Rating: 
Summary: The wittiest play ever written in the English language
Review: "The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People" is one of the first plays written in English since the works of Shakespeare that celebrates the language itself. Oscar Wilde's comedy has one advantage over the classic comedies of the Bard in that "The Importance of Being Earnest" is as funny today as it was when it was first performed at the St. Jame's Theater in London on February 14, 1895. After all, enjoying Shakespeare requires checking the bottom for footnotes explaining the meaning of those dozens of words that Shakespeare makes up in any one of his plays. But Wilde's brilliant wit, his humor and social satire, remain intact even though he was a writer of the Victorian era. Wilde believed in art for art's own sake, which explains why he emphasized beauty while his contemporaries were dealing with the problems of industrial England. "The Importance of Being Earnest" is set among the upper class, making fun of their excesses and absurdities while imbuing them with witty banter providing a constant stream of epigrams. The play's situation is simple in its unraveling complexity. Algernon Moncrieff is an upper-class English bachelor who is visited by his friend Jack Worthing, who is known as "Ernest." Jack has come to town to propose to Gwendolen Fairfax, the daugher of the imposing Lady Bracknell and Algy's first cousin. Jack has a ward named Cecily who lives in the country while Algernon has an imaginary friend named "Bunbury" whom he uses as an excuse to get out of social engagements. Jack proposes to Gwendolen but has two problems. First, Gwendolen is wiling to agree because his name is Ernest, a name that "seems to inspire absolute confidence," but which, of course, is not his true Christian name. Second, Lady Bracknell objects to Jack as a suitor when she learns he was abandoned by his parents and found in a handbag in Victoria Station by Mr. Thomas Cardew. Meanwhile, Algernon heads off to the country to check out Cecily, to whom he introduces himself as being her guardian Jack's brother Ernest. This meets with Ceclily's approval because in her diary she has been writing about her engagement to a man named Ernest. Then things get really interesting. Wilde proves once and for all time that the pun can indeed be elevated to a high art form. Throughout the entire play we have the double meaning of the word "earnest," almost to the level of a conceit, since many of the play's twists and turns deal with the efforts of Jack and Algernon to be "Ernest," by lying, only to discover that circumstances makes honest men of them in the end (and of the women for that matter as well). There is every reason to believe that Wilde was making a point about earnestness being a key ideal of Victorian culture and one worthy of being thoroughly and completely mocked. Granted, some of the puns are really bad, and the discussion of "Bunburying" is so bad it is stands alone in that regard, but there is a sense in which the bad ones only make the good ones so glorious and emphasize that Wilde is at his best while playing games with the English language. But if Wilde's puns are the low road then his epigrams represent the heights of his genius, especially when they are used by the characters in an ironic vein (e.g., "It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal" and "I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance"). Jack is the male lead, but it is Algernon who represents the ideal Wilde character, who insists he is a rebel speaking out against the institutions of society, such as marriage, but with attacks that are so flamboyant and humorous that the cleverness of the humor ends up standing apart from the inherent point. In the end, "The Importance of Being Earnest" is the wittiest play every written, in English or any other language, and I doubt that anything written in the future will come close. Wilde was essentially a stand-up comedian who managed to create a narrative in which he could get off dozens of classic one-liners given a high-class sheen by being labeled epigrams. Like a comedian he touches on several topics, from the aristocracy, marriage, and the literary world to English manners, women, love, religion, and anything else that came to his fertile mind. But because it is done with such a lighthearted tone that the barbs remain as timely today as they were at the end of the 19th-century and "The Importance of Being Earnest" will always be at the forefront of the plays of that time which will continue to be produced.
