The Ballad Of Reading Gaol

Religion and religious imagery pervade the poem, especially in connection with the theme of suffering and redemption. The prison and its inhabitants are imagined as existing far from the world, and also far from God; the language of sin and prayer is everywhere; the prison chaplain appears throughout the poem. In particular, the condemned man’s journey toward peace and redemption is conceived of in very religious terms. At times, he becomes almost a Christ figure, who (unlike the coward who does not accept the punishment for his sins) must “feel upon his shuddering cheek / The kiss of Caiaphas” (1.95-96), an allusion to the High Priest who kissed Jesus after betraying him to the Romans.

The ultimate redemption of the condemned man following his execution is also couched in religious symbolism. The narrator, reflecting that “God’s kindly earth / Is kindlier than men know,” (4.81-82), imagines a red rose growing from the mouth of the man’s corpse while a white rose grows from his heart: In this way “Christ brings his will to light” (4.88). What Wilde means by this is explained in the following section, where the narrator contrasts “the crimson stain that was of Cain” (5.