Chapter 2, Wilde at Oxford Summary

Oscar matriculates at Oxford on October 17, 1874. This begins his academic career in the venerated learning institution, where he finds that his earlier studies had more than prepared him for the first year. The greatest challenges he faces are to drop his Irish accent, correct his lisp, and become more English than his classmates. Oscar succeeds in all these areas to the point where his perfect sentences seem rehearsed. He keeps to his disdain of outdoor sports.

He joins the Masons on February 23, 1875, by special dispensation because he is under the minimum age of 21. He ascends through the ranks to become a Master Mason on May 25. Oscar does not neglect his studies, but rather finds most of them boring. He turns to reading in other fields, including the modern philosophers, dwelling on the conflicts between progress and authority...