I think it’s safe to say that most people associate Oscar Wilde with The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest. Of course, he was also a wonderful poet. In his short life he wrote dozens of poems, and his first published poem, Ravenna, won a Newdigate Prize while he was an undergraduate.
I’ve only been familiar with a few of his works. That is, until my friend, Alan, over at Copper Coated Highways recommended Wilde’s lengthy poem, “The Ballad of Reading Gaol“. I should also mention that Alan is a great poet and I highly recommend his site.
For those unfamiliar with Wilde’s history, he was tried and convicted of sodomy and sent to prison for several years. He ended up at Reading Gaol to serve his time doing hard labor. The poem was inspired by another inmate at the prison, Charles Thomas Wooldridge, who was sentenced to death for killing his wife.
Wilde wrote the poem after he was released and perhaps it was a form of therapy for him, a way to come to terms to all he had experienced in the gaol. I can only imagine how awful prisons must have been at that time and I’m sure he had a lot of mental baggage to unpack.
The poem is a story about the conditions in the prison, how the arrival of Wooldridge affects the other prisoners, and the mood becomes more dense and troubling as the day of execution draws near.
This probably isn’t a great introduction to poetry for the uninitiated, but for those who love verse, it’s a wonderful piece of writing. In fact, one of the oft-repeated lines from the poem has become famous. It’s the first line of this stanza, which I think is incredibly powerful and thought-provoking:
Yet each man kills the thing he loves
By each 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!
Wilde was one of the greatest writers of his time, and his powerful prose and verse continue to be read more than a century after his untimely passing at age 46.
I think everyone should read “The Ballad of Reading Gaol” at least once. It’s a memorable poem that shows the power of shared emotion in the presence of death.
RB
Thanks for presenting Wilde’s poem. This ballad is one of the best of Wilde’s texts for us.
Great choice
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
My pleasure! Thank you for stopping by and commenting.
I have read this and agree it’s a fabulous poem.
Reading it for the first time was amazing and I’m looking forward to re-reading it in the future.
The Ballad of Reading Gaol is a true masterpiece!
Agreed, my friend. I’m glad I had the opportunity to read it.
Have you ever heard this song?
No, I haven’t, but thank you so much for sharing. This is wonderful!
So glad you liked it!
Have a lovely weekend!
I once started the Picture of Dorian Grey, but I have yet to finish it.
With each post you make concerning poems, I am appreciating it poems more and more.
I always just think it has to rhyme and that can sometimes make it look a bit silly.
But I really like Wilde’s poem. It is very brilliantly clever!
Dorian Gray is a great, dark story, but The Importance of Being Earnest is quite funny.
I’m glad you’re enjoying the poetry and poets I’m sharing.
Hi Richard.
Thank you very much for your kind words and the Link to my site.
I’m so pleased you enjoyed The Ballad of Reading Gaol. Truly a beautiful and haunting poem.
My pleasure, my friend. Thanks to you for the recommendation!
Excellent choice. You chose a superb stanza to illustrate the poem.
Thanks, Pat. It was difficult to choose a piece to share when the entire poem is so well written.