Wit Wisdom and Quotes of Oscar Wilde Biography

A short biography of Oscar Wilde and introduction to his wit and wisdom.

THE WIT OF OSCAR WILDE

Born in Dublin on Oct. 16, 1854, Oscar Wilde grew up in a bohemian household and attended Oxford. Settling in London at 25, he soon became world-renowned for his dress (velvet jacket and knee breeches), his air of decadence, his bons mots, and the variety of his writing. His one novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and his numerous successful plays, among them Lady Windermere's Fan and The Importance of Being Earnest, solidified his reputation. His downfall as a public figure came after a love affair with young Lord Alfred Douglas, which eventually led to his arrest and a prison term of two years at hard labor in Reading Gaol. Ostracized, he moved to France, where he died in a small Paris hotel on the Left Bank on Nov. 30, 1900. Memories of his witticisms made him immortal.