OSCAR WILDE.

“THE BALLAD OF READING GAOL” (1898)

The aim of the lesson is to teach you to interpret a long poem from the viewpoint of its tone and to
explain whether the form suits the poet’s intention.

1. “The Ballad of Reading Gaol” is a poem of feeling—for the two-year torment (1895–1897)
which broke O. Wilde’s spirit and health. It also broke the writer’s protective shell. It is not a
ballad of feeling only—it is a cry in the wilderness for common justice and brotherhood.
REPRODUCE THE INFORMATION ADDING A FEW SENTENCES ABOUT THE MAIN
PURPOSE OF THE BALLAD.

2. Oscar Wilde wrote in “DE PROFUNDUS” (Epistola: In Carcere et Vinculis): “I have lain in
prison for nearly two years. Out of my nature has come wild despair; an abandonment to grief
that was piteous even to look at; terrible and impotent rage; bitterness and scorn; anguish that
wept aloud; misery that could find no voice; sorrow that was dumb…” (Volume 2, p. 222)
Which of the feelings listed above are expressed in “The Ballad”? Prove your ideas with
quotations.

3. The ballad describes a criminal situation which can be viewed from a holistic perspective,
bringing in the “of-mice-and-me” attitude and at the same time disproving the well-known
truth: “Ashes to ashes and dust to dust.”
CHOOSE AND COMMENT ON ONE OF THE STATEMENTS BELOW (or some other excerpts
from the poem) that, in your opinion, has to do with either the “of-mice-and-men” attitude or the
“ashes-to-ashes-and-dust-to-dust” mood:

“And, though I was a soul in pain, “…That every prison that men build
My pain I could not feel.” Is built with bricks of shame,
And bound with bars lest Christ should see
“Yet each man kills the thing he loves…” How men their brothers maim.”

“The doctor said that death was but “…For he who lives more lives than one
A scientific fact…” More deaths than one must die.”

“He is at rest, this wretched man; “And all, but Lust, is turned to dust
At rest—or will be soon…” In Humanity’s machine.”

NB: The expression “of mice and men” originated from the poem “TO A MOUSE on turning her
up in her nest, with the plough” written by Robert Burns. Here are some stanzas from the
poem:

I’m truly sorry man’s dominion But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane, (alone)
Has broken nature’s social union, In proving foresight may be vain:
And justifies that ill opinion, The best-laid schemes o’mice and men,
Which makes thee startle Gang aft a-gley, (go often wrong)
At me, thy poor earth-born companion, And les’e us nought but grief and pain,
And fellow mortal! (leave)
For promised joy.

Still thou art blest, compared wi’ me! (are

blessed)
The present only toucheth thee:
But, och! I backward cast my ee, (eye)
On prospects drear!
And forward, though I canna see,
I guess and fear.

4. The narrative element of the poem is very slight. There is no place for a narration. It’s like
getting into a Black Hole: every brief moment is awesomely interminable. Time almost stops
still. And yet the fleeting moment is stretched, and we can almost feel the history of the man
who killed the woman he loved. This is where empathy takes root and grows, feeding itself in
the fertile soil of a detailed description of the convict’s agony.
GIVE THE STORY OF THE CONVICT AND SAY WHAT MAY CAUSE EMPATHY.

5. “I have passed through every possible mood of suffering. … Now I find hidden somewhere
away in my nature something that tells me that nothing in the whole world is meaningless, and
suffering least of all. That something hidden away in my nature, like a treasure in a field, is
humility. …”
Study the passage from “DE PROFUNDIS” on p. 223 (finishing with “that one possesses
it”), compare it with the following stanza from the poem and comment on their meaning:
Ah! happy they whose hearts can break
And peace of pardon win!
How else may man make straight his plan
And cleanse his soul from Sin?
How else but through a broken heart,
May Lord Christ enter in?

6. “The Ballad” is based upon a number of Biblical allusions. Find them and explain their role
in the poem.

7. The story of the convict has an eternal touch to it, which is amplified by the symbolic
meaning of the circle:
“Dear God! The very prison walls
Suddenly seemed to reel…”
“I walked, with other souls in pain,
Within another ring…”
The symbol of the circle may suggest the repetitive pattern of human misery since the sad
world began or the magnetic chain that links man to man, etc.
WHAT OTHER IMAGES-SYMBOLS DOES THE IMPACT OF THE POEM REST ON? Give
quotations and comment on their significance (e. g.: “lead”, “shadows”). Make use of the
Dictionary of Symbols!

8. The poem abounds in repetitions—the form suits the content. We can observe repetition on
different levels: PHONETIC (alliteration), LEXICAL (word-for-word or paraphrased repetition of
notions), SYNTACTICAL (parallel constructions, framing, etc.), repetition of whole stanzas or
even blocks of stanzas, re-echoing images, etc.
a) HOW WOULD YOU REPRESENT THE STRUCTURE OF THE POEM GRAPHICALLY?
EXPLAIN.
b) SPEAK OF THE WAY REPETITION ON DIFERENT LEVELS ENHANCES THE MEANING
OF THE VERSE. Provide plenty of quotations. (To be done in two rounds!)

9. Oscar Wilde makes effective use of various stylistic devices to create his astounding images
on the micro-level of the text. What images have struck you most? How are they created?

10. O. Wilde composed his own shorter version of the long poem. But the original lends itself to
other summary-like versions. FIND A PASSAGE (of one or more stanzas) THAT MIGHT SERVE AS
AN APPROPRIATE ENDING for a shortened version of the poem. SHOW WHAT MEANING IT
WOULD GAIN by being placed in the so-called “strong position”.

11. Despite the slightness of the narrative element, this long poem very rarely degenerates into
sentimentality. This is countered by an intelligent use of binding repetition, on one hand, and
by a subtle variation of tone, on the other. PROVE THAT O.WILDE IS TECHNICALLY EFFICIENT
IN MAKING THE MOST OF “WHAT DRAMA THE STORY WOULD PERMIT” (i. e. that he makes it
tragic without sliding into cheap sentimentality).

12. Would you ever have been able to identify the poet as the author of “The Picture of Dorian
Gray” and the tales you have read? If so, what would have helped you to guess? If not, why
would the discovery have shocked you?