- Paperback: 64 pages
- Publisher: Dover Publications Inc. (18 Mar 1991)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0486264785
- ISBN-13: 978-0486264783
- Product Dimensions: 20.3 x 12.7 x 1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 454,390 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
the wittiest play in the English language Financial Times Comes as close to perfection as any comedy I can think of. Daily Telegraph
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
Wilde was both a glittering wordsmith and a social outsider. His drama emerges out of these two perhaps contradictory identities, combining epigrammatic brilliance and shrewd social observation. Includes Lady Windermere's Fan, Salome, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, A Florentine Tragedy and The Importance of Being Earnest, which appears in full with the "Grigsby" scene which originally made up the fourth act.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Wilde's play of comic intrigue and status has universal themes to appeal to a modern audience.However two slim editions with double postage did not enhance my prospects of becoming Lady Bracknell.
M.G.N.Bennett
M.G.N.Bennett
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
41 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Absolutely AMAZING!
11 April 2005
Format:Paperback
I just got finished reading this for class, and it's simply one of the best works I have read in the past year. It was such a joy to read, no dread factor at all (and there was no trouble keeping up with the characters). It is so witty and so well-written, it's just great. I recommend this to anyone who wants a good laugh. I can't see how anyone would not love it. This was the first time I was introduced to Wilde, and I look forward to reading more.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Is it Important to be Earnest?
24 Sep 2003
Format:Paperback
In Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest", he answers this question in the form of brilliant comedy. The play, full of witty dialogue such as Lady Bracknell's answer to her daughter's suitor saying he does smoke; "I am glad to hear it. A man should always have an occupation of some kind."; says, yes, it is important to be Earnest.
One of the more remarkable details of this play is in the title itself. While attending or reading the play, you learn, that the two heroine's of the piece, Gwendolyn and Cecily, are determined to marry men named Earnest; unfortunately, Jack wants to marry Gwendolyn, and Algernon would like to settle down with Cecily. What is the reasonable solution? To tell them that their name's are Earnest. However, Earnest is not only a name, but also a word meaning: an intensely serious state of mind. Why would Oscar Wilde choose the name Earnest for this seemingly ridiculous play anyway?
Why ridiculous you may ask. The answer comes in not only the ingenious dialogue, but in the plot itself. Without giving away the entire story, one can say that the two main characters live, however innocent, deceptive lives and still end up with the fair maiden's in the end. One of them even ends up really being Earnest, to which he answers, "... it is a terrible thing for a man to find out suddenly that all his life he has been speaking nothing but truth..."
Wilde called his piece, "A trivial comedy for serious people." If the word earnest means serious and the play itself is joyfully absurd, this writer imagines that the characters in the play although exceptionally serious about themselves and their lives, they are trivial or ridiculous. In conclusion, I would say that this play is not only suited for the serious mind, this play is uproariously fun for all of us who appreciate good humor.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Oscar drives something wild.
8 Mar 2005
Format:Paperback
"The Importance of Being Earnest" seems to start as a play about truth, but quickly becomes a play about the false through the classical `simple misunderstanding.' The two male leads, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, use imaginary friends they both invent to avoid the boring and weekly family engagements. These imaginary friends lead to eventual confusion between them and the women they love. This Shakespearean misunderstanding is only half the fun though. Wilde, always witty, mocks the ill portrayed English Aristocracy of the late 19th century - poking constant fun at not only their etiquette, but also their stubborn and unpractical tendencies, their immoral behavior, and their exploitation of the lower classes. Very rarely do comedies strike to the heart of the matter and say something meaningful as Oscar Wilde did with this last great play of his.
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