I actually first heard the quote courtesy of Natascha McElhone, who read the quote aloud, having selected 'De Profundis' as one of her favourite books, on a television programme dedicated to book lovers.
I've since read the book. Though that quote stands out from everything else.
They are, I suspect, quite hard words for many to comprehend - 'the meaning of sorrow and its beauty'.
Beauty? Savage beauty. But it changes you, opens your mind to understanding and your heart to empathy, like nothing else.
Ah yes...that would fit. Oscar got bitter towards the end of his life. Indeed, it would be hard to remain optimistic with the way his life unfolded.
Very true. He wrote it in prison, probably knowing it was going to be read out in court. There's a kind of 'if I'm going down, you're coming with me' feel to a lot of it.
Having said that, I love The Ballad of Reading Gaol. I can read a great deal of empathy in that. Of course, he had been released by then. A very complex man.