by Oscar Wellington

Created on: June 13, 2009   Last Updated: June 14, 2009

One writer who influenced my life was William Wordsworth. After planning on being a history major and having never taken a literature class before, I signed up for British Literature II at my local college and hoped for some interesting readings. We started with his Odes, particularly "Ode: Intimations of Immortality". Not only did I become fascinated in the theory of children being more intelligent than man, but this piece really had me researching Plato and his theory of pre-existence.

After we started on his poems, I was completely taken aback. Never had I come across a writer who could take a poem about such simple things like daffodils and turn it into a marvelous endeavor. "I wandered lonely as a cloud" is definitely one of the most inspirational poems I have ever read, and I enjoy it to this day. This piece, along with the rest of Wordsworth's works truly gave me an appreciation for nature, and more importantly, served as a prominent reason as to why I switched to the literature major.

Another writer who influenced my life was Oscar Wilde. Although I didn't actually learn about him in a literary respect until I read his play, "The Importance of Being Earnest" (which I thoroughly enjoyed), my mother read the "Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde" to me as a child and I absolutely loved them. My particular favorite was "The Selfish Giant", which stressed the importance of sharing in a beautiful way. The fantastic garden, the joyous children, it is all too much. I definitely get teary eyed at the end of this fantastic piece, and I adored the story so much that I searched everywhere until I tracked down a copy of the 1971 animated version.

I also enjoyed his short story: "The Remarkable Rocket". Detailing the problems that come from being proud and pompous, I often read this story and marvel at the fact that the rocket remains so arrogant, even to the end. Oscar Wilde definitely influenced my life and gave me a new found outlook on fairy tales. They are certainly not just for children; they can have compelling and vivid thematic elements that escape more modern tales. Wilde's small collection certainly had me craving for more fairy tales filled with mysticism, fantasy, exotic creatures and delightful descriptions. Without Wilde's fairy tales I don't think I would have ever been interested in or read Aesop's fables and the brother's Grimm fairy tales.

A final writer who has influenced my life is Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. I started Goethe with his famous

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