Oscar Wilde. A Concise Biography

Description

This introduction to the life and literature of Oscar Wilde from the Famous Authors series begins by introducing Wilde's passionately political, literary, and flamboyant parents and nineteenth century Dublin, the earliest and strongest influences on the writer. Wilde went on to study classics at Oxford and develop his talents. The film discusses Walter Pater's large influence on Wilde's philosophy, most importantly his idea that everything beautiful was good, and the cultivation of Wilde's theatrical and decadent persona. Eventually, Wilde married, began editing 'The Woman's World,' and garnering literary success for his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray and his plays. The film finally explores the major scandal of Wilde's life, when he was criminally charged for homosexual acts which, while not secret in society, were formally exposed by his lover Lord Alfred Douglas' father. Wilde went to jail for this offense, and there wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol and De Profundis.

Runtime

36 min

Series

Subjects

Contributor

Genre

Date of Publication

[2011], c2005

Database

Films on Demand

Direct Link