I like that act - it's simple, but it expresses how much a figure can mean to people. (And I get the feeling that Oscar would have LOVED it.) But Wilde is not the only one who deserves such attention, and it's interesting to see which graves inspire cult followings and which are left largely alone (in Pere Lachaise, for instance, Jim Morrison's is another popular place). Sites of memorial can be fascinating, if only for learning about what we choose to commemorate. Why do we bother, for people we only know through stories or history? What makes someone "larger than life?"
In the case of authors like Wilde, I think it's the ability to expertly reflect it. Wilde's plays are a masterclass in sharp insight masquerading as comedy and triviality. His wit and commentary stand the test of time, and his plays are fun and light even as they cut to the core of uncomfortable truths (see, for example, A Woman of No Importance). Never one to take himself too earnestly, Wilde subtitled The Importance of Being Earnest "A Trivial Comedy for Serious People." To which HG Wells responded, "...how Serious People will take this Trivial Comedy intended for their learning remains to be seen. No doubt seriously."
Because I like wordplay I also want to mention Thornton Wilder, despite not having been to his grave. Wilder is another playwright with the ability to view his subject both as a part of it and as a separate observer. This is most clearly expressed by the character of the narrator in Our Town, which has remained one of my favorites since first reading. It captures the poignancy, beauty and anxiety of simply living. It was also supposedly banned in the Soviet-controlled sector of Berlin in 1946 "on the grounds that the drama [was] too depressing and could inspire a German suicide wave."* Wilde makes us laugh and think, Wilder makes us cry and wish. They both access the best parts of humanity, just in wildly different ways.
And they both are able to capture in a microcosm the combination of oddity and happiness and pain that comprise life. I always admire authors who can tell their version of truth with humor and grace. To make an audience laugh and cry at the same work, because that's how life often works as well. Whether it's in Grover's Corners, Bedford Falls, or gosh, even a big city.
Love,
Annie
*I find this kind of hilarious, but maybe I just have a dark sense of humor. What, life wasn't grim enough already? Sadly, it was a real effect after Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther was published.