I recently discovered Mr. Wilde and am so glad that I did. He was so witty...and caddy! I caught the tale end of the film Wilde with Stephen Fry and Jude Law here on Logo.
Any other fans?
Renowned Death Hag
I recently discovered Mr. Wilde and am so glad that I did. He was so witty...and caddy! I caught the tale end of the film Wilde with Stephen Fry and Jude Law here on Logo.
Any other fans?
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]peek-a-boo!!
Yes, Wilde-fan here....Wilde was a great film and Stephen Fry was ideal to play him.....
Coincidentally, re-reading An Ideal Husband which lampoons much of Victorian society, but the great thing about Wilde's work is you can transplant so many of his plot's into modern day, and......not much has changed over the years.
Before Wilde was a playwright, he wrote many wonderful short stories....if you read nothing else, read this one....it's my favourite:
THE HAPPY PRINCE
http://www.online-literature.com/wilde/177/
Let me know what you think
Mr Oscar Wilde called himself the first modern man.
Look for movies made from his plays.
Also a Wilde fan...saw the film a few weeks ago - I really couldn't imagine anyone being more perfect physically or mentally to play Wilde than Stephen Fry!
The Happy Prince was sooo sad and some of his other poems are sad as well. The little bird that dies to make the perfect flower for the shallow idiot. ugh. However, as you said, his books and short stories easily could be slightly re-written and passed off as modern literature. My favorite was The Ghost of Canterbury Hall, I'm sorry, but I am shallow too.Originally Posted by SW4
Yes, Wilde-fan here....Wilde was a great film and Stephen Fry was ideal to play him.....
Coincidentally, re-reading An Ideal Husband which lampoons much of Victorian society, but the great thing about Wilde's work is you can transplant so many of his plot's into modern day, and......not much has changed over the years.
Before Wilde was a playwright, he wrote many wonderful short stories....if you read nothing else, read this one....it's my favourite:
THE HAPPY PRINCE
http://www.online-literature.com/wilde/177/
Let me know what you think
Death Hag Extraordinaire
Big Wild fan!!!
The weaved the plot from 'The picture of Dorian Gray' into the movie 'The league of extraordinary gentlemen'.
I am a sick puppy....woof woof!!!
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Carping the living shit out of the Diem. - Me!!
http://www.pinterest.com/neilmpenny
Renowned Death Hag
I wish I'd known him. I thought Stephen Fry and Jude Law were great.
Heath Ledger RIP
Last edited by suzycreamcheese1; 07-26-2011 at 01:51 PM.
He was a brilliant, witty fellow. I find his play Salome fascinating. It is VERY unfair that he had to go to prison for being homosexual.
Death Hag Extraordinaire
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."
The most dangerous woman of all is the one who refuses to rely on your sword to save her because she carries her own.
- R.H. Sin
Renowned Death Hag
Wlide not only did time for being homosexual, he did hard labor. For two years he was made to go up and down a stairclimber for 12 hours a day. This is why he died not long afterward.
"Everybody is born, and everybody dies. Being born wasn't so bad , was it?"
Peter the Hermit
He could turn a phrase on a dime but he was a selfish fucker who destroyed the lives of many young men and his poor, disillusioned wife. He got what he deserved. Look beyond his work and you'll find a very unlikable person.
Yes, a wonderful writer and not so great man. Maybe deep down he couldn't come to terms with his homosexuality and projected his sellf-loathing and unhappiness not only on himself but also on those around him.
Either that or he wasn't getting enough decent dick.
He converted to Catholicism on his death-bed. I wonder, would he have done this if he was still living the high life, and been everyone's darling?
Interesting. Anyway, re his wife, back then people thought that getting married would 'cure' your feelings towards men. By all accounts, he treated her with great kindness, if nothing else and did everything he could to protect her from his goings on. He really was not a very happy man.
