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De Profundis and Other Prison Writings
De Profundis and Other Prison Writings is a new selection of Oscar Wilde's prison letters and poetry in Penguin Classics, edited and introduced by Colm T�ib�n.
At the start of 1895, Oscar Wilde was the toast of London, widely feted for his most recent stage success, An Ideal Husband. But by May of the same year, Wilde was in Reading prison sentenced to hard labour. 'De Profundis' is an epistolic account of Oscar Wilde's spiritual journey while in prison, and describes his new, shocking conviction that 'the supreme vice is shallowness'. This edition also includes further letters to his wife, his friends, the Home Secretary, newspaper editors and his lover Lord Alfred Douglas - Bosie - himself, as well as 'The Ballad of Reading Gaol', the heart-rending poem about a man sentenced to hang for the murder of the woman he loved.
This Penguin edition is based on the definitive Complete Letters, edited by Wilde's grandson Merlin Holland. Colm T�ib�n's introduction explores Wilde's duality in love, politics and literature. This edition also includes notes on the text and suggested further reading.
Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin. His three volumes of short fiction, The Happy Prince, Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and A House of Pomegranates, together with his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, won him a reputation as a writer with an original talent, a reputation enhanced by the phenomenal success of his society comedies - Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest.
Colm T�ib�n is the author of five novels, including The Blackwater Lightship and The Master, and a collection of stories, Mothers and Sons. His essay collection Love in a Dark Time: Gay Lives from Wilde to Almodovar appeared in 2002. He is the editor of The Penguin Book of Irish Fiction.
308 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 30, 2012
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About the author
Oscar Wilde
5,597 books39k followersOscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and his criminal conviction for gross indecency for homosexual acts.
Wilde's parents were Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin. In his youth, Wilde learned to speak fluent French and German. At university, he read Greats; he demonstrated himself to be an exceptional classicist, first at Trinity College Dublin, then at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the emerging philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles.
Wilde tried his hand at various literary activities: he wrote a play, published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on "The English Renaissance" in art and interior decoration, and then returned to London where he lectured on his American travels and wrote reviews for various periodicals. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. At the turn of the 1890s, he refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in a series of dialogues and essays, and incorporated themes of decadence, duplicity, and beauty into what would be his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). Wilde returned to drama, writing Salome (1891) in French while in Paris, but it was refused a licence for England due to an absolute prohibition on the portrayal of Biblical subjects on the English stage. Undiscouraged, Wilde produced four society comedies in the early 1890s, which made him one of the most successful playwrights of late-Victorian London.
At the height of his fame and success, while An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) were still being performed in London, Wilde issued a civil writ against John Sholto Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel. The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel hearings unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and criminal prosecution for gross indecency with other males. The jury was unable to reach a verdict and so a retrial was ordered. In the second trial Wilde was convicted and sentenced to two years' hard labour, the maximum penalty, and was jailed from 1895 to 1897. During his last year in prison he wrote De Profundis (published posthumously in abridged form in 1905), a long letter that discusses his spiritual journey through his trials and is a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of pleasure. On the day of his release, he caught the overnight steamer to France, never to return to Britain or Ireland. In France and Italy, he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), a long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life.
Wilde's parents were Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin. In his youth, Wilde learned to speak fluent French and German. At university, he read Greats; he demonstrated himself to be an exceptional classicist, first at Trinity College Dublin, then at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the emerging philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles.
Wilde tried his hand at various literary activities: he wrote a play, published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on "The English Renaissance" in art and interior decoration, and then returned to London where he lectured on his American travels and wrote reviews for various periodicals. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. At the turn of the 1890s, he refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in a series of dialogues and essays, and incorporated themes of decadence, duplicity, and beauty into what would be his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). Wilde returned to drama, writing Salome (1891) in French while in Paris, but it was refused a licence for England due to an absolute prohibition on the portrayal of Biblical subjects on the English stage. Undiscouraged, Wilde produced four society comedies in the early 1890s, which made him one of the most successful playwrights of late-Victorian London.
At the height of his fame and success, while An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) were still being performed in London, Wilde issued a civil writ against John Sholto Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel. The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel hearings unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and criminal prosecution for gross indecency with other males. The jury was unable to reach a verdict and so a retrial was ordered. In the second trial Wilde was convicted and sentenced to two years' hard labour, the maximum penalty, and was jailed from 1895 to 1897. During his last year in prison he wrote De Profundis (published posthumously in abridged form in 1905), a long letter that discusses his spiritual journey through his trials and is a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of pleasure. On the day of his release, he caught the overnight steamer to France, never to return to Britain or Ireland. In France and Italy, he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), a long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 194 reviews
November 2, 2023
my favorite homosexual did it again, how I love him
September 22, 2019
'Of course I side with the prisoners: I am one, and I belong to their class now. I am not a scrap ashamed of having been in prison. I am horribly ashamed of the materialism of the life that brought me here. It was quite unworthy of an artist.'
