Books like The ballad of Reading Gaol and other poems by Oscar Wilde


The Ballad of Reading Gaol is a poem by Oscar Wilde, first released anonymously following his two years of hard labour in Reading prison. The work draws directly on Wilde’s personal experience of confinement, giving voice to the solitude and hardship faced by inmates. Through a quiet, unadorned style, Wilde reflects on the nature of punishment and the shared humanity of those behind bars, making the poem a poignant exploration of prison life and its moral implications.
First publish date: 1970
Genre: Poetry/Narrative Poetry
Authors: Oscar Wilde
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The ballad of Reading Gaol and other poems by Oscar Wilde

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Books similar to The ballad of Reading Gaol and other poems (9 similar books)

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πŸ“˜ Incarceron (Incarceron #1)

Seventeen‑year‑old Finn, a prisoner with no memory of the outside world, discovers a crystal key that lets him speak to Claudia, the warden’s daughter, and together they plan a daring escape from the sprawling prison of Incarceron.

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De profundis by 6388346|Oscar Wilde book cover

πŸ“˜ De profundis

Oscarβ€―Wilde’s two‑year prison trial and his sequestered letter, *De profundis*, where he wrestles with guilt, suffering, and hope for redemption.

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The Ballad of Reading Gaol by 6388346|Oscar Wilde book cover

πŸ“˜ The Ballad of Reading Gaol

A powerful ballad written by Oscarβ€―Wilde while imprisoned in Reading Gaol, reflecting on death, imprisonment and the execution of Charles Wooldridge.

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The portrait of Mr. W.H by 6388346|Oscar Wilde book cover

πŸ“˜ The portrait of Mr. W.H

Wilde's explanation of Shakespeare's sonnets

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De Profundis and Other Writings by 6388346|Oscar Wilde book cover

πŸ“˜ De Profundis and Other Writings


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Songs of Innocence and Experience by 8501232|William Blake book cover

πŸ“˜ Songs of Innocence and Experience

Songs of Innocence and Experience is William Blake’s paired collection of poems reflecting the stark contrast between childlike purity and the harsh realities of the world.

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The chattering wagtails of Mikuyu Prison by 10220822|Jack Mapanje book cover

πŸ“˜ The chattering wagtails of Mikuyu Prison

Only now, with freedom, can Jack Mapanje speak of his harrowing ordeal in Mikuyu Prison, where 'desperate voices of fractured souls' clamour to be heard. In poems of uncommon power and unflinching description Mapanje condemns a brutal regime. Yet in these poems Mapanje also affirms the enduring love of family and friends and the spirit of his fellow detainees. Today, living in England, he celebrates the hope kept alive by those who fight for human rights.

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Poetry by 2722025|Oscar Wilde book cover

πŸ“˜ Poetry

Oscar Wilde wrote in almost every form available to him, but he first gained fame and notoriety as a poet. It was as a poet that he became one of the leading lights of the Aesthetic movement, and he continued to write verse to the end of his lifeβ€”in fact the only major work Wilde published between his release from prison and his death was the long poem β€œThe Ballad of Reading Gaol,” originally published under the pseudonym β€œC.3.3,” representing the number of his prison cell.

Those who only know Wilde as the witty author of The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Gray will see a different Wilde in these poems: by turns reflective, sensuous, romantic and devoutly religious, but always with Wilde’s unerring eye for a telling phrase and his commitment to the ideals of the aesthetic movement, to art and beauty for their own sake.


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Some Other Similar Books

Selected Poems by W.B. Yeats
The Waste Land and Other Poems by T.S. Eliot
The Portable Oscar Wilde by Oscar Wilde
Poetry and Prose by Oscar Wilde
A Shropshire Lad by A.E. Housman
Poems by Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson
The Collected Poems by W.B. Yeats

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