The Ballad of Reading Gaol
Oscar Wilde
The Ballad of Reading Gaol
A long poem about a prisoner's execution and the institution that makes every person inside share the waiting, fear, shame, and isolation.
Read our takeDe Profundis
Oscar Wilde
De Profundis
by Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde's long prison letter to Lord Alfred Douglas, combining accusation, self-criticism, memory, suffering, art, and a new interpretation of Christ.
- 1905
- Atmospheric
- lyrical
- funny
- voice-driven
About Oscar Wilde
The story, briefly
Spoiler-freeDe Profundis is the title later given to the long letter Oscar Wilde wrote in Reading Gaol to Lord Alfred Douglas, the British poet who had been his lover. Wilde reviews their destructive relationship, his own decisions, prison suffering, artistic identity, and his image of Christ as an individualist artist. The first 1905 edition was heavily cut; the complete letter did not appear until 1962.
The story, in more detail
Wilde wrote the letter in 1897 under prison restrictions, receiving numbered sheets one at a time. He could not send it directly. After release, he gave the manuscript to his friend and literary executor Robert Ross, asking that it be copied and delivered to Douglas.
Ross published an edited selection in 1905 under the title De Profundis. Editions therefore matter: a reader who wants the whole document should choose a text based on the complete letter first published in 1962.
The argument
The first large movement addresses Douglas and reconstructs the money, travel, arguments, and choices that preceded Wilde's trials and imprisonment.
The later movement asks what suffering can teach without pretending it was deserved. Wilde connects humility, imagination, art, and Christ, but the letter never becomes a simple conversion story.
Why we recommend it
Why it matters
It is the central document for Wilde's attempt to understand his life and art after conviction and imprisonment.
Where it fits
Read it late, after the comedies, Dorian Gray, the political essay, and the prison ballad.
What this book explores
Timeline
1905
Robert Ross edited the shortened first edition in 1905, five years after Wilde's death. The complete letter was first published in 1962.
Modern editions
Editors continue to publish the work alone and in collections; introductions and notes explain the relevant performance or textual history.
Book editions
Hardcover
- Hardcover
- Methuen and Company
- 1905
Reader reviews
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Intentions
Oscar Wilde
Intentions
Four essays and dialogues in which Oscar Wilde argues that criticism is creative, art need not copy life, and a work should not be reduced to a moral lesson.
Read our takeDe Profundis: frequently asked questions
What is De Profundis by Oscar Wilde about?
De Profundis is the title later given to the long letter Oscar Wilde wrote in Reading Gaol to Lord Alfred Douglas, the British poet who had been his lover. Wilde reviews their destructive relationship, his own decisions, prison suffering, artistic identity, and his image of Christ as an individualist artist. The first 1905 edition was heavily cut; the complete letter did not appear until 1962.
When was De Profundis published?
Robert Ross edited the shortened first edition in 1905, five years after Wilde's death. The complete letter was first published in 1962.
Should I read De Profundis first?
Usually not. Start with The Importance of Being Earnest for comedy, The Picture of Dorian Gray for fiction, or The Happy Prince and Other Tales for short stories, then return to De Profundis.