Oscar Wilde has been one of my favourite authors for many years, and I owe my love of his writing to my English teachers, who first introduced me to his work.
Wilde was an exceptionally intelligent and gifted writer who lived during the Victorian era (1837–1901), a time when society was governed by strict moral conventions. His wit, unconventional personality and homosexuality brought him into conflict with the values of his time. In 1895, he was convicted of gross indecency because of his relationships with men and sentenced to two years in prison with hard labour.
De Profundis is a long letter he wrote in prison in 1897, addressed to Lord Alfred Douglas, with whom he had been romantically involved. It is an extraordinarily moving and brilliant piece of writing, filled with reflections on love, suffering and personal transformation, and expressed in exquisite English.
Wilde was released from prison in May 1897 and spent the remaining years of his life in France. His imprisonment had profoundly affected his health, reputation and financial circumstances. He died in Paris in November 1900, at the age of just 46. De Profundis was first published in 1905, five years after his death, in an abridged edition.
I am sharing it here because I believe it is a literary masterpiece worth discovering. It is a challenging but rewarding read for C1 students, while those approaching C2 will be better equipped to appreciate the richness and beauty of Wilde’s language.
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