Introduction

Abstract

The centenary of Wilde’s death (or martyrdom?) has since passed and we are now looking at the 150 years since his birth. New critical approaches and theoretical trends in the academy have shifted the points of emphasis — only to strongly encourage still other approaches. We could begin this volume stating that Wilde stands apart from other writers for any number of reasons — the contemporary relevance of changing mores and laws with respect to sexuality; the use of the writer as a test-case in developing practical criticism reflecting current interest in Irish studies, material culture, feminism, and so forth. But how does that make Wilde any different from a whole array of authors whose lives and works have been re-evaluated in terms of changing strategies put forward by the guiding light of scholarly inquiry? Why does Wilde continue to offer the reader, the viewer, even the mystic such a suitable starting-point for that indescribable project of study?