dog was a wild beast. The dog was known to bite people left and right and was prone to aggressive behavior. 

WIld Thing: There was one wild thing about her. She loved to howl like a wolf. 

-wild woman: I remember her being much more closed off, but she really is a wild woman now!

-wild man: Like a wild man, he shut himself away from the world after the incident. The loss of his child struck him with such grief. 

-wild animal: The wild animal slowly retreated back into the forest after encountering the open road.

-wild beast: As it rampaged across the city, the wild beast made sure to leave nothing but ruination and destruction in its wake.
-wild thing: They moved akin to a wild thing, overflowing with speed and ferocity.

– Kenny Ly

-wild woman: The wild woman was seen hopping on the tables at the bar and kicking over everyone’s drinks as she danced around.

-wild man: Christopher was a wild man. He never stayed in any country for more than 2 consecutive weeks and loved to cliff dive.

-wild animal: The wild animal pranced around in a field of daisies, unknowing of the hunter hiding in the bushes nearby.

-wild beast: Provoked, the wild beast leaped towards the lost soldier and ferociously swiped at the man’s face with its sharp claws. 

-wild thing: Her poem was such a wild thing in her time. She portrayed themes of feminism and homosexuality when they were looked down upon in society.

-Vivian Nguyen

Oscar Wilde was an Irish poet born in 1854 part of the Victorian literary period and was known for being a spokesman for the new Aesthetic movement which encouraged “art for art’s sake” where people expressed what they viewed as pure beauty instead of being constrained by moral expectations of the time. His poems were primarily categorized in genres of drama, criticism, and epigram, and he was famously known for his play The Importance of Being Earnest as well as his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. At the time, Wilde was received very well because of his witty and flamboyant personality, and his plays were widely performed. However, in 1895 Wilde was exposed for having a homosexual affair with another man, was put on trial, and was arrested with charges of “gross indencency.” Wilde was imprisoned for two years and died from meningitis not long after at the age of 46. 

I believe that Wilde was a wild writer because even though he wrote about stories and topics that may have been controversial, he did not hold back from fully expressing himself. Wilde boldly wrote about homosexuality, lust, murder, and other topics which were seen as controversial at the time in his works. Furthermore, Wilde was able to express his opinion on larger social themes through his works despite criticism from others. For example, in the poem The Ballad of Reading Gaol, Wilde writes about a man who is executed for killing his own wife. Wilde goes into gruesome detail that “blood and wine were on his hands when they found him with the dead, the poor dead woman whom he loved…” He goes into further detail saying that “each man kills the thing he loves,” alluding to his own affair with Lord Alfred Douglas, and how his love for their relationship resulted in his imprisonment. 

In the story “The Good Lion”, wild is represented by the bad lions since, compared to the good lion, they don’t seem to care about others but themselves. “The other lions .. every day ate zebras and wildebeests and every kind of antelope. Sometimes .. people too. They ate Swahilis, Umbulus, and Wandorobos and they especially liked to eat Hindu traders.” The lions show how they were untamed, felt no restriction to doing whatever they pleased, and didn’t try to act a certain way even when their actions were hurting others. When the wickedest of all the lionesses told the good lion “I think I shall kill you and eat you, wings and all”, we see how wild the bad lions can really get since not only did they not care for eating people, but they didn’t care for eating one of their own. On the other hand, in the story “Where the Wild Things Are”, wild is represented by scary monsters, the wild things, and they “roar terrible roars and gnash their terrible teeth and roll their terrible eyes and show their terrible claws”. What makes them wild is the fact they are monsters and act as such but they don’t necessarily hurt anyone, instead, they make Max the king and proceed to have a “wild rumpus” which just goes back to being loud and monster-like but not hurtful like the lions. These stories are different because they each represent wild in a different way, “The Good Lion” represents wild as untamed and with no regard to consequences while “Where the Wild Things Are” represents wild as scary creatures but don’t act out of impulsion and are nice to those around them. Although both the lions and the wild things look like they would do wild actions, only the lions act this way.

