The Ballad of Reading Gaol Flashcards
(36 cards)
Themes and Analysis
7
Suffering
“I never saw a man who looked with such wistful eye, upon the tent of blue that prisoners call the sky”
Faith and Religion
“all men kill the thing they love / some do it with a bitter look, some with a flattering word” EXTERNAL TEXT LINK
Death
“that he gave a bitter cry, and the wild regrets and the bloody sweats, none knew as I”
Prison Conditions
“we banged the tins and bawled the hymns, and sweated on the mill but in the heart of everyman terror was lying still”
Humiliation
“we mocked the weak thing at his knees”
Lonliness
“Something was dead in each of us, / And what was dead was Hope.”
Social Hypocrisy
“I know not whether Laws be right, or whether Laws be wrong”
Corruption
“The vilest deeds like poison weeds / Bloom well in prison-air.”
Context
13
Who wrote the poem and when?
Oscar Wilde
Written in 1897 after being released from Reading Gaol
When was the poem published?
Published in 1898 under the name “C.3.3.” Wilde’s prison number (Cell block C, landing 3, cell 3) to avoid scandal.
How did Reading Gaol influence the poem?
-He had been imprisoned from 1895 to 1897 for “gross indecency” stemming from his homosexual relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas.
-Prison life broke Wilde emotionally and physically. He was financially ruined, socially shunned, and his health severely deteriorated.
-The poem reflects his first-hand experience of the brutality and inhumanity of the Victorian penal system.
What era was the poem set?
Victorian England (1837–1901)
What was life like in this era?
-Life was deeply moralistic and conservative, especially regarding sexuality.
-The justice system was harsh: prisoners faced solitary confinement, forced labour, and psychological torment.
-Hanging was still legal and public hangings had only recently been banned.
What was Wilde known to critique?
Wilde critiques the hypocrisy of a society that preaches virtue but acts with cruelty and moral blindness, especially toward those who don’t fit its norms.
What was the poem focus on?
The poem focuses on Charles Thomas Wooldridge, a soldier who murdered his wife in a jealous rage.
How does his story influence the poem?
-Wilde never spoke with Wooldridge but was deeply affected by his execution, which happened while Wilde was in Reading Gaol.
-The poem’s subtitle: “In Memoriam C.T.W.” directly honours him.
-Wilde uses Wooldridge’s story to explore universal themes of guilt, punishment, and justice.
How does Wilde critique justice and punishment in the poem?
Wilde exposes the cruelty of prisons and questions the morality of the justice system
How does Wilde critique moral hypocrisy in the poem?
He suggests that society punishes some crimes while ignoring others — especially those committed by the wealthy or respectable.
How does Wilde critique suffering and redemption in the poem?
Prison is portrayed not as a place of reform, but of emotional and spiritual destruction.
How does Wilde critique empathy and solidarity in the poem?
Wilde identifies not with the judges or moralizers, but with the condemned and forgotten.
What was Wilde influenced by?
Wilde was heavily influenced by Romantic poets like Shelley, Byron, and Coleridge.
Like Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Wilde uses a confessional voice, supernatural overtones, and psychological torment.
Structure
3
