Oscar wilde
The Unparalleled Contributions of an Eminent Poet
The world famous poet, Oscar Wilde, was born on October 18, 1854 in Dublin, Ireland. What would the imaginative world of poetry and its captive audience have missed without the sensitive voice of Wilde to make us question the meaning of art? Due to the positive and negative influences on his eccentric life, Oscar Wilde preserved to become a recognized writer with an authentic voice.
Childhood
Oscar Wilde had an intriguing childhood, and it certainly affected him his entire life. He was very close to his family, and was on excellent terms with his mother and father, although there was some “sibling rivalry between him and his elder brother, Willie, for their attention” (Ellman 4). He had a particularly powerful relationship with his mother. She was a writer like Wilde, and they had many other things in common. When Wilde was younger, his mother, Jane (also known as Esperanza), would sometimes dress him up in women’s clothing, which many people believed resulted in Wilde’s effeminate personality (Ellman 17). Wilde’s mother would do this because she desperately longed for a daughter. After his younger sister was born, she stopped dressing him in women’s fashion. Wilde’s younger sister, Isola, also maintained a close relationship with Wilde (Ellman 16). However, her life was brief, and she died at the age of nine from meningitis. Oscar never quite got over her death, and he wrote the beautiful poem, Requiescat, in her memory. To add to the tragedy of his sister’s death, “Oscar’s father died on April 19, 1876, leaving the family financially strapped” (Biography). The financial crisis did not affect Oscar too heavily. The lack of a strong male figure in his life could have led to his homosexuality. The events of his earlier years in life impacted an influenced Wilde’s literary work for his entire career.
Career
The world famous poet, Oscar Wilde, was born on October 18, 1854 in Dublin, Ireland. What would the imaginative world of poetry and its captive audience have missed without the sensitive voice of Wilde to make us question the meaning of art? Due to the positive and negative influences on his eccentric life, Oscar Wilde preserved to become a recognized writer with an authentic voice.
Childhood
Oscar Wilde had an intriguing childhood, and it certainly affected him his entire life. He was very close to his family, and was on excellent terms with his mother and father, although there was some “sibling rivalry between him and his elder brother, Willie, for their attention” (Ellman 4). He had a particularly powerful relationship with his mother. She was a writer like Wilde, and they had many other things in common. When Wilde was younger, his mother, Jane (also known as Esperanza), would sometimes dress him up in women’s clothing, which many people believed resulted in Wilde’s effeminate personality (Ellman 17). Wilde’s mother would do this because she desperately longed for a daughter. After his younger sister was born, she stopped dressing him in women’s fashion. Wilde’s younger sister, Isola, also maintained a close relationship with Wilde (Ellman 16). However, her life was brief, and she died at the age of nine from meningitis. Oscar never quite got over her death, and he wrote the beautiful poem, Requiescat, in her memory. To add to the tragedy of his sister’s death, “Oscar’s father died on April 19, 1876, leaving the family financially strapped” (Biography). The financial crisis did not affect Oscar too heavily. The lack of a strong male figure in his life could have led to his homosexuality. The events of his earlier years in life impacted an influenced Wilde’s literary work for his entire career.
Career
Cited: Ellman, Richard. Oscar Wilde. New York: The New York Review of Books, 1987. “Biography” The Official Website of Oscar Wilde. 5 April 2013 www.cmgww.com/historic/wilde/bio1.htm. “Fast Facts” The Official Website of Oscar Wilde. 5 April 2013 www.cmgww.com/historic/wilde/fastfacts.htm. Fitzgerald, Bryan. “Ten Interesting Facts About Irish Literary Legend Oscar Wilde.” Roots. Web. 13 April 2013 www.irishcentral.com/roots/Ten-interesting-facts-about-irish- literary-legend-Oscar-Wilde-68254086.htm. “Oscar Wilde” Neuroticpoets.com Web. 27 April 2013 http://www.neuroticpoets.com/wilde/. Untermeyer, Louis. Lives of the Poets. New York: Simon and Shuster, 1959. “Quotes” The Official Website of Oscar Wilde. 5 April 2013 www.cmgww.com/historic/wilde/quotes.htm.