An incredibly powerful collection told through letters from Oscar while in prison in the late 1800's for an unjust reason, and his story of going through an awful lot in his personal life. I am such a huge fan of Oscar’s TPoDG and wanted to know more about his life which this showed perfectly. It was a bit boring at times but remember you are reading letters, not an actual story so not everything will be a tale. 3.5 stars.
An incredibly powerful collection told through letters from Oscar while in prison in the late 1800's for an unjust reason, and his story of going through an awful lot in his personal life. I am such a huge fan of Oscar’s TPoDG and wanted to know more about his life which this showed perfectly. It was a bit boring at times but remember you are reading letters, not an actual story so not everything will be a tale. 3.5 stars.
June 26, 2021
Oscar Wilde really said "I will destroy this man's whole career because he broke my heart, but make it intelectual".
And I fuck with it, I had a blast reading his pain.
And I fuck with it, I had a blast reading his pain.
September 29, 2025
“And to mock at a soul in pain is a dreadful thing.”
The key part of this book is a letter written from prison to a former lover who is selfish, shallow, and obsessed with partying and gambling—a lover who paid for nothing himself. At one point, Wilde describes the following event: his selfish lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, gets ill, and Oscar Wilde takes care of him. In turn, Wilde gets sick, after which Lord Douglas not only abandons him in his illness (to go out partying), but then writes him a nasty letter saying that Wilde is boring when he is sick: “When you are not on your pedestal you are not interesting.” Talk about a horrible person. Whew.
Wilde’s comments on prison conditions are also noteworthy, of course, as are his comments on hatred, which he describes as an “atrophy destructive of everything but itself.”
The key part of this book is a letter written from prison to a former lover who is selfish, shallow, and obsessed with partying and gambling—a lover who paid for nothing himself. At one point, Wilde describes the following event: his selfish lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, gets ill, and Oscar Wilde takes care of him. In turn, Wilde gets sick, after which Lord Douglas not only abandons him in his illness (to go out partying), but then writes him a nasty letter saying that Wilde is boring when he is sick: “When you are not on your pedestal you are not interesting.” Talk about a horrible person. Whew.
Wilde’s comments on prison conditions are also noteworthy, of course, as are his comments on hatred, which he describes as an “atrophy destructive of everything but itself.”
January 18, 2019
The gods are strange. It is not our vices only they make instruments to scourge us. They bring us to ruin through what in us is good, gentle, humane, loving.
While the circumstances of these pieces were tragic, I wasn't moved as I had anticipated. My recent immersion in Will Self had prompted a fit for literary biography and I thought this could be foundational for an Ellmann or two.
Soul of Man is simply wonky. It is a treatise on Art and Law which doesn't begin to ascribe to reality. We watched Modern Times last night and I thought Wilde's Socialism in that context.
De Profundis conversely is steeped in betrayal and the weakness of the flesh. Wilde probes along, establishing detailed accounts of his troubled relationship-- one which bankrupted him and led to his imprisonment. His love for Bosie Douglas is painted patiently, paragraph by paragraph. Bosie isn't a straw man but a talisman of desire, despite how destructive it proved. Bedding Bosie became an enchanted portrait: the cost of such was but everything. It is interesting reflecting on this how martyrdom becomes an enveloping proposition.
While the circumstances of these pieces were tragic, I wasn't moved as I had anticipated. My recent immersion in Will Self had prompted a fit for literary biography and I thought this could be foundational for an Ellmann or two.
Soul of Man is simply wonky. It is a treatise on Art and Law which doesn't begin to ascribe to reality. We watched Modern Times last night and I thought Wilde's Socialism in that context.
De Profundis conversely is steeped in betrayal and the weakness of the flesh. Wilde probes along, establishing detailed accounts of his troubled relationship-- one which bankrupted him and led to his imprisonment. His love for Bosie Douglas is painted patiently, paragraph by paragraph. Bosie isn't a straw man but a talisman of desire, despite how destructive it proved. Bedding Bosie became an enchanted portrait: the cost of such was but everything. It is interesting reflecting on this how martyrdom becomes an enveloping proposition.