Oscar Wilde was an Irish poet who was among the most popular playwrights in the early 1890s focusing on stories of drama, criticism, and epigram. He is best remembered for his novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, which I personally think is an outstanding book due to its originality and plot, and his criminal conviction for gross indecency for homosexual acts. Although he was considered a celebrity and many were fans of his work, he wasn’t accepted when the public found out about his interest and who he had discovered to be. At the present time, Wilde’s work is still being used and studied despite his conviction and why he was convicted, giving us an idea that he is better received today than he was back in his time. He is considered to be a controversial figure because although he was a family man, he was known to engage in homosexual acts and had a sculptured figure with large genitalia over his grave. I personally think he is a wild writer because he was not afraid to introduce new ideas even when he knew these wouldn’t be accepted by society. I like how he didn’t care for the outcome of his actions and would do what felt right for him without fear of what others would think of him.

In the poem “Her voice”, he writes ” Sweet, there is nothing left to say But this, that love is never lost,  ” which I think really highlights the type of person he was. He seems to be very passionate about love no matter who it is with but how they make you feel.

Oscar Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright who became very popular in London during the 1890s. He was a prominent figure in the aesthetic movement, which advocated for art’s value coming from its inherent beauty alone. His views on art as well as his style of dress were controversial and met with criticism by the press. The most controversial aspect of Wilde was his engagement in consensual homosexual acts, which was unearthed during Wilde’s prosecution of the Marquess of Queensbury for criminal libel. Wilde was put to trial and subsequently sentenced to hard labor for two years. The controversial perception of Wilde was largely a result of his actions not being widely accepted in the society of his time. His views on art were beyond the boundaries of what the mainstream press thought acceptable, so he was slandered by the media as a result. Wilde’s engagement in homosexual acts was not accepted by the predominant conservative culture of western Europe, resulting in harsh criminal penalties levied upon him. In today’s day, Oscar Wilde is seen as a trailblazer who published influential writings and unfortunately succumbed to the flawed morals of an outdated criminal justice system.

I consider Wilde to be a “wild” writer, especially in his poem “The Ballad of Reading Gaol,” which he wrote after enduring hard labor in prison. He describes the brutality he experienced and witnessed through imagery, such as “the sickening thirst That sands one’s throat” and the “blood and wine” that were found near “The poor dead woman.” He also details the labor that they needed to do, including tearing “the tarry rope to shreds With blunt and bleeding nails” whilst “terror was lying still” in “the heart of every man.” Wilde’s poem is wild due to its gruesome and horrifying depictions of the reality of prison conditions, and the bold stance he takes in speaking out against such conditions.

-Avinash K

Oscar Wilde was a notable Irish poet and playwright from the Aesthetic literary movement where the primary focus was aesthetics. He was unique in that his personality and writing went hand in hand when it came to public reception and interpretation. Thus, it is important to consider his life and biographical details when reading his work. Though he published many impressive poems and plays, his noteriority came from his imprisonment as it was a big scandal and he was shunned by his inner circle. Due to this, his works were not as celebrated as they were associated with his “sins.” Presently, Wilde is known as an important literary figure to study and many of his works are widely discussed. However, discussions regarding his double life and imprisonment are still occurring. 

His eccentric personality is reflected in many of his works making it sometimes difficult to separate the author from the piece. This is seen quite evidently with one of his last published works,  The Ballad of Reading Gaol which was written when he was in exile after being released from prison. The poem focuses on the hanging of a fellow inmate and Wilde focuses on the prisoner as well as imprisonment. As seen in the excerpt below, his focus was on the treatment of the prisoners and their punishments but he did not discuss the crimes or what led to this outcome. Throughout this poem, the emotions he was feeling while in prison expressed through metaphors and vivid imagery showcase his mental state. Wilde encompasses “wild” through his life but also in his writing as they reflect the whirlwind journey he followed that some deemed as controversial. 

“They hang us now in Shrewsbury jail:

    The whistles blow forlorn,

And trains all night groan on the rail

    To men that die at dawn.”