(1854–1900)
an Irish writer of plays, poetry and one novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891). He became famous after moving to London, where he wrote his most successful comedy plays, including Lady Windermere’s Fan (1892) and The Importance of Being Earnest . He is also well known for his humorous and intelligent remarks, and for being homosexual. In 1895 he was sent to prison for his homosexuality, which was illegal at the time. He described his prison experience in the poem The Ballad of Reading Gaol . After he was released he lived the rest of his life in France and Italy. Many of his clever and amusing remarks are still repeated today:
As Wilde said to the customs officer, ‘I have nothing to declare but my genius.’
► Wildean adj
of or typical of Oscar Wilde:
Wildean wit