As a poet, novelist, essayist, and playwright, Oscar Wilde excelled in a range of genres, engaging and fascinating his readers with his ability to make use of compatible contraries. Nine of his central works, including 'The Importance of Being Earnest', 'The Picture of Dorian Gray', 'Lady Windermere's Fan', and 'Salomé', are discussed in this volume, offering readers a variety of ways of exploring and discussing Wilde's incisive and often boisterously comic writings. Students will find valuable advice for composing effective essays about this witty Irish writer.