Read
August 1, 2021De Profundis, along with other prison writings, is an epistolic account of Wilde’s spiritual and emotional journey during his two year imprisonment. The letter, addressed to Lord Alfred Douglas, is an introspection both of the self and of their relationship which ultimately led to his imprisonment. His writing is very personal and very moving and I felt on multiple occasions that I was intruding on something deep and private. My appreciation for this incredible writer and his artistic mind has increased tenfold and rereading his work now will surely be a different experience.
on-hold
March 17, 2025reuniting with my favorite writer of all time 💕
Read
August 23, 2023 and alien tears will fill for him
pity's long-broken urn,
for his mourners will be outcast men,
and outcasts always mourn.
pity's long-broken urn,
for his mourners will be outcast men,
and outcasts always mourn.
March 30, 2020
Más allá de sus famosas y perspicaces frases que todos hemos oido o leído alguna vez, el total de la obra de Oscar Wilde nos muestra porque es uno de los escritores más geniales y populares de la literatura universal. Y es que el dublines tocó variados palos en su rica literatura, desde sus enternecedores y demoledoramente profundos y tristes cuentos infantiles, hasta sus obras de teatro, en las que se burla y critica la sociedad inglesa en la que vive, pasando por su única novela, “El Retrato de Dorian Grey” donde por medio de la temática gótica reflexiona sobre el arte, el bien y el mal, y como nos fraguamos un destino por nuestros propios actos.
“De Profundis” es, sin duda alguna, su obra más desgarradora e impactante. Como es de sobra conocido, la vida y carrera de Wilde quedaron marcadas y finiquitadas por su paso por la cárcel, donde escribió este cruce entre carta epistolar, ensayo y confesión. Mientras uno la lee, no puede evitar caer en el pozo de desesperación en el que su autor esta sumido. Aquí vemos a un Wilde más real y sincero que nunca, un hombre que ya no puede escudarse tras su genialidad y su cinismo, al que solo se le queda su arte y su propia persona, pues todo lo demás se lo han arrebatado. Aunque hay pequeños puntos de luz, y el escritor tiene aun ciertas metas y deseos, uno no puede evitar pensar que esta leyendo el testamento vital de un cadavér viviente . Y compadecerle y empatizar con él, ya que, como él dice, no trata de justificarse, sino de explicarse, y por ello es brutalmente sincero consigo mismo y con todos.
Plagado de buenas frases e ideas, es un texto que me ha impactado y llegado al alma, aunque hubiera veces en la que me cansara un poco, ya que volvía una y otra vez a los mismos temas.
Por otro lado, la Balada de la Cárcel de Reading, también es un texto digno de leerse, donde vemos como Wilde, por medio de un romance, critica las condiciones infrahumanas en las que estaban sumidas las prisiones de la época, y que el vivió en carne propia. Se trata de un escrito que nos muestra al Wilde más critico con la realidad más cruda, y que muestra que ya no es el mismo hombre de antaño.
A todo esto hay que añadir que la edición de Penguin tiene el acierto de incorporar entre las dos obras cartas del autor, que nos permite entender mejor el contexto en el que ambas obras fueron escritas y la historia del encarcelamiento de Wilde.
“De Profundis” es, sin duda alguna, su obra más desgarradora e impactante. Como es de sobra conocido, la vida y carrera de Wilde quedaron marcadas y finiquitadas por su paso por la cárcel, donde escribió este cruce entre carta epistolar, ensayo y confesión. Mientras uno la lee, no puede evitar caer en el pozo de desesperación en el que su autor esta sumido. Aquí vemos a un Wilde más real y sincero que nunca, un hombre que ya no puede escudarse tras su genialidad y su cinismo, al que solo se le queda su arte y su propia persona, pues todo lo demás se lo han arrebatado. Aunque hay pequeños puntos de luz, y el escritor tiene aun ciertas metas y deseos, uno no puede evitar pensar que esta leyendo el testamento vital de un cadavér viviente . Y compadecerle y empatizar con él, ya que, como él dice, no trata de justificarse, sino de explicarse, y por ello es brutalmente sincero consigo mismo y con todos.
Plagado de buenas frases e ideas, es un texto que me ha impactado y llegado al alma, aunque hubiera veces en la que me cansara un poco, ya que volvía una y otra vez a los mismos temas.
Por otro lado, la Balada de la Cárcel de Reading, también es un texto digno de leerse, donde vemos como Wilde, por medio de un romance, critica las condiciones infrahumanas en las que estaban sumidas las prisiones de la época, y que el vivió en carne propia. Se trata de un escrito que nos muestra al Wilde más critico con la realidad más cruda, y que muestra que ya no es el mismo hombre de antaño.