I used to read about him years ago; in the late seventies to early eighties. PBS had a program called "Lillie" that i got caught up in, about Lillie Langtry and he was a friend of hers. So i started reading about both. At the time, I was EXTREMELY naive, and didn't understand what the trial he was involved in meant. I couldn't understand why people recoiled about homosexuality. I still don't. Anyway, he was a good fascination; clever-the books were well written.
I think Cameron Crowe looks like him.
I totally agree. I like his writings though.
Death Hag
He has a great tomb at the Pere Lachaise in Paris....I'm not sure what the significance of the kisses are though!!
Yep, Wilde fan here! We was a genius of the written word, and a wit!
I like 'The importance of being Earnest' and 'Lady Windermere's fan' best! 'The ballad of Reading Gaol' is a fine piece of work too!
Yes, he was arrogant and hedonistic, but nobody is perfect! It is often these little nuances that bring the fans closer! Plain people do not generally make headlines!
I should scan my photos of myself here! They are great!He has a great tomb at the Pere Lachaise in Paris....I'm not sure what the significance of the kisses are though!!
If Im correct this is not the original grave as it was but a crypt thingy built a while after! If Im wrong just correct ta!
Its a busy day at Pere Lachaise sitting next to your heros graves and having photographs taken!
Such a gothic addition to any photo album but an absolute must for any deathhag in Paris!
Last edited by cherryghost; 08-15-2009 at 01:53 AM.
Death Hag of Legend
I find (and judging by the scathing criticism of popular culture representatives and the general populace) most other posters on FAD find the majority of humanity to be very unlikeable. Thats not a spectacular or unusual trait and its quite a frail point to pursue as validation of your casual judgement upon an historic character using todays standards. Serve prison time and hard labor for your tearoom endevours and then report back.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
Death Hag
I think you are right, i found this article after a bit of googling...
Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde 1854-1900 died in France and was originally buried in the unimpressive Bagneaux Cemetery. In 1909, determined to bury him in a place worthy of his legend, his admirers transferred Wilde's remains to Le Pere Lachaise. Shortly thereafter American sculptor Jacob Epstein undertook the feat of designing the monument for Wilde's grave. It took him approximately three years to complete, and in 1914 when Epstein finally unveiled his masterpiece, featuring an anatomically correct Egyptian-style male figure, the cemetery conservator deemed it indecent. A fig-leaf plaque was promptly fashioned to cover the sculpture's private parts. However, the conservator's decision was apparently "out-voted" by the public-at-large, and in 1922 the plaque was removed "without permission" by unknowns. Unfortunately, these unknowns carried out their mission a little hastily and ended up removing more than just the fig leaf.
And totally agree about the Pere Lachaise being a must on a Paris Tour, it's one of my favourite cemetries
The Transfer of Oscar Wilde's Remains
When Oscar Wilde was released from prison on May 19, 1897, he was a broken man. Wilde left England and died in sad circumstances in Paris on November 30, 1900. His remains were buried in the insignificant Bagneaux Cemetery. There must have been plans to transfer the body from the start, since Wilde was buried in quicklime. This was done to transfer the corpse to bone, so moving it to another location would be a 'clean' affair.
When the great day finally came, however, the gravediggers were shocked by the sinister sight of Wilde: his body was preserved very well and his hair and beard had grown even longer. The quicklime had only served to preserve the body, instead of skeletizing it. Wilde's remains were moved to Père Lachaise on July 19, 1909.
He had to wait for another few years before his monument was finished. Not before 1914 the famous tomb (pictured below) by Jacob Epstein was unveiled. It had taken the American three years to sculpt it. When it was almost finished is was found to be indecent by the conservateur. This was resolved by a plaque that served as a fig leaf. This plaque was hacked away in 1922 (presumably by some students). Actually, they hacked away a little more than just the plaque.
On the 50th anniversary of Wilde's death the ashes of his friend Robert Ross (who died in 1918) were placed inside the tomb.
