GUIDO: Oh! Help me, sweet Bianca! Help me, Bianca,
Thou knowest I am innocent of harm.

SIMONE: What, is there life yet in those lying lips?
Die like a dog with lolling tongue! Die! Die!
And the dumb river shall receive your corse
And wash it all unheeded to the sea.

GUIDO: Lord Christ receive my wretched soul to-night!

SIMONE: Amen to that. Now for the other.

He dies. SIMONE rises and looks at BIANCA. She comes towards him as one dazed with wonder and with outstretched arms.

BIANCA: Why
Did you not tell me you were so strong?

SIMONE: Why
Did you not tell me you were beautiful? (He kisses her on the mouth.)

CURTAIN

About the Author

Oscar Wilde was a Victorian-era British author and playwright. In his youth, Wilde became attached to the Aesthetic Movement, which emphasized the appreciation of the aesthetic value of cultural creations above social or political purposes, and this philosophy influenced his work throughout his career. The themes of art and beauty are particularly present in his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and in his two most popular dramatic works, An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest. A quarrel with the Marquess of Queensberry, the father of Wilde’s lover, Lord Alfred, resulted in Wilde’s arrest and imprisonment for gross indecency. Wilde died in 1900, penniless and in exile, as a result of cerebral meningitis contracted while in prison.

About the Series

HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.

About the Publisher

HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.

HarperCollins Publishers (Canada) Ltd.

HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) Limited

HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

HarperCollins Publishers Inc.