A todo esto hay que añadir que la edición de Penguin tiene el acierto de incorporar entre las dos obras cartas del autor, que nos permite entender mejor el contexto en el que ambas obras fueron escritas y la historia del encarcelamiento de Wilde.
April 23, 2022
"The man had killed the thing he loved,
And so he had to die.
And all men kill the thing they love,
By all let this be heard
Some do it with a bitter look,
Some with a flattering word
The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword!"
Read
May 21, 2025"If there was an echo in these walls it would cry 'Fool' for ever"
I'm having a hard time gathering my thoughts on this: it feels wrong to rate this book, just as it feels wrong that it is a book in the first place. I put off Wilde's prison letters for a long time, and I finally understand why. I feel like I was never supposed to read these, and many of them were written for the eyes of the receiver only, which makes the feeling of intrusion even worse. Many of the letters, alongside The Ballad of Reading Gaol were written with a possible publication in mind if it ever were to be necessary, but in many of his letters Wilde pleaded not to have them released to anyone, let alone the general public. I am conflicted; on the one hand I'm grateful that these letters made it to us, so we could better understand and learn more about the man behind the work, but on the other hand this felt like an intrusion of his mind. This brings me back to the beginning of my review, many of these letters were so personal that it seems mad to me that they made it into a mass-produced paperback. I'm glad, in a way, to have read them, but I'm also ashamed.
The writing itself is only 232 pages long, so I thought it would take me about three days max, but I physically couldn't get myself through De Profundis, especially. I kept having to remind myself this was an actual letter written by an actual man to his actual (ex) lover. This is not just some fictional story that Wilde decided one day to write down, this was the reality of a queer man who sat in prison for his identity, and I shun everyone who reads this as anything but that. I am angry and upset, and quite honestly a little disoriented. Oscar Wilde, how I love you so.
I'm having a hard time gathering my thoughts on this: it feels wrong to rate this book, just as it feels wrong that it is a book in the first place. I put off Wilde's prison letters for a long time, and I finally understand why. I feel like I was never supposed to read these, and many of them were written for the eyes of the receiver only, which makes the feeling of intrusion even worse. Many of the letters, alongside The Ballad of Reading Gaol were written with a possible publication in mind if it ever were to be necessary, but in many of his letters Wilde pleaded not to have them released to anyone, let alone the general public. I am conflicted; on the one hand I'm grateful that these letters made it to us, so we could better understand and learn more about the man behind the work, but on the other hand this felt like an intrusion of his mind. This brings me back to the beginning of my review, many of these letters were so personal that it seems mad to me that they made it into a mass-produced paperback. I'm glad, in a way, to have read them, but I'm also ashamed.
The writing itself is only 232 pages long, so I thought it would take me about three days max, but I physically couldn't get myself through De Profundis, especially. I kept having to remind myself this was an actual letter written by an actual man to his actual (ex) lover. This is not just some fictional story that Wilde decided one day to write down, this was the reality of a queer man who sat in prison for his identity, and I shun everyone who reads this as anything but that. I am angry and upset, and quite honestly a little disoriented. Oscar Wilde, how I love you so.
May 17, 2022
This took me ages to read, because the material was so harrowing, I could not stomach more than a few pages at a time.
The collection includes Wilde’s letters from and after prison, his long letter ‘De Profundis’ to Bosie, and his Ballad of Reading Gaol, which was simply heartbreaking. It was incredibly interesting to read about Wilde’s sentiments towards Bosie, and to learn about what happened between them, but what made it so tough to read was that all the time you try to reconcile the image of this beaten, humiliated man with the witty dandy in colourful velvet jackets we all have in mind when we think of Oscar Wilde. And to read about the realities of prison life at that time, and the tortured children, was simply horrible.
But Wilde’s language - oh, his language - was simply beautiful and a stark contrast to the dark topic. This is a new favourite, and something I will return to in the future.
The collection includes Wilde’s letters from and after prison, his long letter ‘De Profundis’ to Bosie, and his Ballad of Reading Gaol, which was simply heartbreaking. It was incredibly interesting to read about Wilde’s sentiments towards Bosie, and to learn about what happened between them, but what made it so tough to read was that all the time you try to reconcile the image of this beaten, humiliated man with the witty dandy in colourful velvet jackets we all have in mind when we think of Oscar Wilde. And to read about the realities of prison life at that time, and the tortured children, was simply horrible.
