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'''Oscar Wilde''' (1854 – 1900) was an Anglo-[[Ireland|Irish]] poet, novelist, and writer of plays and short stories. He was a [[homosexual]] and is nowadays often held up as a "gay" icon or even a "gay" martyr

'''Oscar Wilde''' (1854 – 1900) was an Anglo-[[Ireland|Irish]] poet, novelist, and writer of plays and short stories. He was a [[homosexual]] and is nowadays often held up as a "gay" icon or even a "gay" martyr

but that is not a universally accepted view.

but that is not a universally accepted view. Wilde instigated the litigation that led to his downfall.

 

 

==Early Life==

==Early Life==

==Visit to USA==

==Visit to USA==

After leaving Oxford with a double first, Wilde traveled to the USA on a lecture tour, talking about art history and aesthetics. He behaved in a flamboyant and attention-seeking way, telling a Customs official "I have nothing to declare but my genius". In the USA he met the poet [[Walt Whitman]].

After leaving Oxford with a double first, Wilde traveled to the USA on a lecture tour, talking about art history and aesthetics. He behaved in a flamboyant and attention-seeking way. The story that he told a Customs official "I have nothing to declare but my genius" originates in the biography by Arthur Ransome written in 1912, long after Wilde's death and there are no contemporary sources for it.<ref>http://www.oscarwildeinamerica.org/quotations/nothing-to-declare.html

</ref>. In the USA Wilde met the poet [[Walt Whitman]]. In the USA he met the poet [[Walt Whitman]].

==Marriage and Literary Fame==

==Marriage and Literary Fame==