De Profundis

De Profundis (Latin: "from the depths") is a letter written by during his imprisonment in , to "Bosie" ( ). In its first half, Wilde recounts their previous relationship and extravagant lifestyle which eventually led to Wilde's and imprisonment for . He indicts both Lord Alfred's and his own weakness in acceding to those wishes. In the second half, Wilde charts his spiritual development in prison and identification with , whom he characterises as a romantic, artist. The letter begins "Dear Bosie" and ends "Your Affectionate Friend". Wilde wrote the letter between January and March 1897, close to the end of his imprisonment. Contact had lapsed between Douglas and Wilde and the latter had suffered from his close supervision, physical labour, and emotional isolation. Nelson, the new prison governor, thought that writing might be more cathartic than prison labour. He was not allowed to send the long letter which he was allowed to write "for medicinal purposes"