But Wilde’s language - oh, his language - was simply beautiful and a stark contrast to the dark topic. This is a new favourite, and something I will return to in the future.
July 28, 2018
A harrowing letter of self psychoanalysis in solitude, De Profudis is Oscar Wilde's reckoning of his relationship with Alfred Douglas and a plea to 'Bosie' to use his imagination for self discovery and redemption.
Wilde's time in Reading Goal was his 'dark night of the soul' and he slowly came to understand and accept deeper truths of sorrow and shadow which saved him from succumbing to the deplorable conditions of prison. De Profundis is Wilde's metaphysical 'coming out' with all the bitterness and ugliness transcending into imagination and love.
The description of Jesus as the ultimate Romantic Artist is a must read; it is fantastic in its unique vision and heraldry.
Wilde's time in Reading Goal was his 'dark night of the soul' and he slowly came to understand and accept deeper truths of sorrow and shadow which saved him from succumbing to the deplorable conditions of prison. De Profundis is Wilde's metaphysical 'coming out' with all the bitterness and ugliness transcending into imagination and love.
The description of Jesus as the ultimate Romantic Artist is a must read; it is fantastic in its unique vision and heraldry.
Read
March 28, 2020Four his mourners will be outcast men,
And outcasts always mourn.
the grey unmarked rating stars at the top of the review are mocking me. how do you rate a tragic loss of one of the most brilliant writers of the 19th century? how do you put into words what The Ballad of Reading Gaol makes you feel? how do you admit to yourself that some of the letters in this collection are too heavy to digest in one go, and there will most likely come a time when you will come back to this book to truly finish it?
i'm rambling, of course, but i am also completely serious. reading this took its toll on me. i shall now forever mourn.
April 10, 2021
Reseña en cinco minutos y al dictado.
Conocía de la vida y obra de Oscar Wilde cuatro
pinceladas y tal vez por ello la lectura de este libro
me ha resultado hipnótica.
“De profundis” es una larga carta que escribe Oscar Wilde desde la cárcel a su amante. No es una carta concebida para ser publicada y
mientras leo tengo la sensación de estar leyendo lo
que no debiera. De hecho en 1909 se entregó el
manuscrito al British Museum con la condición de
que no se publicara hasta 50 años después. Lo
entiendo. Es territorio privado.
Oscar Wilde nos habla con detalle de la
tormentosa relación con su amante, su sufrimiento
en la cárcel, el nuevo sentido que le da a su existencia
ese cambio desde la vida de los placeres a la vida
de la privación, su renovada visión de Cristo (esta
última parte me aburrió un poco...). Con lenguaje
hermoso, excesivo a veces, le da vueltas y vueltas
a estos temas y el lector intuye que en el fondo lo
que hay es despecho porque su amante no le ha
visitado ni escrito y que esta carta es una llamada para que su
amante le haga caso, en el marco de lo que hoy no
dudaríamos en denominar una relación tóxica.
Me había comprado una edición profusamente anotada, que recomiendo, pero preferí entrar al texto directamente y
una vez leído acabar de entender mejor todo con las
anotaciones. Un gran acierto. Además acabé de leer todas las
cartas que incluye esta edición y que nuestro autor escribió
desde la cárcel: muy interesantes para acabar de conocer la
personalidad de este escritor y con muchos detalles sobre la
vida en las prisiones, como por ejemplo el trato a los niños
encarcelados. Únicamente dejé sin completar la lectura del
poema final: lo siento, pero salvo excepciones la poesía no es
lo mío.
P.S. Muy contenta por haber leído este libro, al que llegué por
una entusiasta reseña de S. por aquí en Goodreads. Creo que
en algún momento me tocará leer alguna obra de Oscar Wilde,
más allá de los cuentos que ya conozco.
Como dato anecdótico contaré que es la primera reseña que no he hecho al dictado y en 5 minutos, sino escribiendo con un lápiz mágico. En vez de 5 minutos llevo 5 días porque no me aclaro... Creo que volveré a ser fiel al dictáfono y si el dictado me traiciona con faltas de ortografía, mala suerte.
Conocía de la vida y obra de Oscar Wilde cuatro
pinceladas y tal vez por ello la lectura de este libro
me ha resultado hipnótica.
“De profundis” es una larga carta que escribe Oscar Wilde desde la cárcel a su amante. No es una carta concebida para ser publicada y
mientras leo tengo la sensación de estar leyendo lo
que no debiera. De hecho en 1909 se entregó el
manuscrito al British Museum con la condición de
que no se publicara hasta 50 años después. Lo
entiendo. Es territorio privado.
