Love Made Public
fMS Eng 1645. Gift of Arthur A. Houghton, Jr., 1952. |
Oscar Wilde. On The Sale By Auction Of Keats' Love Letters: autograph manuscript.
Oscar Wilde was intrigued by the sale of Keats and Brawne’s love letters, and even purchased one himself for £18. He wrote a sonnet of his own expressing his opinion of the auction.
These are the letters which Endymion wrote
To one he loved in secret and apart,
And now the brawlers of the auction-mart
Bargain and bid for each poor blotted note,
Ay! for each separate pulse of passion quote
The merchants’ price! I think they love not art
Who break the crystal of a poet’s heart
That small and sickly eyes may glare or gloat.
fMS Eng 1645. Gift of Arthur A. Houghton, Jr., 1952