Blog Post 7: Is Wilde “Wild”?

Oscar Wilde is a very popular and well-known literary figure from the Victoria era whose writing and reputation still stand until this day. He was a poet, author, and playwright and graduated from Oxford University. His writing belongs to the late Victorian era of England. Some of his notable works were The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Sphinx, and The Importance of Being Earnest. Wilde was often characterized as a dramatist with satire in his plays. He was also a huge proponent of the aestheticism movement which was met by a lot of criticism in terms of his works. 

In terms of reception, Oscar Wilde had some very popular works but they were considered controversial at the time because of their lack of morality and focus on aestheticism. Today, Wilde’s work is deeply appreciated by literary fans and he is also known for his wild personal life where he engaged in extramarital affairs with other men and went to jail due to his homosexuality. 

Oscar’s Wilde’s personality and life were most definitely a little wild and I do think that this is reflected in his work as an author as well! Though not everyone would describe his work as “wild”, I think there are many themes of “wildness” throughout his works. Wilde uses a lot of ideas of emotional turbulence and turmoil in his work. These are especially seen in one of his most famous poems, The Ballad of Reading Gaol. This opening was written after Wilde was released from jail and is a poem of his experiences with themes of betrayal, emotional despair, and emotional turbulence. In this poem, Wilde also talks about the death of love. He says “Each man kills the thing he loves…..the brave man with a sword”. I think Wilde’s work would be considered wild because it reflects on the emotions and thoughts behind a wild and non-conventional life for his time period.