Rating:
Summary: The wittiest play ever written in the English language
Review: "The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People" is one of the first plays written in English since the works of Shakespeare that celebrates the language itself. Oscar Wilde's comedy has one advantage over the classic comedies of the Bard in that "The Importance of Being Earnest" is as funny today as it was when it was first performed at the St. Jame's Theater in London on February 14, 1895. After all, enjoying Shakespeare requires checking the bottom for footnotes explaining the meaning of those dozens of words that Shakespeare makes up in any one of his plays. But Wilde's brilliant wit, his humor and social satire, remain intact even though he was a writer of the Victorian era. Wilde believed in art for art's own sake, which explains why he emphasized beauty while his contemporaries were dealing with the problems of industrial England. "The Importance of Being Earnest" is set among the upper class, making fun of their excesses and absurdities while imbuing them with witty banter providing a constant stream of epigrams. The play's situation is simple in its unraveling complexity. Algernon Moncrieff is an upper-class English bachelor who is visited by his friend Jack Worthing, who is known as "Ernest." Jack has come to town to propose to Gwendolen Fairfax, the daugher of the imposing Lady Bracknell and Algy's first cousin. Jack has a ward named Cecily who lives in the country while Algernon has an imaginary friend named "Bunbury" whom he uses as an excuse to get out of social engagements. Jack proposes to Gwendolen but has two problems. First, Gwendolen is wiling to agree because his name is Ernest, a name that "seems to inspire absolute confidence," but which, of course, is not his true Christian name. Second, Lady Bracknell objects to Jack as a suitor when she learns he was abandoned by his parents and found in a handbag in Victoria Station by Mr. Thomas Cardew. Meanwhile, Algernon heads off to the country to check out Cecily, to whom he introduces himself as being her guardian Jack's brother Ernest. This meets with Ceclily's approval because in her diary she has been writing about her engagement to a man named Ernest. Then things get really interesting. Wilde proves once and for all time that the pun can indeed be elevated to a high art form. Throughout the entire play we have the double meaning of the word "earnest," almost to the level of a conceit, since many of the play's twists and turns deal with the efforts of Jack and Algernon to be "Ernest," by lying, only to discover that circumstances makes honest men of them in the end (and of the women for that matter as well). There is every reason to believe that Wilde was making a point about earnestness being a key ideal of Victorian culture and one worthy of being thoroughly and completely mocked. Granted, some of the puns are really bad, and the discussion of "Bunburying" is so bad it is stands alone in that regard, but there is a sense in which the bad ones only make the good ones so glorious and emphasize that Wilde is at his best while playing games with the English language. But if Wilde's puns are the low road then his epigrams represent the heights of his genius, especially when they are used by the characters in an ironic vein (e.g., "It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal" and "I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance"). Jack is the male lead, but it is Algernon who represents the ideal Wilde character, who insists he is a rebel speaking out against the institutions of society, such as marriage, but with attacks that are so flamboyant and humorous that the cleverness of the humor ends up standing apart from the inherent point. In the end, "The Importance of Being Earnest" is the wittiest play every written, in English or any other language, and I doubt that anything written in the future will come close. Wilde was essentially a stand-up comedian who managed to create a narrative in which he could get off dozens of classic one-liners given a high-class sheen by being labeled epigrams. Like a comedian he touches on several topics, from the aristocracy, marriage, and the literary world to English manners, women, love, religion, and anything else that came to his fertile mind. But because it is done with such a lighthearted tone that the barbs remain as timely today as they were at the end of the 19th-century and "The Importance of Being Earnest" will always be at the forefront of the plays of that time which will continue to be produced.
Rating:
Summary: Is it Important to be Earnest?
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Is it Important to be Earnest?
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Wit is stronger than appearances
Review: Oscar Wilde gives us in this play one of his best instance of humor, or would I say wit ? Every situation, every word, every piece of this dialogue is full of smartness and intelligence. The only aim of the play is to show us how absurd strict social canons are. Life is extremely more fun than the respect of such rules that destroy any kind of pleasure or happy turns of events. Good society is thus turned upside down and the best instance of such humorous antics is the fact that the son of a general was officially born in a handbag deposited in the cloakroom of Victoria Station, the Brighton Line. How ridiculous ! How funny, ah ah and funny, strange ! Oscar Wilde shows how vain all appearances are because appearances may hide deeper things that are of far more important value than these appearances. This play is thus a constant and perfect example of comedy. But in spite of this light appearance of the play, we can feel the deeper suffering of Oscar Wilde who is very serious about the absurdity of keeping up appearances instead of taking only character into account. In other words, this comedy is a sign of the total decay of such higher society that is nothing but a pretty face with nothing behind, nothing in the head or the brain. It is a call for a real society based on human values like love, truthfulness, faithfulness. All twists in the social fabric create unconceivable embroglios that lead to entanglements and other difficulties. Things would be so simple if men and women could just follow their inclinations and their deep sentiments. We also find in this comedy a deep marivaux-ian influence : Marivaux loved in his play to alter identities, but among girls, to test the love of men. Here it is the men who have altered identities and it leads to testing their ability at sacrificing such entangled situations for the love of a girl. There is also a strong recollection of Shakespeare who enjoyed turning his girls into boys in his comedies, but once again to test the love of men, to see without being seen, for women. Oscar Wilde, in the social setting of a Victorian society, is just as witty and funny as Shakespeare in say As you Like It, or say again A Midsummer Night's Dream. And life turns Aunt Augusta, alias Lady Bracknell into the ass of the fable. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Perpignan
Rating:
Summary: A Class Act!! Hilarious!!!
