愛爾蘭 公元
(
1854年十月16日～
1900年十一月30日)
奥斯卡·王尔德
王爾德生於都柏林的一個傢世卓越的家庭，是傢中的次子，全名為：奧斯卡·芬葛·歐佛雷泰·威爾斯·王爾德（Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde）。他的父親威廉姆·王爾德爵士是一個外科醫生，他的母親是一位詩人與作傢。王爾德是一個優秀的學生，他獲得了都柏林聖三一學院（Trinity College）的奬學金，1874年，他進入牛津大學邁格德林學院（Magdalen College）學習。在牛津，王爾德受到了沃爾特·佩特及約翰·拉斯金的審美影響，並接觸了新黑格爾派哲學、達爾文進化論和拉斐爾前派的作品，這為他之後成為唯美主義先鋒作傢確立了方向。當時，雖然年輕的王爾德還沒有獲得一個文學奬項，但服裝惹眼、談吐機智、特立獨行的他在社會上已經小有名氣，一些雜志甚至刊登着諷刺他的文章。
1882年，王爾德在美國作了一個精彩的巡回講座，兩年後他與 Constance Lloyd 成婚，兩名兒子 Cyril 與 Vyvyan 亦分別在1885年與1886年出生。1887年王爾德成為一傢婦女雜志的執行總編輯，那上面發表着他的一些小說、評論和詩。王爾德的作品以其詞藻華美、立意新穎和觀點鮮明聞名，他的第一本小說道林·格雷的畫像發表於1891年，之後他又發表了散文《社會主義下人的靈魂》，這兩部作品都十分成功，但真正為王爾德贏得名譽的是他的戲劇作品。可以說他的每一部戲劇作品都受着熱烈的歡迎，有一個時期，倫敦的舞臺上竟同時上演着他的三部作品。
維多利亞女王時代的英國上流社會市儈腐朽，新舊風尚的衝突激烈，王爾德的自由作風和大膽的作風很快使他成為了這場衝突的犧牲品。1895年，昆斯拜瑞侯爵（Marquess of Queensberry）因兒子阿爾弗瑞德·道格拉斯（Lord Alfred 'Bosie' Douglas）與王爾德交往而令到父子不和，並公然斥責王爾德是一個 "sodomite"。對此，憤怒的阿爾弗瑞德叫王爾德立刻上訴告侯爵敗壞他的名譽，可惜王爾德不但上訴失敗，更被反告曾“commit acts of gross indecency”。根據當時英國苛刻的刑事法，王爾德被判有罪，在瑞丁和本頓維爾監獄服了兩年苦役。這兩年，王爾德停止了戲劇創作，而構思了詩作《瑞丁監獄之歌》和懺悔錄《深淵書簡》，在這兩部作品中已很難尋得唯美主義的影響。在王爾德服刑期間，Constance 與兩個孩子改姓為 Holland 兼移居意大利，而他大多數的朋友則對他避之唯恐不及，當中衹有寥寥數人如戲劇作傢蕭伯納仍挺身維護他。
1897年獲釋後，王爾德立刻動身前往巴黎，對於英國他失望透頂，不再有絲毫留戀。其後他為了兩名孩子曾嘗試與 Constance 復合，但阿爾弗瑞德亦同時表示想與王爾德重歸如好，最後王爾德放棄兩名孩子而選擇了阿爾弗瑞德。王爾德在以假名居住法國期間完成並出版了《瑞丁監獄之歌》，之後與阿爾弗瑞德同遊意大利，但幾個月後，兩人再次分手。1900年王爾德終於在好友 Robert 'Robbie' Ross 幫助下改信天主教，在同年11月30日因病於巴黎的亞爾沙斯旅館（Hotel d’Alsace）去世，享年46歲，死時衹有 Robbie 與另一朋友陪伴。
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish writer, poet, and prominent aesthete. His parents were successful Dublin intellectuals, and from an early age he was tutored at home, where he showed his intelligence, becoming fluent in French and German. He attended boarding school for six years, then matriculated to university at seventeen years of age. Reading Greats, Wilde proved himself to be an outstanding classicist, first at Trinity College, Dublin, then at Magdalen College, Oxford. After university, Wilde moved around trying his hand at various literary activities: he published a book of poems and toured America lecturing extensively on aestheticism. He then returned to London, where he worked prolifically as a journalist for four years. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress, and glittering conversation, Wilde was one of the most well-known personalities of his day. He next produced a series of dialogues and essays that developed his ideas about the supremacy of art. However, it was his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray – still widely read – that brought him more lasting recognition. He became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London with a series of social satires which continue to be performed, especially his masterpiece The Importance of Being Earnest.
At the height of his fame and success, Wilde suffered a dramatic downfall in a sensational series of trials. He sued his lover's father for libel, though the case was dropped at trial. After two subsequent trials, Wilde was imprisoned for two years' hard labour, having been convicted of "gross indecency" with other men. In prison he wrote De Profundis, a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of pleasure. Upon his release he left immediately for France, never to return to Ireland or Britain. There he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol, a long, terse poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life. He died destitute in Paris at the age of forty-six.