On the back of the tomb there's a fragment of his last major work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol:Source:
And alien tears will fill for him Pity's long broken urn For his mourners will be outcast men And outcasts always mourn
Judie Culbertson & Tom Randall, Permanent Parisians, Robson Books, London, 1986.
I love Wilde! His writing was wry and exquisite, and he uttered some of the best quotes in the English language. As for what happened to him, he made some poor dercisions that hurt others and himself, but many such mistakes were made due to his inability to accept his own homosexuality. I had trouble accepting my own in latter 20th century (I didn't really come to terms with it until 1999, when I was 36 years old) so I can imagine Oscar's difficulties in the latter 19th century! As for him "getting what he deserved" he was thrown in the pillory for his relationship with the Lord of Queensbury's son, a young man who was MUCH more experienced than Oscar in terms of homosexual encounters than was Wilde. So--although one may feel that 'karmically' Oscar recieved just desserts--he didn't deserve being thrown in prison...Lord Alfred Douglas seduced HIM.
Senior Death Hag
well said, Fultondyke! anyway, HUGE Wilde fan over here!!
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From my rotting body, flowers shall grow and I am in them and that is eternity. ~Edvard Munch
Yeah man you always strike me as a real ray of sunshine.
Renowned Death Hag
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a great movie if you have a
chance see it.
Last edited by theotherlondon; 08-23-2009 at 05:16 PM.
Carolyn(1958-2009) always in my heart.
that's right.
Renowned Death Hag
Last edited by hrhdiesel; 08-21-2010 at 05:11 AM. Reason: Large image changed to link to make it easier for all members to view.
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Renowned Death Hag
Last edited by hrhdiesel; 08-21-2010 at 05:12 AM. Reason: Large image changed to link to make it easier for all members to view.
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Renowned Death Hag
Its the most graffited grave in the cemetary - so many kiss marks....also the genitals had been removed.
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Oh! To be so loved...
The Importance of Being Earnest ... line after line of delectable fun.
Saddened for what he endured, but what a delight to read and view.
Lovely, I agree.
Could you be so kind to post huge pictures as attachments rather than in the body of of the post?
If you shan't desist, I will have to interpose my body.
Renowned Death Hag
I have now done them smaller! I didnt realise how big they got!!
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Hi everyone!
I recently found about all the people going to the Père-Lachaise to kiss Oscar Wilde's grave, and I'm really intrigued about it. I'm goign to write an article about it in the school newspaper.
I have loads of questions :
-When and how did this "fashion" start?
-Do the people who do this think about how it degrades the stone?
-Is it a proof of admiration or do they do it just cause everyone else does? And the most important question is : why? Do they see Oscar Wilde as a kind of sex-symbol?
I'd be really thankful if you could answer my questions, as is really interests me!
I think people in general do strange things to show love for the dead including defiling graves. for example, people constantly chizel chunks of stone out of james dean's headstone and people have sex and leave condoms at jim morrison's grave and women kiss Valentino's marker or leave cognac at Edgar Allan Poe's grave and Wilde's grave is no exception. It's probably impossible to say when it started and i highly doubt it will ever stop. As for people's reasoning to do it I think it's probably a 50/50 split. Most in general probably do it b/c their a fan and want to get close as possible to that person and they don't see it as degrading, it's almost intimate like your a part of that person and their apart of you forever, others are your basic jerks thinking it's funny to mess with a celebrity's final resting place. it sounds weird but admiration in and of it's self is very strange in it's physical form. As for Wilde fans, I think some see him as kind of a sexual revolutionist, a free thinker in love and how to apply it to another person especially since he was jailed and basically tortured b/c of his sexual orientation so it doesn't shock me in the least that hordes of people kiss his stone. Other fans probably kiss his stone just to show love, like I said to be and have some part of him. Some leave flowers, some kiss and some degrade.
I hope that answers some of your questions and good luck on your paper!!
Death Hag Extraordinaire
Art Deco at it's best.
I am a sick puppy....woof woof!!!
