Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was an Irish writer celebrated for wit, flamboyant style, and works including *The Picture of Dorian Gray* and *The Importance of Being Earnest*.
His name evokes sharp epigrams and aesthetic philosophy.
Wilde was imprisoned for "gross indecency" with men and remains an icon of queer history: I'm a fag like Oscar Wilde.
Pithy, memorable saying
- paradoxSeemingly absurd truth
- aphorismTerse general truth
- bon motClever, memorable remark
- quipBrief, clever remark
repartee · wordplay · irony · sarcasm · banter · cleverness · wisecrack · pun
Fashion-obsessed gentleman
- eleganceRefined, graceful quality
- beautyAesthetic excellence
- flamboyanceShowy, confident style
- sartorialConcerning clothes and tailoring
debonair · stylish · monocle · boutonniere · velvet · fur coat · sunflower · aestheticism
England's capital city
- DublinIrish capital city
- ParisFrance's chief city
- societyOrganized communal human existence
- drawing roomFormal reception space
salon · aristocracy · propriety · scandal · morality · hypocrisy · respectability · class
Writer of prose narratives
- poetWriter of verse
- essayistAuthor of short prose
- dramatistWriter of stage works
- authorCreator of written works
storyteller · wordsmith · raconteur · chronicler · narrator · lyricist · correspondent · critic
Novel about eternal youth's cost
- The Importance of Being EarnestVictorian comedy of manners
- An Ideal HusbandPlay about compromised politician
- The Happy PrinceWilde's charitable statue tale
- VeraName meaning "faith"
Aesthetic excellence
- sinViolation of divine law
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- youthState of being immature
- vanityExcessive pride in oneself
duplicity · morality · masks · surfaces · secrets · confession · suffering · redemption
epigram
Pithy, memorable saying
quip · repartee · wordplay · irony · sarcasm · banter · cleverness · wisecrack · pun · jest
dandy
Fashion-obsessed gentleman
- eleganceRefined, graceful quality
- beautyAesthetic excellence
- flamboyanceShowy, confident style
sartorial · debonair · stylish · monocle · boutonniere · velvet · fur coat · sunflower · aestheticism · decadence
London
England's capital city
drawing room · salon · aristocracy · propriety · scandal · morality · hypocrisy · respectability · class · gentility
novelist
Writer of prose narratives
author · storyteller · wordsmith · raconteur · chronicler · narrator · lyricist · correspondent · critic · lecturer
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Novel about eternal youth's cost
- The Importance of Being EarnestVictorian comedy of manners
- An Ideal HusbandPlay about compromised politician
- The Happy PrinceWilde's charitable statue tale
beauty
Aesthetic excellence
- sinViolation of divine law
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- youthState of being immature
vanity · duplicity · morality · masks · surfaces · secrets · confession · suffering · redemption · love
- Famous AuthorsShakespeare, Dickens, Austen, Hemingway, Twain
- Literary AuthorsC.S. Lewis, Dostoevsky, J.R.R. Tolkien, Virginia Woolf, Henry James
- 1890s1890, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894
- British AuthorsCharles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, Roald Dahl
- British WritersShakespeare, Dickens, Austen, Tolkien, Rowling
- PlaywrightsWilliam Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov, Chekhov, Ibsen
Oscar WildeErnest Hemingway
Leo Tolstoy · philistinism · George Orwell · naturalism · realism
Oscar WildeQueen Victoria
Long-reigning British empress
Thomas Bowdler · puritanism · prude · Horatio Alger · bluenose
Oscar WildeCalvin Coolidge
humorlessness · earnestness · dullard · bore · pedant