Oscar Wilde born at Westland Row, Dublin (now home of the Oscar Wilde Centre, Trinity College) was the second of three children born to Sir William Wilde and Lady Jane Wilde, two years behind William (Willie).
Wilde's mother was of Italian descent, and under the pseudonym "Speranza" (the Italian word for 'hope'), wrote poetry for the revolutionary Young Irelanders in 1848 and was a lifelong Irish nationalist. She read the Young Irelanders' poetry to Oscar and Willie, permeating a love of these poets in her sons. Lady Wilde's interest in the neo-classical revival showed in the paintings and busts of ancient Greece and Rome in her home. We "learn the most from our homes." And the "mouths of our parents."
People are sometimes surprised to learn that, Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), the poet, playwright and ingenuity remarkable for his flamboyant and at the end of the day theatrical vivacity in London and Paris, made two visits to America. He thought, why not do America too! He had accomplished a lot in London and Paris.