The Ballad of Reading Gaol

"The Ballad of Reading Gaol" by Oscar Wilde is a moving poem set in Victorian times, a story told through verse about crime, punishment, and understanding. This poem looks closely at guilt, love, and how justice can be very unfair, all happening inside a cold prison. It centers on a man who is going to be executed, and how that affects the other prisoners who watch and wait. As the poem unfolds, Wilde uses strong and heartbreaking images to show that everyone hurts the things they love somehow, even if they don't mean to. The poem directly looks at the flaws in the justice system, revealing its coldness and how little sympathy it has for people who are hurting. The story shows the hopelessness and moral problems that come up when the law decides who lives and dies, making us feel sorry not just for the man being punished, but for everyone who has loved and lost.