Oscar Wilde and Satire

Albert Samain

French poet and critic associated with the aesthetic movement.

Algernon Moncrieff

A witty, lazy, upper-class character in The Importance of Being Earnest who invents the alter ego "Bunbury" to avoid social obligations.

André Gide

French author to whom Oscar Wilde famously remarked in his final years that he had put his genius into his life and only his talent into his writings.

Art for Art's Sake

A movement and aesthetic belief—advocated by French poets, critics, and English artists like Rossetti and Keats—that art holds intrinsic value, independent of moral, educational, or utilitarian purposes.

Arthur Sullivan

Composer who, along with W. S. Gilbert, created the comic opera Patience (1881), which satirized Wilde and the aesthetic movement.

Benjamin Disraeli

Nineteenth-century dandy and British Prime Minister whose flamboyant style contrasted with late-Victorian middle-class attire.

Bunbury

An imaginary invalid friend invented by Algernon Moncrieff to escape unwanted social engagements in the country.

Bunburyist

A person who leads a double life or invents an imaginary alter ego/obligation to escape social duties or engage in secret pursuits.

Cecily Cardew

The 18-year-old ward of Jack Worthing in The Importance of Being Earnest who falls in love with his fictitious alter ego, Ernest.

Charles Dickens

Famous Victorian novelist noted alongside Disraeli as a dandy of the earlier 19th century who favored colorful dress.

Charles Stewart Parnell

Key leader in Irish nationalist politics whose political engagement influenced Wilde's views on Irish politics and Home Rule.

Constance Lloyd

Oscar Wilde’s wife, a wealthy Irish woman with whom he had two sons before his public downfall.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Pre-Raphaelite poet and painter whose work influenced Oscar Wilde and the English aesthetic tradition.

De Profundis

A long, sober prose letter/confession written by Oscar Wilde to Lord Alfred Douglas while in Reading Gaol, published in 1905.

Edward, Prince of Wales

Son of Queen Victoria and future King Edward VII, reputed lover of Lillie Langtry.

George Bernard Shaw

Irish playwright and contemporary of Oscar Wilde who also settled in London after 1878.

Gross Indecency

The criminal charge brought against Oscar Wilde under British law for homosexual acts between men.

Honorable Gwendolen Fairfax

Lady Bracknell’s self-possessed daughter in The Importance of Being Earnest who insists she can only love a man named Ernest.

Home Rule

The political movement advocating for self-governance and an independent parliament for Ireland, strongly supported by Oscar Wilde and his mother.

If You're Anxious for to Shine in the High Aesthetic Line

A satirical song from Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera Patience mocking aesthetes like Oscar Wilde.

Impression du Matin

An early poem by Oscar Wilde (1885) depicting urban street life in a way that anticipated T. S. Eliot.

Jack Worthing

A character in The Importance of Being Earnest who goes by "Jack" in the country and "Ernest" in London.

Jane Wilde ("Speranza")

Oscar Wilde's mother, a prominent Irish nationalist, poet, and cultural figure who wrote under the pseudonym "Speranza."

John Keats

Romantic poet viewed by Oscar Wilde as part of the lineage of English aestheticism leading up to the Pre-Raphaelites.

John Ruskin

Oxford University professor of fine arts whose aesthetic theories influenced the young Oscar Wilde.

Labouchère Amendment

A late 1885 addition to the Criminal Law Amendment Act in Britain that criminalized all sexual acts between men.

Lady Bracknell

The formidable aristocratic aunt of Algernon Moncrieff in The Importance of Being Earnest who demands financial stability for marital matches.

Lady Windermere's Fan

A highly successful comedy written by Oscar Wilde and staged between 1892 and 1895.

Lillie Langtry

Prominent Victorian actress and socialite named by Wilde as one of the three women he most admired.

Lord Alfred Douglas ("Bosie")

Young poet and Oxford undergraduate whose romantic relationship with Oscar Wilde led to Wilde's feud with the Marquess of Queensberry and ultimate imprisonment.

Lord Henry Wotton

The cynical, aesthetic aristocrat in The Picture of Dorian Gray who leads Dorian Gray into a lifestyle of hedonism.

