How does Richard Ellmann use imagery in Oscar Wilde?

In Chapter 13, the author notes that Oscar Wilde further internationalized his fame by visiting Paris and spending time with Parisian social and literary circles. He gained credibility with some, and lost it with others, but he experienced intense scrutiny from everyone. As Wilde pondered the relation of art to life, he made many noteworthy aphorisms on the subject during his socializing. The idea of writing Salome as a play came to him during this time because a poem or novel cannot fully capture the paradoxes and conflicts of the story, not to mention the imagery of the beheadings.