Oscar Wilde – Part Two

Published on 31 July 2022 at 00:27

Oscar Wilde’s fifth play was called A Florentine Tragedy and was published in 1893 but set in the 16th century. It tells the story of a wealthy merchant, Simone, who finds his wife, Bianca, in the arms of the young heir to the throne of Florence, Guido. Guido comes to Simone’s house to claim Bianca as his own and promises a fortune to Simone in exchange for her hand. While Simone is greedy for the money, isn’t swayed easily and strangles Guido instead.

His sixth play is called Lady Windermere’s Fan and was published in 1893. On the day of Lady Windermere’s birthday party, it seems that everything is in order. However, her friend Lord Darlington plants a seed of suspicion that her husband may be having an affair and that the other women may not attend the party. This play explores the relationship between women of the upper class Victorian society and proved to be one of Wilde’s most popular and witty plays.

His seventh play, published in 1893, is called A Woman of No Importance and is a Satirical play about the double standards of the Victorian upper class. It reads as a serious protest against Victorian gender inequality and is framed with wit. Gerald Arbuthnot is a young gentlemen with a promising career within his reach as secretary to the brilliant Lord Illingworth. However, it is discovered that Lord Illingworth his Gerald’s father who seduced his mother twenty years ago and abandoned her. His mother is horrified and refuses to let him keep his job, and Gerald must choose between his wronged mother and his career.

His eighth play is called The Importance of Being Earnest and was published in 1895. It follows the story of a man named Jack Worthing who lives in the country with his ward, Cecily, and her governess, Miss Prism. He spends time in London and claims that he has a younger brother named Ernest who calls him into town often. In town, he is known as Ernest. Soon, his double life begins to catch up with him. This play is generally regarded as Wilde’s masterpiece due to its verbal brilliance and wit.

His ninth play is called La Sainte Courtisane and tells the story of Myrrhina, a courtisane, who seeks a handsome Christian hermit, Honorius, and hopes to tempt him away from his righteous path into a life of love. However, after beholding the cross for the first time she converts hers into a life of virtue, while he falls in love with her and hopes to take her away as his lover. This play was written in 1894 but was never finished or published, so it exists as a fragment.

 

Sources cited:

Oscar Wilde. Drama Online – Oscar Wilde. (n.d.). Retrieved July 31, 2022, from https://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/person?docid=person_wildeOscar

Oscar Wilde Online. Oscar Wilde’s Plays. (n.d.). Retrieved July 31, 2022, from https://www.wilde-online.info/plays.htm

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