Wilde's biggest problem was that the accusation was true. Wilde had several such relationships with young men, including Douglas. A written statement is not libelous if it is true. However, Wilde assured his attorneys that the charge was false. There is some evidence that Wilde tried to back out of the trial at the last moment, saying that he could not afford it, but Lord Alfred was adamant in wanting to prosecute his father and promised financial support from relatives.
Queensberry's trial opened at the Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey) on April 3, 1895. The trial went badly for Wilde. He was asked several questions about The Picture of Dorian Gray and the relationships between older and younger men in that novel, and he was accused of relations with other young men, not just Lord Alfred. Sir Edward Clarke, his attorney, advised Wilde to withdraw, hoping privately (he revealed later) that Wilde could escape the country. Wilde had several hours during which he could have done so. Ross and others encouraged him to flee, but he stayed. A warrant was issued for Wilde's arrest since Queensberry's justification forced the authorities to recognize Wilde's implied guilt. Wilde wrote to the Evening News that he could not win the case without pitting Douglas against his father in court and chose not to do so — a calculated response by Wilde.
The second trial began on April 26. Clarke again represented Wilde, this time without fee. The most dramatic part of the trial involved a poem written by Douglas and titled "Two Loves," which ends with the words, "I am the love that dare not speak its name." When asked what that might mean, Wilde responded with such eloquence that many in the gallery burst into applause, although some hissed. Wilde alluded to Michelangelo and Shakespeare, among others, as older men who had "deep, spiritual affection" for younger men in "the noblest form of affection." He argued that such relationships were much misunderstood in the nineteenth century and the reason for his being on trial. One dare not speak the name of this noble love, he concluded, because it was so misunderstood. The speech probably influenced the jury's inability to agree on a verdict.
