Oscar Wilde

1
Oscar WildeThe Picture of Dorian Gray

• By BreShay Johnson

2
Birth

• Born on October 16, 1854
• Mothers name is Lady Jane Francesca Wilde
• Fathers name was Sir William Wilde
• Had an older brother, William Wills Wilde and
  younger sister, Isola Francesca Wilde

3
Family Info

• Mother was a poet and journalist
• Father was a Irish antiquarian, gifted writer and
  ear and eye disease specialist
• His younger sister was very ill and died young

4
Growing Up

• He wasnt popular in school
• He kept to himself and did not participate in any
  sports or other boyhood activities
• He was misunderstood by his classmates but they
  were amazed by his ability to imitate the teacher

5
Schools Attended

• Portora Royal School in Enniskillen County
  Fermanagh (1864-71)
• Trinity College in Dublin (1871-74)
• Magdalen College in Oxford (1874-78)

6
Marriage

• Wilde married Constance Lloyd on May 29, 1884
• Together they had two sons, Cyril and Vyvyan
• Wilde's marriage ended in 1893.

7
Wildes Affair

• In 1891 Wilde began an affair with Lord Alfred
  Douglas, nicknamed Bosie'
• Bosie became both the love of his life and his
  downfall
• Wilde was put on trial for homosexuality charges
  in 1895
• Was sentenced to 2 years hard labor in jail for
  the crime of sodomy

8
Writing In Jail

• During his time in prison he wrote De Profundis,
  a dramatic monologue and autobiography, which was
  addressed to Bosie.

9
The End
10
Upon Release

• He wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol, revealing
  his concern for inhumane prison conditions upon
  release in 1897
• He spent the rest of his life wandering Europe,
  staying with friends and living in cheap hotels
• He died of cerebral meningitis on November 30,
  1900, penniless, in a cheap Paris hotel

11
The Victorian Age

• The Victorian age focused on the life and work
  of Queen Victoria. This was also a time of change
  because of the Industrial Revolution. And the
  literature produced at this time dealt with
  social issues.

12
Poems

• Ravenna (1878)
• Poems (1881)
• The Sphinx (1894)
• The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898)

13
Plays

• The Nihilists (1880)
• The Duchess of Padua (1883)
• Salomé (French version) (1893, first performed in
  Paris 1896)
• Lady Windermere's Fan (1892)
• A Woman of No Importance (1893)
• Salomé A Tragedy in One Act Translated from the
  French of Oscar Wilde by Lord Alfred Douglas with
  illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley (1894)
• An Ideal Husband (1895)
• The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)
• A Florentine Tragedy Fragmentary. First published
  1908 in Methuen's Collected Works

14
The Picture of Dorian Gray

• This book is about a boy by the name of Dorian
  Gray who meets a man named Lord Henry Wonton at a
  studio. This studio is owned by Basil Hallward,
  who uses Dorian as a model for one of his
  paintings. Lord Henry convinces Dorian to put
  beauty before anything else in life. Because of
  this, when the painting of Dorian by Basil is
  complete, Dorian is very impressed by his youth
  and beauty. But then becomes fearful, because
  with age his beauty and youth will fade. This
  leads to Dorian being jealous of the picture
  because while he ages the picture will stay
  beautiful forever. Dorian and Lord Henry become
  great friends because Lord henry is impressed by
  his outlook on life. And Basil gets upset because
  he feel as though lord Henry has corrupted young
  Dorians mind.

15
Thesis

• Oscar Wilde was a very important writer during
  the Victorian Period. He faced many challenges
  throughout life, even being throwed into to jail
  due to his homosexuality charge. And it all just
  made his works of art even better.