WILD E, Oscar (Fingal O'Flahertie Wills), Irish poet: b. Dublin, Ireland, 1856; d. Paris, 30 Nov. 1900. His father was Sir Wil liam Wilde a noted surgeon, and his mother was Lady Jane Wilde (q.v.). He was grad uated from Oxford in 1878, winning the New digate prize for English verse. In 1879 he went to live in London, where he soon became the leader of the so-called esthetic movement and was satirized by Du Maurier as 'Postle thwaith' in Poineh, and by Gilbert in the opera 'Patience.' He visited the United States in le12, lecturing extensively on art topics, and later lectured similarly in his own country and in Paris. As an orator he was a flat failure, but he had a faculty of keeping himself in the public eye. His poetry and plays constitute his best claim to recognition. In 1895 he was con victed of a serious moral offense and con demned to penal servitude for two years. Dur ing his imprisonment he wrote 'A Ballad of Reading Gaol,' a of great force, and 'De Profundis,' published in 1905. After his
release he lived mainly in France. His other published works include 'Poems' (1880); The Picture of Dorian Gray,' a novel; 'The Happy Prince and Other Tales' (1:-:.:); the tragedies 'Guido Ferranti' (1890), and 'The Duchess of Padua' ; 'Intentions,' essays (1891); 'Lord Arthur Savik's Crimes, and Other Stories' (1891); 'Lads Windermere's Fan,' 'A Woman of No Importance.' and 'The Importance of Being Earnest.' etc. His comedies are extremely clever, and his poems are characterized by melody of movement and beauty of thought. A complete edition of his poems appeared in 1903. Consult Ransome, A., 'Oscar Wilde: a Critical Study' (London 1912); Douglas, Lord Alfred, 'Oscar Wilde and Myself' (New York 1914); Mason, S., 'Bibliography of Oscar Wilde' (London 1914).