(1854–1900), Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and wit; full name Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde. His advocacy of ‘art for art's sake’ is evident in his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). As a playwright he achieved success with the comedies Lady Windermere's Fan (1892) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). Wilde was imprisoned (1895–7) for homosexual offences and died in exile.