De Profundis is a letter.
De Profundis ( Latin : `` from the depths '' ) is a letter written by Oscar Wilde during his imprisonment in Reading Gaol , to `` Bosie '' ( Lord Alfred Douglas ) . Wilde wrote the letter between January and March 1897 , close to the end of his imprisonment . He was not allowed to send the long letter which he was allowed to write `` for medicinal purposes '' ; each page was taken away when completed , and only at the end could he read it over and make revisions . Ross published the letter in 1905 , five years after Wilde 's death , giving it the title `` De Profundis '' from Psalm 130 .