Meet the Playwright: 10 Fun Facts about Oscar Wilde
By Kathryn Neves, guest writer
This summer at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, we’re putting on one of the most entertaining plays in the English language. The Importance of Being Earnest has always been a Festival favorite; this’ll be our third production in our 64-year history! And, even before the start of the Festival, Founder Fred C. Adams played the imposing Lady Bracknell in a college production. Truly, this play is iconic.
But as iconic as the play is, it doesn’t hold a candle to its playwright. One of the most eccentric, witty, and prolific writers in the English language, Oscar Wilde’s life was as crazy as his name. Let’s take a look at a few fun facts about this season’s most “Wilde” playwright.
1. He was a leader of Aestheticism
A new artistic trend was on the rise in Victorian England—aestheticism. This movement prioritized beauty and form above all else. In art, in poetry, in fiction, only the aesthetics mattered. It didn’t matter if art “meant” something, or if it taught a lesson or made commentary. The top priority was the aesthetic quality of a work. This movement is where the phrase “art for art’s sake” comes from. Oscar Wilde was, and still is, one of the most famous “aesthetes” of all time.
2. He was a jack-of-all trades
In addition to being very prolific, Wilde wrote in a wide variety of genres and forms. While his plays and one novel are probably his most famous works, Wilde wrote dozens of poems, essays, short stories, speeches, arguments, dialogues, and political dissertations.
3. He was an Irish Nationalist
Wilde was born in Ireland—Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde—to a very political family. His parents were active in the cause of Irish Nationalism, and as an adult, he picked up the cause too. Most of his politics were focused on Ireland’s right to independence and sovereignty.
4. He was (maybe?) a child prodigy
As an adult, Oscar Wilde made some bold claims about his childhood. He told schoolmates that he was born brilliant; one especially modest claim was that he could “speed read.” According to him, he could read two facing pages at the same time, and he could read a 3 volume book in under half an hour.
5. He was briefly a Freemason
During his Oxford years, Oscar Wilde was initiated into the Apollo Masonic Lodge. He participated heavily and even attained the title of Master Mason. However, after he left Oxford, he stopped all active involvement and stopped paying his membership dues.
6. He loved Shakespeare
Oscar Wilde was a brilliant student of classical literature—including the study of the Bard. That love of Shakespeare continued past his school years; in 1889 he wrote a story called “The Portrait of Mr. W. H.” The story followed the attempt to identify Mr. W. H.—the mysterious figure to whom Shakespeare dedicated his book of sonnets.
7. He was unjustly imprisoned
Victorian England had strict laws against homosexuality, resulting in the unfair imprisonment of gay men across the kingdom. In 1895 one of his male lovers came to light, and Wilde was put through a humiliating trial. He was sentenced to two years in prison—a grueling and cruel experience he wrote about in The Ballad of Reading Gaol. After his release, Wilde’s creative output was much slower, and he moved to France—never again to return to the U.K.
8. He had a pseudonym
After his prison stay, Oscar Wilde wanted to live in anonymity. To that end, he sometimes went by another name—Sebastian Melmoth. “Sebastian” came from the Catholic Saint Sebastian, and Melmoth came from the title character of Melmoth the Wanderer—a novel written by his great uncle, Charles Maturin.
9. He became a Catholic late in life
From the time he was very young, Wilde expressed a lot of interest in Catholicism. As a young man he was nearly baptized, before he abruptly changed his mind (and sent flowers to the priest as an apology). However, at the very end of his life, Wilde decided to go through with it. He was baptized into the Catholic church on November 29, 1900—and died the very next day.
10. The Importance of Being Earnest is considered a theatrical masterpiece
Oscar Wilde wrote nine plays during his life; and, though they were all excellent, none of them were as popular or iconic as The Importance of Being Earnest. The play’s success firmly cemented Wilde as one of the literary greats. Even now, more than 100 years later, people still flock to see the show—an honor reserved for only the best playwrights.
Come see The Importance of Being Earnest this season at the Festival! Full of unforgettable characters and the wittiest (and fastest) dialogue you’ll ever hear, it’s not a show you’ll want to miss.
For tickets or more information, visit bard.org.