Review: Oscar Wilde here excels in wit. Its funnier that any piece ever written, or maybe funnier than anything I have ever encountered. The play is very interesting comedy of errors, full of hilarious suspense, and by the end, when everything falls into place, one happily bows to the Importance of being earnest. The dialogue is full of anecdotes worth citing, and trust me you would return to read this play more than once. Some examples to give you the flavor: ALGERNON The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Modern life would be very tedious if it were either, and modern literature a complete impossibility! or this dialogue: JACK Well, yes, I must admit I smoke. LADY BRACKNELL I am glad to hear it. A man should always have an occupation of some kind. There are far too many idle men in London as it is. How old are you? JACK Twenty-nine. LADY BRACKNELL A very good age to be married at. I have always been of opinion that a man who desires to get married should know either everything or nothing. Which do you know? JACK [After some hesitation.] I know nothing, Lady Bracknell. LADY BRACKNELL I am pleased to hear it. I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone. The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever. If it did, it would prove a serious danger to the upper classes, and probably lead to acts of violence in Grosvenor Square. What is your income? or maybe this one: JACK I have lost both my parents. LADY BRACKNELL To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness. or try this:) JACK Well, will you go if I change my clothes? ALGERNON Yes, if you are not too long. I never saw anybody take so long to dress, and with such little result. JACK Well, at any rate, that is better than being always over- dressed as you are. ALGERNON If I am occasionally a little over-dressed, I make up for it by being always immensely over-educated.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant !
Review: Oscar Wilde is a master of comedy. "The Importance of Being Earnest" is the Saturday Night Live version of Jane Austen or Charlotte Bronte. This is definitely a must-have!
Rating:
Summary: The importance of being Wild(e)
Review: Oscar Wilde once said that all forms of art are useless. Bearing this in mind, his play `The Importance of Being Earnest' is one of the most useless pieces ever written. Writing a simple and funny play, the play writer managed to criticize the hypocrisy of the Victorian society in this comedy of manners. The whole story is around the words `earnest' and `Ernest'. More than toying with the words and their sound and meaning, Wilde is talking about the `masks' that people put in their faces by that time. Nobody is really what he/she seems to be. The two main characters Algernon Moncrieff and Algernon Moncrieff create another ego that they pretend to be their brothers-- to such device they call Bunburying hence the name of Algernon's brother. What is very clear with this plot is that Wilde shows how one has to lie in order to succeed. However, in another level, Bunburying is way of describing homosexual liaisons or is a way of escaping from the chains of the marriage. By the way, marriage itself is strongly criticized by the author in this play. The two marriageable girls are interested in men whose names are Ernest, no matter how they look or what they do. All the undertones of the play aside, `The Importance of Being Ernest' is a quick and funny play, full of great lines that could only come from Oscar Wilde's mind. Just like Lady Braknell says to hurry a marriage: `I am not in favour of long engagements. They give people the opportunity of finding out each other's character before marriage, which I think is never advisable.' Simply funny, acid and true!
Rating:
Summary: The epitome of wit
Review: The Importance of Being Earnest is probably one of the funniest works I have ever been witness to; it definitely takes the cake when it comes to plays. The witty English humor is practically side splitting when read, so i can imagine how well it works when actually preformed on stage or film. The characters are so perfectly created within their aristocratic society. Lady Bracknell is the epitome of a lady and her humor, though she is not trying to be funny, is classic. The words do all the work. The characters just speak and as long as the lines are taken/given as canversationalthe entire play is nonstop laughs. The satire dealing with issues of class, love, money, and character has probably never been written as subtle or as well as Wilde has done with this play. The plot is humorous in its self. The whole concept of "Burnburying" to get around your obligations as a Gentleman and the problems it causes for Algernon and Jack. The shifty love story that carries the play is at times unbelievable but if you consider the farcicalnature of the play it is easily overlooked. The ending, although I won't give it away, is another classic example of a well written play. The twists and turns along the way that end up confronting the truth make the finish well worth your time. That's not to say that the rest of the play isn't great. If you're a fan of this type of comedy I would highly recommend not only buying this book but seeing it preformed as well.
Rating:
Summary: The epitome of wit
Review: The Importance of Being Earnest is probably one of the funniest works I have ever been witness to; it definitely takes the cake when it comes to plays. The witty English humor is practically side splitting when read, so i can imagine how well it works when actually preformed on stage or film. The characters are so perfectly created within their aristocratic society. Lady Bracknell is the epitome of a lady and her humor, though she is not trying to be funny, is classic. The words do all the work. The characters just speak and as long as the lines are taken/given as canversationalthe entire play is nonstop laughs. The satire dealing with issues of class, love, money, and character has probably never been written as subtle or as well as Wilde has done with this play. The plot is humorous in its self. The whole concept of "Burnburying" to get around your obligations as a Gentleman and the problems it causes for Algernon and Jack. The shifty love story that carries the play is at times unbelievable but if you consider the farcicalnature of the play it is easily overlooked. The ending, although I won't give it away, is another classic example of a well written play. The twists and turns along the way that end up confronting the truth make the finish well worth your time. That's not to say that the rest of the play isn't great. If you're a fan of this type of comedy I would highly recommend not only buying this book but seeing it preformed as well.
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