Oscar Wilde at Oxford: A lecture delivered at the Library of Congress on March 1, 1983

by Library of Congress (Contributor)

30 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in four buildings in Washington, D.C., as well as the Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia, it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and number of books.

The Library's primary mission is researching inquiries made by members of Congress through the Congressional Research Service. It also serves as the legal repository for copyright protection and copyright registration for the United States Copyright Office.

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Reviews

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Richard Elmann isn't the preeminent authority on Irish authors he is at least a shining star in that sky. I've had his books on Yates, Joyce and Wilde on my shelf forever, and it took purchasing this small press work from John Barth's estate to break that seal (more on this in a minute).

This printing of a lecture given by Ellmann at the Library of Congress focuses on a critical stage in Wilde's life. At Oxford his intellect was fed, but the war for his soul was also waged. He came very close to converting to Catholicism - even made the pilgrimage to the Vatican (with a close friend who had converted) to meet the Pope. There were so many interesting life paths competing for his attention - some of them antipodes to the other - and he genuinely wanted them all. He even wanted to marry, a beautiful Dublin woman named Florence Balcombe, but after two years of courting she understood she could never truly have him fully, and broke off their engagement. And then married another chap named Bram Stoker.

Wilde took his experiences at Oxford to explore and ultimately came to the conclusion that no theory of life seemed to be of any importance compared with life itself. To wit: "Life is a drift of momentary acts, we must cultivate each moment to the full, seeking not the fruit of experience but experience itself as the goal."

My copy of this work is signed by John Barth, one of 2,000 produced of Ellmann's lecture. The text paper is a rich vellum that holds the type and the several photos of Wilde beautifully. The cover is a lavender tweed weave, a color and paper I think Wilde would appreciate. The front cover has discoloration from the sun; it makes me happy thinking of this work resting on Barth's shelf for years and years, accepting the daily kiss of a thousand suns until it made its way to me.

[James F · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pamphlet published by the Library of Congress about Oscar Wilde’s life as a student at Oxford. Richard Ellmann is also the author of a long and somewhat controversial biography of Wilde. The pamphlet is interesting; Wilde is a complex and contradictory character, and Ellmann definitely has a particular interpretation, which is probably as good as anyone else’s.