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Carping the living shit out of the Diem. - Me!!
http://www.pinterest.com/neilmpenny
Renowned Death Hag
My favorite Wilde story:
Wilde and Douglas were cavorting nude in Wilde's garden. There was a local vicar who loathed and persecuted Wilde who walked by Wilde's hedge hearing the goings on. The enraged vicar burst through Wilde's hedge to find the couple standing there in the nude to which the vicar demanded "What is the meaning of this!?" To which Wilde drolly replied "Not to worry old chap, its all Greek."
"Everybody is born, and everybody dies. Being born wasn't so bad , was it?"
Peter the Hermit
just at Père-Lachaise, highly recommend to everyone, awesome place if you can get there.
Renowned Death Hag
One more thing.....A code word in this country for a gay man during Wilde's time was "sunflower". When Wilde visited this country many American cartoonists placed a sunflower on his lapel in their depictions of him. Does anyone here know why the sunflower denoted gay men way back then?
"Everybody is born, and everybody dies. Being born wasn't so bad , was it?"
Peter the Hermit
maybe i'm missing something but why is there so much hatred for the man? I was reading about him on wiki and I didn't see anything shocking or disturbing about him or than the fact that he picked up and participated in male prostitution. I'm not saying that was right or anything but it's not like he was the Marquis de Sade for crying out loud...
Death Hag Extraordinaire
Initially it would have been because he was gay, being taboo back in those days. As of now? I have no idea why.
I am a sick puppy....woof woof!!!
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Carping the living shit out of the Diem. - Me!!
http://www.pinterest.com/neilmpenny
Renowned Death Hag
Neil,
Thank you for this oustanding post- it certainly offers much food for thought. In regards to Père-Lachaise, I certainly hope to see the beauty and history of it in person one day...what a magnificent place.
Renowned Death Hag
R.I.P. Wilde man.
my favorite quote
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."
Wilde was a virtual quote machine (the Monty Python crew did a great sketch about the night that Wilde ran out of quips--he suddenly had the panicked look of a stand-up whose act is bombing) and sometimes a very good writer. Several people have spoken of his selfishness--it was a fault that he was very much aware of himself (many of his plays and stories revolved around charming, selfish people and the damage they did to the people around them--think of The Portrait of Dorian Gray). That selfishness was very much tied to his ambition to make a mark -- he was regarded as a provincial rube by English high society when he first arrived from Dublin, even if his father was a distinguished surgeon (incidentally, Wilde was a next-door neighbor of Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, and Stoker had courted Constance Lloyd, the woman who eventually married Wilde).
As for Alfred Douglas, well, Wilde showed much poorer taste in boyfriends than in wives. It was Douglas who got Wilde into the habit of visiting male brothels, and it was Douglas whose abandonment of Wilde after he got out of prison that was probably the most heartbreaking--and cruel. He eventually declared himself "cured" of homosexuality and became a vicious right-wing tub-thumper, spewing hatred in print of jews, catholics, anybody, essentially who wasn't white and titled and reactionary. He eventually drank himself to death. John Gielgud mentioned in an interview once having met Douglas in his later years and it was apparently such an unpleasant meeting that Gielgud still shivered in distaste all those years later. He also mentioned that Douglas claimed that he had written most of <i>The Importance of Being Earnest</i>. Nice fellow.
I almost feel bad for Wilde in a way. I have a friend who very much fits that selfish description but it doesn't make him a bad guy I kinda think that way about Wilde especially since they both acknowledge their own behavioral faults. Douglas sounds like an awful prat. It's sad to think that the worst people make the biggest impression, like the old "moth to a flame" saying, it's pretty and bright but get close to it and it'll kill ya. I'd like to think most of his bigoted hatred was b/c of the accumulation of regret in his life and it haunted him to the point to where he couldn't take it anymore hence swimming in the bottom of a bottle of booze. you can't help but feel sorry for a person like that...
I've always been a huge fan. He was very witty.
my favorite too!
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