Oscar Wilde nos habla con detalle de la
tormentosa relación con su amante, su sufrimiento
en la cárcel, el nuevo sentido que le da a su existencia
ese cambio desde la vida de los placeres a la vida
de la privación, su renovada visión de Cristo (esta
última parte me aburrió un poco...). Con lenguaje
hermoso, excesivo a veces, le da vueltas y vueltas
a estos temas y el lector intuye que en el fondo lo
que hay es despecho porque su amante no le ha
visitado ni escrito y que esta carta es una llamada para que su
amante le haga caso, en el marco de lo que hoy no
dudaríamos en denominar una relación tóxica.
Me había comprado una edición profusamente anotada, que recomiendo, pero preferí entrar al texto directamente y
una vez leído acabar de entender mejor todo con las
anotaciones. Un gran acierto. Además acabé de leer todas las
cartas que incluye esta edición y que nuestro autor escribió
desde la cárcel: muy interesantes para acabar de conocer la
personalidad de este escritor y con muchos detalles sobre la
vida en las prisiones, como por ejemplo el trato a los niños
encarcelados. Únicamente dejé sin completar la lectura del
poema final: lo siento, pero salvo excepciones la poesía no es
lo mío.
P.S. Muy contenta por haber leído este libro, al que llegué por
una entusiasta reseña de S. por aquí en Goodreads. Creo que
en algún momento me tocará leer alguna obra de Oscar Wilde,
más allá de los cuentos que ya conozco.
Como dato anecdótico contaré que es la primera reseña que no he hecho al dictado y en 5 minutos, sino escribiendo con un lápiz mágico. En vez de 5 minutos llevo 5 días porque no me aclaro... Creo que volveré a ser fiel al dictáfono y si el dictado me traiciona con faltas de ortografía, mala suerte.
January 22, 2024
z głębokości wołałem do Ciebie Panie...
July 15, 2024
“I tremble with pleasure when I think that on the very day of my leaving prison both the laburnum and the lilac will be blooming in the gardens, and that I shall see the wind stir into restless beauty the swaying gold of the one, and make the other toss the pale purple of its plumes, so that all the air shall be Arabia for me.”
July 15, 2019
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗
Después de leer EL RETRATO DE DORIAN GRAY sentí inesperada nostalgia, un sentimiento que ahogué casi de inmediato con algunos de sus cuentos más populares: EL PRÍNCIPE FELIZ, EL GIGANTE EGOÍSTA y EL FANTASMA DE CANTERVILLE, sólo por mencionar algunos. Oscar Wilde plantó en mi interior la semilla de la curiosidad, un anhelo por conocer más y más acerca de quién fue él en realidad. No obstante, mi búsqueda resultó un fracasó, pues incontables sitios de internet después continué sin saber nada que me resultase relevante, ya que siempre he pensado (no sin motivos, desde luego) que detrás de todos esos fascinantes escritos (posteriormente mencionados) debía haber un alma terriblemente herida. Qué vergüenza sentí al descubrir De profundos un año más tarde, luego de cogerlo con pecaminosa curiosidad. En cuanto descubrí, párrafo a párrafo, las tragedias más crudas que este ser humano con mucho dolor escribió estando confinado en una fétida celda, no me pude detener. Largas noches acompañé a Wilde sin suponer siquiera las humillaciones por las que se vio amenazado. Ahora lo admiro incluso más, cosa que se me antojó imposible, risible. Hasta el último de sus días en confinamiento actuó con las más dulces acciones, capaz de perdonar aun después de tan terribles traiciones, dispuesto a dejar atrás y avanzar, con la frente en alto, como todo un hombre.
Después de leer EL RETRATO DE DORIAN GRAY sentí inesperada nostalgia, un sentimiento que ahogué casi de inmediato con algunos de sus cuentos más populares: EL PRÍNCIPE FELIZ, EL GIGANTE EGOÍSTA y EL FANTASMA DE CANTERVILLE, sólo por mencionar algunos. Oscar Wilde plantó en mi interior la semilla de la curiosidad, un anhelo por conocer más y más acerca de quién fue él en realidad. No obstante, mi búsqueda resultó un fracasó, pues incontables sitios de internet después continué sin saber nada que me resultase relevante, ya que siempre he pensado (no sin motivos, desde luego) que detrás de todos esos fascinantes escritos (posteriormente mencionados) debía haber un alma terriblemente herida. Qué vergüenza sentí al descubrir De profundos un año más tarde, luego de cogerlo con pecaminosa curiosidad. En cuanto descubrí, párrafo a párrafo, las tragedias más crudas que este ser humano con mucho dolor escribió estando confinado en una fétida celda, no me pude detener. Largas noches acompañé a Wilde sin suponer siquiera las humillaciones por las que se vio amenazado. Ahora lo admiro incluso más, cosa que se me antojó imposible, risible. Hasta el último de sus días en confinamiento actuó con las más dulces acciones, capaz de perdonar aun después de tan terribles traiciones, dispuesto a dejar atrás y avanzar, con la frente en alto, como todo un hombre.
