Oscar WildeOscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 - 30 November 1900) was an Irish vvriter, poet and prominent aesthete. His parents were successful Dublin intellectuals, and from an early age he was tutored at home, where he showed his intelligence, becoming fluent in French and German. He attended boarding school for six years, then matriculated to university at seventeen years old where he proved to be an outstanding classicist, first at Dublin; then at Oxford. After university, VVilde moved around trying his hand at various literary activities: he published a book of poems, then toured America lecturing extensively on aestheticism. Return-ing to London, he worked prolifically as a journalist for four years. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress, and glittering conversa-tion, VVilde had become one of the most well-known personalities of his day. He produced a series of dialogues and essays that devel-oped his ideas about the supremacy of art. Hovvever, it was his only novel, Jhe Picture oj Donan Gray - stili vvidely read - that brought him more lasting recognition. He became one of the most successful playvvrights of the late Victorian era in London with a series of social satires vvhich continue to be performed, especially his masterpiece The Importonce ofBeing Earnest.