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Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet and dramatist whose
reputation rests on his comic masterpieces Lady Windermere's
Fan(1892) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). Among
Wilde's other best-known works are his only novel The Picture of
Dorian Gray(1891) and his fairy tales especially "The Happy
Prince."  Wilde was born on October 16, 1854 in Dublin to
unconventional parents. In 1878 Wilde received his B.A. and in
the same year he moved to London. His lifestyle and humorous wit
soon made him the spokesman for Aestheticism, the late 19th
century movement in England that advocated art for art's sake.
Between the years 1883 and 1884 he lectured in Britain. From the
mid-1880s he was a regular contributor for Pall Mall Gazette and
Dramatic View. In 1884 Wilde married Constance Lloyd. Wilde's
marriage ended in 1893. He had met an few years earlier Lord
Alfred Douglas, an athlete and a poet, who became both the love
of the author's life and his dow