Introduction: Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854–1900) remains one of the most paradoxical figures in English literature. Irish-born playwright, novelist, poet, and critic, Wilde became the chief spokesman of Aestheticism in late Victorian Britain. His flamboyant public persona, devastating wit, and tragic downfall turned him into both a cultural icon and a cautionary tale about art, morality,and social hypocrisy.