Oscar Wilde

He was born in 1854 and died in 1900. During those all-too-brief years, he built a reputation that would long outlive him. And while today he is known for his literary works, he is arguably just as famous for his legendary wit — as well as the scandal and ensuing imprisonment that upturned his life.

As a literary figure, Wilde is perhaps best known for his play The Importance of Being Earnest, his only novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and “The Ballad of Reading Gaol,” a poem he wrote in exile after his release from prison. But when Oscar Wilde’s name is mentioned, it’s not only his writing that people remember. The name is synonymous with flamboyant manners and rapier wit, and a certain type of genius that dazzled society, whether it was in the clubs of London or the lecture halls of the United States.

When Wilde went to the U.S. in 1882 to lecture primarily on aestheticism — an artistic movement that emphasized the aesthetic value of art, or "art for art's sake" — he encountered a hostile press but was well received by the general public. The trip made him an international star. It also gave rise to one of the most famous quotes attributed to Wilde (though there’s no evidence to support the claim). When he arrived at U.S. customs to begin his tour (so the story goes), he was asked if he had anything to declare. With typical wit, he replied, “I have nothing to declare but my genius.”

Back in London, things turned sour when questions about Wilde’s private life spiraled out of control. His homosexuality became public knowledge, and soon he was charged with gross indecency and sentenced to two years of hard labor. His name was tarnished, his reputation left in tatters, and he spent his remaining years in exile in France, where he died in a cheap hotel in 1900. It was a tragic end, and sadly, even today, the events of his life are perhaps more widely known than his work.

But there was a lot more to Wilde than writing, wit, and scandal: He was a complex man with a complex personality. And as Wilde once wrote, “Personality is a very mysterious thing. A man cannot always be estimated by what he does. He may keep the law, and yet be worthless. He may break the law, and yet be fine. He may be bad without ever doing anything bad. He may commit a sin against society, and yet realize through that sin his true perfection.”

As Stephen King said, “An opening line should invite the reader to begin the story. It should say: Listen. Come in here. You want to know about this.” This is the writer’s hook, the way to grab the reader and hold their attention. But not all opening lines are created equal. A Charles Dickens novel might have a first sentence that’s more than 100 words, while a classic of comparative stature might have just three: “Call me Ishmael.”