The Importance of Being Earnest
A Trivial Comedy for Serious People
Ratings4
Average rating3.8
15
A Trivial Comedy for Serious People
Ratings4
Average rating3.8
Oscar Wilde's madcap farce about mistaken identities, secret engagements, and lovers entanglements still delights readers more than a century after its 1895 publication and premiere performance. The rapid-fire wit and eccentric characters of The Importance of Being Earnest have made it a mainstay of the high school curriculum for decades.Cecily Cardew and Gwendolen Fairfax are both in love with the same mythical suitor. Jack Worthing has wooed Gewndolen as Ernest while Algernon has also posed as Ernest to win the heart of Jack's ward, Cecily. When all four arrive at Jack's country home on the same weekend the "rivals" to fight for Ernest s undivided attention and the "Ernests" to claim their beloveds pandemonium breaks loose. Only a senile nursemaid and an old, discarded hand-bag can save the day!
Reviews with the most likes.
Despite being thoroughly out of date (it dates from 1895), this play has the striking virtue of being hilariously funny throughout, in a way that transcends time. A modern writer transported back into British society of the 1890s and desiring to make fun of it could hardly have done better.
The story is perfectly composed, I see absolutely nothing wrong with it. But it's pure social parody: the characters and the plot have no other purpose, and so it's too light and insubstantial to make it into my top favourites. I certainly enjoy it, but I don't reread it often.
I was already familiar with it before downloading this edition from Project Gutenberg: I think I'd previously read it (without owning a copy) and seen it performed.
