De Profundis

<p><strong><em>De Profundis</em></strong> (Latin: from the depths) is a 50000 word letter written by Oscar Wilde during his imprisonment in Reading Gaol to Lord Alfred Douglas his lover.</p><p><br></p><p>Wilde wrote the letter between January and March 1897; he was not allowed to send it but took it with him upon release. In it he repudiates Lord Alfred for what Wilde finally sees as his arrogance and vanity; he had not forgotten Douglas's remark when he was ill When you are not on your pedestal you are not interesting.<sup> </sup> He also felt redemption and fulfillment in his ordeal realizing that his hardship had filled the soul with the fruit of experience however bitter it tasted at the time.</p>