1. “I AM SO CLEVER THAT SOMETIMES I DON’T UNDERSTAND A SINGLE WORD OF WHAT I AM SAYING.”

2.  Born in Dublin, 16 October 1854  Educated at Trinity College  Settled in London  Friends with Yeats and Henry James  A terrible actor, but beloved celebrity and writer – sort of like Woody Allen.

3. 1880s 1890s Wrote reviews Edited a women’s magazine Published a volume of poetry Wrote reviews Edited a women’s magazine Published a volume of poetry Published The Picture of Dorian Gray – not well received The Importance of Being Earnest Hit literary stride: Lady Windermere’s Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband

4.  Preferred genre– Victorian melodrama a.k.a. “sentimental comedy”  Genre derived from the French variety of “well- made play” which commonly features  fallen women  abandoned children of uncertain parentage  Letters and miscommunication  dark secrets from the past rise to threaten the happiness of seemingly respectable, well-meaning characters.

5.  Wilde introduced a new character to the genre = the “dandy”  Character represented a moral perspective never before portrayed in drama  Dandy = man who pays excessive attention to his appearance = heavily autobiographical = facilitates authorial voice = witty, overdressed, self-styled philosopher = speaks in epigrams and paradoxes = ridicules the insincerity and hypocrisy of society = self-deprecatingly presents himself as trivial, shallow, and ineffectual. HOWEVER the dandy always proves to be deeply moral and essential to the happy resolution of the plot THE DANDY

6.  early experiment in Victorian melodrama  Part satire, part comedy of manners, and part intellectual farce  seems to have nothing at stake because the world it presents is so blatantly and ostentatiously artificial  serious subtext that takes aim at self-righteous moralism and hypocrisy THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST

7. 1895 1900 - dies The Importance of Being Earnest 2 wks after IOBE opened, the Marquess of Queensbury (Lord Alfred’s belligerent, homophobic father) publicly accused him of being a homosexual Wilde sued for libel and lost Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885: homosexual acts punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment 2 wks after IOBE opened, the Marquess of Queensbury (Lord Alfred’s belligerent, homophobic father) publicly accused him of being a homosexual Wilde sued for libel and lost Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885: homosexual acts punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment Served full sentence under conditions of utmost hardship and cruelty. Released from prison Poor healt/broken spirit Moved to Paris Lived in poverty under assumed name Released from prison Poor healt/broken spirit Moved to Paris Lived in poverty under assumed name

8.  Wilde could have escaped England before the trial  Speculation as to why he remained includes:  self-destructiveness  denial  desperation  desire for martyrdom.

9.  Possible alternative to why Wilde did not escape –  Did he remain to protect his lover’s brother, who was a also a homosexual and who was having an affair with the future prime minister?  Was the persecution a media trick? Was it meant to draw attention away from other homosexuals in positions of power, such as the future prime minister of England?  Was Wilde further punished by the government when his lover’s father threatened to reveal the truth about the future prime minister?

10. EPIGRAMS: A PITHY SAYING OR REMARK EXPRESSING AN IDEA IN A CLEVER AND AMUSING WAY.

11.  Dialectic response to:  Realism  Didacticism  Morality  The monotony and vulgarity of bourgeois life  Belief in Art for art’s sake.  Unconventional lifestyle  Appreciation of Beauty at expense of utility/social value  Pursuit of Pleasure & Worship of the Senses (Hedonism)  Evocative Use of the language of senses  Excessive attention to the self characterised earlier and even concurrent cultural fashions