Oscar Wilde

The importance of being earnest and other plays

The Importance of Being Earnest and Four Other Plays, by Oscar Wilde, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences?biographical, historical, and literary?to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works. Oscar Wilde's legendary wit dazzles in The Importance of Being Earnest, one of the greatest and most popular works of drama to emerge from Victorian England. A light-hearted satire of the absurdity of all forms and conventions, this comic masterpiece features an unforgettable cast of characters who, as critic Max Beerbohm observed, ?speak a kind of beautiful nonsense?the language of high comedy, twisted into fantasy.” This collection also includes Oscar Wilde's most famous comedies, Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance, and An Ideal Husband, as well as his poetic tragedy Salomé?all written between 1891 and 1895, Wilde's most creative period. George Bernard Shaw said of Oscar Wilde that he is ?our most thorough playwright. He plays with everything: with wit, with philosophy, with drama, with actors and audience, with the whole theater.” Kenneth Krauss received his Ph.D. from Columbia University. He teaches drama at the College of Saint Rose, where he also directs and produces. His most recent book is The Drama of Fallen France, on French theater under the German Occupation.

The Importance of Being Earnest and Four Other Plays

Claudia | she/her

'The truth is rarely pure and never simple.'

'I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.'

'All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does, and that is his.'

A timeless, witty, satirical play that mocks the conventional Victorian traditions and social customs. 

His critique of the upper class is palpable, highlighting the hypocrisy of marriage expectations and the superficialness of upper society, who are unauthentic to appease societal expectations and appear more alluring. The title itself mocks the Victorian upper classes as the character trait of ‘earnestness’ was very much desirable in nineteenth-century society. 

I just love Oscar Wilde’s work and his audacious critique of society, which still holds significance today.

Eleanor 

'The truth is rarely pure and never simple.'

'I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.'

'All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does, and that is his.'

A timeless, witty, satirical play that mocks the conventional Victorian traditions and social customs. 

His critique of the upper class is palpable, highlighting the hypocrisy of marriage expectations and the superficialness of upper society, who are unauthentic to appease societal expectations and appear more alluring. The title itself mocks the Victorian upper classes as the character trait of ‘earnestness’ was very much desirable in nineteenth-century society. 

I just love Oscar Wilde’s work and his audacious critique of society, which still holds significance today.

Lady Windermere's Fan

Hugo

Jun Angelo Cabuguas

it was cool reading so many classics, loved lady windermere’s fan + the importance of being earnest

“It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious”

Sylvan Barnet

Offers newly edited texts of five of the British playwright's works, including the great farcial comedy The Importance of Being Earnest.. Reissue.

The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays

Alexia

Salomé 3.5 stars
Lady Windermere's Fan 4 stars
The Importance of Being Earnest 4.5 stars

Kareema A Godhrawala

So incredibly humorous, made me FEEL so many things in such little time. Wonderful characterization, so utterly heartwarming.

Jeni Enjaian

I have to place this disclaimer at the outset of my review. I am not a huge fan of reading plays. (Now that I think about it and add plays to the list, I really primarily enjoy works of non-fiction--usually history--and full length novels. Nothing wrong with that, right?)

To the review of the book itself:

I enjoyed the first play (also the title play) "The Importance of Being Earnest" the most. This is likely due to the fact that I have likely read it before and am familiar (from other references) with the plot and characters. Wilde, with all of the plays, uses a manageable number of characters with distinct names to prevent confusion for the reader/viewer. Both the dialogue and the plot are neat and concise without being predictable from the first scene. That being said, the final play in this collection. Salomé, I found to be disturbing and out of character from the rest of Wilde's plays included in this collection.

I definitely recommend this book to all those interested in classic British literature as well as those interested in plays and/or the classics.

Laura Carnevale

Lady Windermere's Fan: 4.75/5
Salomé: 4/5
A Woman of No Importance: 4.25/5
An Ideal Husband: 5/5
A Florentine Tragedy: 4/5
The Importance of Being Earnest: 4.5/5

Sparkling repartee enlivens this witty comedy in which a model of social rectitude learns from an unexpected source the difference between true morality and its appearance.

Panda Ä

Enriched Classics offer readers accessible editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and commentary. Each book includes educational tools alongside the text, enabling students and readers alike to gain a deeper and more developed understanding of the writer and their work. Wilde’s classic comedy of manners, The Importance of Being Earnest, a satire of Victorian social hypocrisy and considered Wilde’s greatest dramatic achievement, and his other popular plays—Lady Windermere’s Fan, An Ideal Husband, and Salome—challenged contemporary notions of sex and sensibility, class and cultural identity. Enriched Classics enhance your engagement by introducing and explaining the historical and cultural significance of the work, the author’s personal history, and what impact this book had on subsequent scholarship. Each book includes discussion questions that help clarify and reinforce major themes and reading recommendations for further research. Read with confidence.

Amalie Elisabeth

Karolína Kýčková

The four great comedies of Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest, were all written at the height of the controversial Irish author's powers in his last, doomed decade, the 1890s. They remain among the most-loved, and most-quoted, of all drama in the English language. Along with Salome, his darkly decadent dramatization of the Bible story, these immortal plays continue to pack theatres, and have been adapted for every kind of media. This Macmillan Collector's Library edition of The Importance of Being Earnest & Other Plays echoes the book form in which Wilde originally insisted his plays were published, and includes illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley and an afterword by Ned Halley. Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.

The Importance of Being Earnest & Other Plays

Raymie Smith

Ethan Evans

Offers newly edited texts of five of the British playwright's works, including the great farcial comedy "The Importance of Being Earnest."

The importance of being earnest and other plays

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