But the other night I was lucky enough to go to a lecture given by the one and only Stephen Fry, and even better it was a lecture organised by my old university on a subject which interests me profoundly: The Life and Times of Oscar Wilde.
For those of you who know the history of Oscar Wilde, you know that once being 'outed' as being a homosexual he was incarcerated for some time in Reading Prison. Hence the University of Reading, in conjunction with the local council invited Stephen to give a lecture on the works and life of the famed author.
I will be the first to admit that usually in lectures I tend to move in and out of a state of consciousness, barely listening to anything anyone has to say and jumping every time someone makes a sudden noise. This, however, couldn't have been further from my actions last week. I was attentive, responsive and overall the perfect student.
What makes a lecture worth listening to is the speaker and the passion that speaker has for the subject. Stephen Fry was not shy about going into depth and detail about how the work of Oscar Wilde touched him as a child and continues to do so to this day. How his works from The Importance of Being Earnest to his later ballard's and essays, all spoke to him and all gave him meaning during his life.
He quoted passage after passage to us, bringing them to life and somehow moving the audience with him. His descriptions were wonderfully vivid making us laugh whilst describing Wilde's younger days and despair when talking about his later life and his time in prison.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I got the tickets, I only had ideas of what Stephen Fry would be like in person, but this experience is not one I am likely to forget any time soon. I will definitely be on the lookout for any more lectures he is speaking at, in the meantime though - guess who just went out to buy the entire works of Oscar Wilde?
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