You became to me the visible incarnation of that unseen ideal whose memory haunts us artists like an exquisite dream. I worshipped you. I grew jealous of every one to whom you spoke. I wanted to have you all to myself. I was only happy when I
was with you.
– Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Chapter 9. In Basil’s declaration of love for Dorian, Wilde openly writes about homosexual feelings – something that shocked some Victorian readers in an age where sex between men was illegal.