In 1895, Oscar Wilde was sentenced to two years of hard labor as punishment for having engaged in homosexual acts. While serving out his sentence at Reading Gaol in Berkshire, Wilde witnessed the execution by hanging of a young soldier who had murdered his wife by slashing her throat. Profoundly shaken by the execution and the crime that preceded it, Wilde composed this elegiac poem centered on the haunting refrain, "Yet each man kills the thing he loves."
- New e-books
- Available now
- Cinco de Mayo
- Best of the Nordic Noir
- Hidden Gems
- Romance and Relationships
- Pride, Canada Wide
- Celebrating Asian Voices
- Magnificent Mysteries
- Scary Tales
- Black Authors
- 2SLGBTQIA+ Stories
- Poems and Verse
- See all ebooks collections
- New audiobooks
- International Women's Day
- Best books of 2022
- Indigenous Voices audio
- National Poetry Month
- Mental wellness
- Available now
- Bridge Literature
- Award-winning audiobooks
- Celebrating Asian Voices
- Magnificent Mysteries
- Scary Tales
- Black Authors
- See all audiobooks collections
- OverDrive magazines
- News & Politics
- Food & Wine
- Home & Garden
- Health & Fitness
- Celebrity
- Magazines in Korean
- Deutsche
- See all magazines collections