Classics

A Beginner’s Guide to Oscar Wilde

Cassandra Neace

Staff Writer

Cassandra Neace is a high school English teacher in Houston. When she's not in the classroom, she reads books and writes about them. She prides herself on her ability to recommend a book for most any occasion. She can be found on Instagram @read_write_make

View All posts by Cassandra Neace

Oscar Wilde would have celebrated his 159th birthday earlier this week. He is one of those writers who wrote a bit of everything, including poems, essays, children’s stories, plays like The Importance of Being Earnest, and one single novel, The Portrait of Dorian Gray.  Wilde was a victim of Victorian attitudes toward sexuality. He served two years in prison for the alleged crime of “gross indecency” with another man.

His story is one that has resonated with  the artistic community for decades, and he is viewed by many as a pioneer in the struggle for gay rights. on the occasion of his 150th birthday, the first of the videos below was commissioned to pay tribute to the man – both his writing and his life.

Don’t worry. I included some Monty Python, too. I’m not going to let things get too serious.

Happy Birthday Oscar Wilde

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCPGIZBNKP8[/youtube]

 

BBC News – Rupert Everett talks about playing Oscar Wilde 

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0B4bJQYdQQ[/youtube]

 

Wilde (1997) – Stephen Fry as Oscar Wilde – Trial – The love that dare not speak its name 

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwhYn-P7hLg[/youtube]

 

Stephen Fry – Series 2, Episode 2: Beauty of Soul of Oscar Wilde 

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBCKiWh85oA[/youtube]

 

The Selfish Giant (from a story by Oscar Wilde) – Animated Film 

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jtLTS7T8cc[/youtube]

 

The Happy Prince – Oscar Wilde – Michael Mills’ Classic Animated Short (1974)

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Aank8bDtcE[/youtube]

 

Writers (Wilde, Shaw) – Monty Python’s Flying Circus

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxXW6tfl2Y0[/youtube]

 

And while this is not a video, it’s one of the most interesting Oscar Wilde tidbits that has appeared on the internet in a long while, via The Toast.

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