De Profundis

The confession letter “De profundis” (“A Prison Confession”), written by Oscar Wilde in prison, is addressed to his beloved Lord Alfred Douglas, who did not appear at the trial and did not support him in a difficult moment. “De profundis” is a letter full of passion and despair. It became the last of the works created by Wilde and contains invaluable information that allows for a deeper understanding of the writer’s work as a whole.

A brilliant English writer, poet, and playwright—master of English and European aestheticism; a vivid celebrity of his time, “the symbol of art and culture of his century,” Oscar Wilde is best known for his many plays, exquisite and witty aphorisms, the novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray”… and the fateful scandal that ended for Wilde in bankruptcy and prison. Wilde was convicted for “indecent” behavior and, after two years of confinement, went to France, where he died in complete solitude. It was in prison that Wilde created his famous confession letter “De profundis” (“A Prison Confession”), addressed to his beloved Lord Alfred Douglas, who did not appear at the trial and did not support him in that hard hour. “De profundis” is a letter full of passion and despair; it became the last work created by Wilde and holds invaluable information that helps one understand the writer’s work overall. “The name of Oscar Wilde is linked with towns on the English plains, and fame—with the sentence and the gaol,” wrote Jorge Luis Borges about Wilde. “And yet, from everything he created, there remains a feeling of happiness.”