oscar wilde letter to bosie de profundis

Throughout the process of the trial and ultimate sentence, Wilde served time in five different prisons in the British system. Libel action suit was held on 3 April 1895, and Wilde ultimately lost, condemning him to two years hard labor. Queensberry charged Wilde with 15 counts of sodomy involving 12 boys, 10 of whom were named (443). Ultimately, he filed an obscenity charge in order to punish Wilde for his ‘indecent’ acts with Alfred. Queensberry blamed Wilde for Douglas’s failures at Oxford University, and he quickly began to attack Wilde through letters and public acts (404). Newspaper HeadlineĪlfred’s father, John Douglas, ninth Marquess of Queensberry, warred with his son through Wilde, blaming their gay relationship for ‘Bosie’s’ reckless behavior. This relationship formed the seed for the later obscenity trials which ruined Wilde. Wilde repeatedly paid Douglas’s debts and supported him, leading ultimately to bankruptcy. Wilde’s relationship with Alfred Douglas was an amorous relationship which proved fidelity through economic rather than sexual means, as Douglas drove Wilde to ‘acquisition’ other young men. Wilde’s relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas began in the Spring of 1892, and resulted in an ongoing affair which caused Wilde’s ruin (385). Posted on MaUpdated on MaLord Alfred Douglas: A Tainted Relationship Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas

“Epistola: in Carcere et Vinculis”: The Downfall of Oscar Wilde (Presentation)

Oscar wilde letter to bosie de profundis