Originally published in English in 1989, from a 1980 German edition, this book provides a comprehensive study of Oscar Wilde's work. It aims to gain fresh insight into his literary and critical uvre by fully analysing each of his works on the basis of a textually oriented interpretation, taking equal account of the biographical and intellectual contexts. Professor Kohl's starting-point is the thesis that Wilde's identity - both personal and artistic - can only be adequately described in terms of a conflict between two opposing forces: individualism and convention. This conflict colours not...