May 6, 2020
i am absolutely astounded by his sheer recall, the man quoted shakespeare and dante and any number of works, even the bible, all from memory while in prison!!! dude was a GENIUS
some gorgeous parts:
some gorgeous parts:
the supreme vice is shallowness.
there is a tact in love, and a tact in literature: you were not sensitive to either.
the gods are strange. it is not of our vices only they make instruments to scourge us. they bring us to ruin through what in us is good, gentle, humane, loving. but for my pity and affection for you and yours, i would not now be weeping in this terrible place.
in your hideous game of hate together, you had both thrown dice for my soul, and you happened to have lost. that was all.
when i go out of prison, Robbie will be waiting for me on the other side of the big iron-studded gate, and he is the symbol not merely of his own affection, but of the affection of many others besides. i believe i am to have enough to live on for about eighteen months at any rate, so that, if i may not write beautiful books, i may at least read beautiful books, and what joy can be greater?
for prison-life, with its endless privations and restrictions, makes one rebellious. the most terrible thing about it is not that it breaks one’s heart – hearts are made to be broken – but that it turns one’s heart to stone.
August 17, 2024
4.25 Stars. After reading The Picture of Dorian Gray for the first time, I was hooked and immediately bought this book. I LOVED De Profundis and The Ballad of Reading Gaol - both SO GOOD. Written with such an honest tone, heavy bitterness and sadness between every line. Some self-pity, a lot of righteous fury towards the prison system, self-reflection, a character study and love letter of Bosie and some brilliant and some bureaucratic letters. Quotes that I underlined and marked to pieces. Thoughts about Jesus Christ and religion that really made me think. And The Ballad of Reading Gaol at the end was the perfect close. It was so well done, with great emotional imagery, so much pain you could feel reading about the prison experience. I will immediately buy another work of his. In another life I could try to be an Oscar Wilde scholar lol.
tw/cw: mentioned death, grief, illness, sickness, torture, cheating, prison system, flogging, mental illness, depression, homophobia, manipulation
tw/cw: mentioned death, grief, illness, sickness, torture, cheating, prison system, flogging, mental illness, depression, homophobia, manipulation
April 28, 2025
"The great things of life are what they seem to be, and for that reason, strange as it may sound to you, are often difficult to interpret. But the little things of life are symbols. We receive our bitter lessons most easily through them."
Bellissimo, struggente, pieno di disperazione, dolore, ma anche amore, speranza, riscatto. Oscar Wilde nel suo momento più tragico, spogliato delle apparenze e degli orpelli luccicanti della società; si riscopre uomo, si riscopre fragile, ma non per questo abbandona la speranza. Le lettere ai suoi amici, così come il De Profundis stesso, fanno percepire al lettore la lucidità dello scrittore irlandese, la sua voglia di ricominciare anche quando tutto - i suoi averi, i diritti sulle sue opere, i suoi stessi figli - gli è stato crudelmente portato via. Da must read per chi ama questo grande artista!
"But Art is different. There one makes one's own world. It is with shadows that one weeps and laughts. A mirror will give back to one one's sorrow. But Art is not a mirror, but a crystal. It creats its own shapes and forms"
5/5
Bellissimo, struggente, pieno di disperazione, dolore, ma anche amore, speranza, riscatto. Oscar Wilde nel suo momento più tragico, spogliato delle apparenze e degli orpelli luccicanti della società; si riscopre uomo, si riscopre fragile, ma non per questo abbandona la speranza. Le lettere ai suoi amici, così come il De Profundis stesso, fanno percepire al lettore la lucidità dello scrittore irlandese, la sua voglia di ricominciare anche quando tutto - i suoi averi, i diritti sulle sue opere, i suoi stessi figli - gli è stato crudelmente portato via. Da must read per chi ama questo grande artista!
