At a young age, I fell in love with acting, and it all began participating in school plays and at “Mrs Shepherds Cotwolds Amateur Dramatics Group”. Acting taught me so much, from projection and preparation to learning my lines – acting had stood me in great stead all my life.
One key role that stood out for me is when I played Gwendoline in the “importance of Being Earnest”, which is an Oscar Wilde play. The play is based on women who are responsible for enticing the action, for developing it, and then for bringing the resolution to the ultimate mystery of Jack’s true identity.
Without giving you a spoiler, the handbag in which Jack was found as a baby is a symbol for the comedy of errors. Jack’s inadvertent abandonment in a place as obscure and ridiculous as a handbag at a train station demonstrates the absurd results that arise when silly, as well as serious, mistakes are made.
I then was really delighted to be gifted a book recently by Wilde, called The Works – which I enjoyed immensely.
Over the years, I have found myself really appreciating the work of Oscar Wilde – who was born in Dublin on 16 October 1854. His father was a successful surgeon and his mother a writer and literary hostess. Wilde was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and Magdalen College, Oxford. While at Oxford, Wilde became involved in the aesthetic movement. After he graduated, he moved to London to pursue a literary career.
His output was diverse. The first volume of his poetry was published in 1881 but as well as composing verse, he contributed to publications such as the ‘Pall Mall Gazette’, wrote fairy stories and published a novel ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ (1891). His greatest talent was for writing plays, and he produced a string of extremely popular comedies including ‘Lady Windermere’s Fan’ (1892), ‘An Ideal Husband (1895)’ and ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ (1895). ‘Salomé’ was performed in Paris in 1896.
Drama and tragedy marred Wilde’s private life. He married Constance Lloyd in 1884 and they had two sons, but in 1891 Wilde began an affair with Lord Alfred Douglas, nicknamed ‘Bosie’. In April 1895, Wilde sued Bosie’s father, the Marquis of Queensberry, for libel, after the Marquis has accused him of being homosexual.
Wilde lost the case, and after details of his private life were revealed during the trial, was arrested and tried for gross indecency. He was sentenced to two years of hard labour. While in prison he composed a long letter to Douglas, posthumously published under the title ‘De Profundis’. His wife took their children to Switzerland and adopted the name ‘Holland’. Wilde was released with his health irrevocably damaged and his reputation ruined. He spent the rest of his life in Europe, publishing ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’ in 1898. He died in Paris on 30 November 1901
His works and quotes live on – my three favourites are the title of this piece, secondly
“Never Love Anyone Who Treats You Like You’re Ordinary” and the
“Essence of Friendship is Generosity”
I would love to hear from you, who is your all-round favourite writer, poet or playwright and most importantly why?