The Ballad of Reading Gaol: Poetry Guide and Free Edition
The Ballad of Reading Gaol: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.
The Ballad of Reading Gaol is catalogued by Project Gutenberg with author credits for Wilde, Oscar (1854–1900).
Catalogue synopsis
Project Gutenberg supplies this automated synopsis of the opening text:
"The Ballad of Reading Gaol" by Oscar Wilde is a poem written in 1897, after his release from prison following a conviction for gross indecency. The poem narrates the execution of Charles Thomas Wooldridge, a fellow prisoner who murdered his wife, weaving together objective storytelling with symbolic identification among all convicts. Wilde explores themes of punishment, brutalization, and shared humanity through the haunting refrain "Yet each man kills the thing he loves." Initially published anonymously under his cell number "C.3.3.," the poem became an unexpected success.
Book and edition facts
- Title: The Ballad of Reading Gaol
- Author credits: Wilde, Oscar (1854–1900)
- Catalogue language: English
Catalogue subjects
- Imprisonment -- Poetry
- Prisoners -- Poetry
- Prisons -- Poetry
Gutenberg collections
- Category: British Literature
- Category: Poetry
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View the complete Gutenberg catalogue record. Project Gutenberg identifies this edition as public domain in the United States; that designation does not establish its copyright status in every country.
Source notes
Catalogue metadata is public domain and is supplied through Gutendex, which imports Gutenberg's machine-readable catalogue. The automated synopsis is source-supplied, not an independently verified review. Author dates above describe the credited people; no ebook release date is presented as the book's original publication date.
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