"But Art is different. There one makes one's own world. It is with shadows that one weeps and laughts. A mirror will give back to one one's sorrow. But Art is not a mirror, but a crystal. It creats its own shapes and forms"
5/5
January 11, 2025
Every great love has its tragedy, and now ours has too, but to have known and loved you with such profound devotion, to have had you for a part of my life, the only part I now consider beautiful, is enough for me. My passion is at a loss for words, but you can understand me, you alone. Our souls were made for one another, and by knowing yours through love, mine has transcended many evils, understood perfection, and entered into the divine essence of things…
…I thought life was going to be a brilliant comedy, and that you were to be one of many graceful figures in it. I found it to be a revolting and repellent tragedy, and that the sinister occasion of the great catastrophe, sinister in its concentration of aim and intensity of narrowed will-power, was yourself, stripped of that mask of joy and pleasure by which you, no less than I, had been deceived and led astray…
…There is no prison in any world into which Love cannot force an entrance. If you did not understand that, you did not understand anything about Love at all.
Rest in peace sweet OW.
…I thought life was going to be a brilliant comedy, and that you were to be one of many graceful figures in it. I found it to be a revolting and repellent tragedy, and that the sinister occasion of the great catastrophe, sinister in its concentration of aim and intensity of narrowed will-power, was yourself, stripped of that mask of joy and pleasure by which you, no less than I, had been deceived and led astray…
…There is no prison in any world into which Love cannot force an entrance. If you did not understand that, you did not understand anything about Love at all.
Rest in peace sweet OW.
January 25, 2026
3.5✮ overall
5✮ for just the middle section of De Profundis
I really did enjoy reading this but if I were to do it again I would skip all the additional letters, as well as the first 50 pages and last 30 pages of De Profundis. (Or read one of the versions in which most of that is edited out). While the beginning and end are essentially a laundry list of the wrongs committed by Alfred Douglas and his immediate family upon Oscar Wilde, the middle section is a beautiful work of prose reflecting on what he has learned from his imprisonment, the nature of art and life, and the value of suffering in one’s spiritual journey. Oscar Wilde you’ve done it again, and I love you
5✮ for just the middle section of De Profundis
I really did enjoy reading this but if I were to do it again I would skip all the additional letters, as well as the first 50 pages and last 30 pages of De Profundis. (Or read one of the versions in which most of that is edited out). While the beginning and end are essentially a laundry list of the wrongs committed by Alfred Douglas and his immediate family upon Oscar Wilde, the middle section is a beautiful work of prose reflecting on what he has learned from his imprisonment, the nature of art and life, and the value of suffering in one’s spiritual journey. Oscar Wilde you’ve done it again, and I love you
January 2, 2022
No me aguanté y lo tuve que terminar. Wow, que buen libro. La manera que tiene de escribir este chabón es hermosa y llevadera, "de profundis" te rompe el corazón y vivís literalmente (porque lo cuenta no) todo lo que vivió Oscar antes de ir a la cárcel. Recomendadísimo, le tenía mucha fé y no me decepcionó, los otros relatos que hay también están muy buenos, hay unas frases que ufff, así que arrancamos el año muy bien .
August 21, 2023
4.5*
oh oscar...so beautifully-written, passionate, desperate, wise and bleak. you can very much feel the way that prison breaks him down as you read along (it was harrowing and almost made me cry)!! everything he wrote felt profound and instilled in me a need to single-handedly resurrect the dying art of letter-writing 💌
oh oscar...so beautifully-written, passionate, desperate, wise and bleak. you can very much feel the way that prison breaks him down as you read along (it was harrowing and almost made me cry)!! everything he wrote felt profound and instilled in me a need to single-handedly resurrect the dying art of letter-writing 💌
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October 28, 2023Okay I think I am unable to rate this. How do you rate such an account of such an experience?This was life-changing, emotional, painful and so much more. I am glad that I read it.
July 22, 2023
“I can be perfectly happy by myself. With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?”
in addition to being so well written, this letter is (unsettlingly?) relatable
in addition to being so well written, this letter is (unsettlingly?) relatable
May 23, 2022
“Suffering is the means by which we exist, because it is the only means by which we become conscious of existing.”最痛苦的时刻也是最接近神意的时刻。写的明明是世俗的爱与痛，通篇的哀诉和忏悔读起来却有如《福音书》般的气质。
December 2, 2022
A.M.A.Z.I.N.G
June 5, 2025
Evocative and intimate piece on individualism, love, hate and scorn, morality in prison, finding God, and what it means to be an artist. Found myself stopping throughout the book to let Wilde’s words settle wherever they chose to. I didn’t want to move on. Incredible.
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