Marquess of Queensberry

John Sholto Douglas, father of Lord Alfred Douglas, who accused Wilde of "posing as somdomite" and created the Queensberry rules for boxing.

Mimesis

The aesthetic principle that art imitates life or nature, a concept rejected by Wilde in favor of art's inherent superiority over life.

Mr. Edward Carson

The formidable barrister and former college peer of Wilde at Trinity College Dublin who successfully broken down Wilde under cross-examination during the libel trial.

Patience

An 1881 comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan that satirized Oscar Wilde and the aesthetic movement through the character Bunthorne.

Père Lachaise Cemetery

The cemetery in Paris, France, where Oscar Wilde is buried.

Plato's Symposium

An ancient Greek philosophical text exploring love and pederasty, which Wilde frequently cited to contextualize and rationalize same-sex affection.

Pre-Raphaelites

A group of English artists and poets in the mid-19th century whose focus on sensory beauty and detailed craft laid the foundation for British aestheticism.

Queen Victoria

Monarch of the United Kingdom whom Wilde jokingly cited as one of the three women he most admired and would have married with pleasure.

Reggie Turner

Author and close friend of Oscar Wilde who supported him during his legal troubles and exile.

Richard Ellmann

Biographer who authored an acclaimed 1988 biography of Oscar Wilde.

Robert Browning

Victorian poet admired by Oscar Wilde as a formidable literary predecessor.

Robert Ross ("Robbie Ross")

A young Canadian-British journalist and loyal friend of Oscar Wilde who engaged in Wilde's first homosexual experience around 1886.

Sarah Bernhardt

Famous French stage actress whom Oscar Wilde listed alongside Queen Victoria as one of his most admired women.

Sir Arthur Sullivan

English composer who partnered with W. S. Gilbert to write comic operas, including Patience.

Sir William Wilde

Oscar Wilde’s father, a distinguished Dublin eye and ear surgeon, polymath, ethnologist, and author.

Studies in the History of the Renaissance

An 1873 book by Walter Pater that Oscar Wilde called his "golden book" and considered the flower of decadence.

The Aesthetic Movement

A late 19th-century literary and artistic movement advocating "art for art's sake" and emphasizing visual and sensual beauty over moral purpose.

The Ballad of Reading Gaol

A famous 1898 poem written by Oscar Wilde based on his brutal experiences while imprisoned in Reading Gaol.

The Critic as Artist

An 1890 prose work by Oscar Wilde exploring aesthetic principles and Pater's view on the superiority of art.

The Decay of Lying

An 1889 essay by Oscar Wilde that critiques realism and asserts that art does not imitate life, but rather life imitates art.

The Harlot's House

An 1881 poem by Oscar Wilde showcasing his distinct perspective on modern urban spaces.

The Importance of Being Earnest

Oscar Wilde's celebrated 1895 satirical masterpiece revolving around double lives, social satire, and romantic entanglements.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde's famous 1891 novel about a handsome young man who remains eternally youthful while his portrait ages and reflects his corrupted soul.

The Remarkable Rocket

An 1888 children's story by Oscar Wilde featuring an egotistical, epigram-speaking firework whose glorious explosion goes entirely unnoticed.

The Soul of Man under Socialism

An 1891 essay by Oscar Wilde advocating an individualistic form of libertarian socialism where the state handles labor so citizens can pursue art and culture.

Trinity College Dublin

The prestigious university in Dublin where Oscar Wilde excelled in classical studies before attending Oxford.

Walter Pater

Oxford professor, author of Studies in the History of the Renaissance, and key aesthetic theorist who heavily influenced Oscar Wilde.

Wilfrid Scawen Blunt

English poet and anti-imperialist political activist who associated with Wilde's circle.

William Butler Yeats

Nobel Prize-winning Irish poet who admired Oscar Wilde’s conversational talents and presence in London literary circles.

William Morris

Pre-Raphaelite designer, poet, and socialist whose aesthetic theories on home decoration and political philosophy deeply impacted Wilde.