Oscar Wilde hard labour, the maximum penalty, and was jailed from 1895 to 1897. During his last year in prison, he wrote "De Profundis" (published posthumously in 1905), a long letter which discusses his spiritual journey through his trials, forming a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of pleasure. On his release, he left immediately for France, never to return to Ireland or Britain. There he wrote his last work, "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" (1898), a long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life. He died destitute in Paris at the age of 46. Oscar Wilde was born at 21
Poems in Prose (Wilde collection) his knowledge until the robber threatens to sell his stolen treasure for the pleasures of the city. Finally, the hermit gives away his remaining knowledge and expires, but is then greeted by God, who tells the man that he will now know the perfect love of God. Poems in Prose (Wilde collection) Poems in Prose is the collective title of six prose poems published by Oscar Wilde in "The Fortnightly Review" (July 1894). Derived from Wilde's many oral tales, these prose poems are the only six that were published by Wilde in his lifetime, and they include (in order of