De Profundis

Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.5

Word count: 94K words
Chapters: 10

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971, and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. De Profundis by Oscar Wilde. Author: Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900. Language: English. Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature. Release Date: May 1, 1997.

Editor's review

De Profundis is a long letter Wilde wrote to Douglas in prison and one of the most important prose works of his late years. Unlike the witty, sharp language of Wilde's comedies, this letter reviews their relationship, his own downfall, and his reflections in a sorrowful yet restrained tone, revealing the inner journey of a man exiled by society as he reexamines art, love, and suffering in solitude. The letter contains both reminiscence and reproach of the past and a distinctive reading of the imagery of Christ's Passion, ultimately pointing toward a spiritual posture of self-redemption achieved through sorrow. As a public-domain eBook, this edition provides the original English text via Project Gutenberg and is well suited as a first-hand text for understanding the turning point in Wilde's life and the depth of his thought. When reading, it is best to treat it as a long letter that requires slow reading rather than a narrative work driven by plot.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literary readers interested in Wilde's life and late thought
Researchers of Victorian literature and biographical writing
Readers who enjoy epistolary, introspective prose
Advanced learners seeking to improve their reading of English originals

Not a good fit for

General fiction readers expecting fast-paced plot or dramatic conflict
Readers impatient with long lyrical and religious meditation
Beginners who need a Chinese translation or detailed annotations

Reading tips

Learn the basic facts of Wilde's life before and after imprisonment first; the text will be easier to understand.
Read a small section each day and treat it as a letter rather than a novel, leaving time to reflect and annotate.
Read it alongside Wilde's comedies to feel the enormous contrast in his language style.
Do not try to grasp the religious and artistic arguments all at once; mark them and return later.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a letter?

It is a long letter, written by Wilde to Douglas in prison, combining autobiography, confession, and artistic meditation. It is not a fictional novel, so it is best not to expect plot-driven narrative.

How difficult is the original English?

The language is generally elegant, with many long sentences and lyrical passages; the vocabulary is not obscure, but the syntax is complex. Readers with college-level English can finish it with a dictionary, while beginners are advised to read it alongside a Chinese translation.

What background should I know before reading?

It is enough to know the basic fact that Wilde was imprisoned because of his relationship with Douglas, as much of the letter relates to this. You do not need all the details in advance; entering the text with this background and then supplementing biographical material afterward can also work well.

Comments

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About the author

Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900 Author

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was an Irish writer known for his plays, fiction, fairy tales and epigrams. The collection here contains 55 of his works, including the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (also appearing as Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray, Le portrait de Dorian Gray and Dorian Grayn muotokuva) and the fairy-tale collection The Happy Prince, and Other Tales. The Picture of Dorian Gray centres on a portrait and its subject's fate, exploring beauty, youth, morality and indulgence through polished dialogue and an aesthetic style; The Happy Prince, and Other Tales uses fairy-tale form to portray sacrifice and compassion in clear, gently ironic prose. Wilde's writing is witty and ornate, marked by paradox and epigram, and his works have long circulated in many languages. Beyond his dates, public information is limited, so no biographical details are conjectured here.