2019-10-16 Wed

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken”

Oscar Wilde, an Irish poet and playwright, whose flamboyant and dramatic portrayals of the human conditions made him a successful and popular playwright in Victorian London. Born on 16th of October 1854, Oscar Wilde was born of professional and literary parents.

After graduating from the top colleges in England, he pursued his career in writing. In his lifetime he wrote nine plays, one novel, and numerous poems, short stories, and essays. He was an Irish poet and dramatist whose reputation rested on his comic masterpieces like: Lady Windermere's Fan (1892) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). Among Wilde's other best-known works are his only novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891) and his fairy tales, especially "The Happy Prince."

As dramatic as his writings were, his life too turned to be dramatic and Wilde’s affair with a young man led to his arrest on charges of "gross indecency" in 1895. He was imprisoned for two years and died in poverty three years after his release at the age of 46.

More than a century after his death, Wilde is still remembered for his exuberant personality, consummate wit and for his literary accomplishments, amongst other things. His witty, imaginative and undeniably beautiful works, in particular his novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and his play “The Importance of Being Earnest”, are considered among the great literary masterpieces of the late Victorian period.

A scene from both his works mentioned above along with one from the fairy tale book “The Happy Prince” are depicted on stamps issued by Irish Post. The fourth stamp depicts the famous playwright Oscar Wilde in his equally famous pose.

Image Courtesy: faculty.citadel.edu/