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Importance of Being Earnest (Penguin Classics) Paperback – March 1, 2001

by Oscar Wilde (Author), Richard Allen Cave (Editor, Introduction, Commentary)

4.5 4,892 ratings

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The crowning plays of one of Ireland's most heralded artists

Oscar Wilde was at once a family man and a homosexual outsider, a socialite, socialist, and Irish nationalist. His contradictions inspired him to ponder the roles and masks donned in conventional society, and his acute and wry insights are wonderfully displayed in this collection of his essential plays. Known not only for his brilliant, epigrammatic language, but also for his sense of theatrical design, color, and staging, Wilde created an enduring body of finely crafted works, whose delights and ironies still speak to modern audiences. In addition to Lady Windermere's Fan, Salomé, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, A Florentine Tragedy, and The Importance of Being Earnest, this edition contains an introduction, notes and commentaries, and an excised scene from The Importance of Being Earnest.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

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About the Author

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was an Irish writer, poet, and playwright. His novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, brought him lasting recognition, and he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era with a series of witty social satires, including his masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics (March 1, 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0140436065
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140436068
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ NP0L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.1 x 0.8 x 7.7 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #775,527 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #733 in British & Irish Literature
- #747 in British & Irish Dramas & Plays
- #17,659 in Classic Literature & Fiction

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4.5 4,892 ratings

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Oscar Wilde
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Oscar Fingall O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in Dublin in 1854. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and Magdalen College, Oxford where, a disciple of Pater, he founded an aesthetic cult. In 1884 he married Constance Lloyd, and his two sons were born in 1885 and 1886.
His novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), and social comedies Lady Windermere's Fan (1892), A Woman of No Importance (1893), An Ideal Husband (1895), and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), established his reputation. In 1895, following his libel action against the Marquess of Queesberry, Wilde was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for homosexual conduct, as a result of which he wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), and his confessional letter De Profundis (1905). On his release from prison in 1897 he lived in obscurity in Europe, and died in Paris in 1900.
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Trevor Millum
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Ajaz Ahmed
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Ajaz Ahmed Bhatt, (Ajaz Ahmed). Born in 2001 in District Poonch of Jammu and Kashmir, (Indian). Raised and educated primarily in district poonch, later pursued high school from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Kotaranka Rajouri. Later joined Cluster university of Jammu for B. A (hons) in English Literature and Later Masters in English literature.
Bhatt has been keen to explore writing and has been doing trials and error, lately published books and several papers on Academia, Google Scholar, various Blogs and other social media platforms. Also pioneering and patroning as Marketing manager of Poonch woolen and handicraft services and a peace builder with Yakjah network of peace building.
He also have a verified profile on spotify. Soundcloud etc.
Keen to research he has also worked as a field researcher and group mobiliser with UKRI, GCRF Gender justice and security,under London School of Economics and Political Science and University of Wessex. Some of his published books are:
1: Killing me Softly Ajaz Ahmed Bhatt
2: How to achieve a hot body effectively.
3: Top 20 ways to earn money online.
4: The Indian Shakespeare.
5: Bloody Horror.
6: Top 10 Horror stories.
7: The interwar years.
8: Echoes of the Earth (2023)
9: Man in a household (upcoming)
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ladyofthecamelias

An Essentail Book

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2024

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Oscar Wilde was an extremely witty, clever and humorous writer. This short three act play is timeless. I have read it many times over. This edition was essential to my library.

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ROF

Great read: very funny.

Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2024

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Good price. Good print, value.
Highly recommended.

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Kenya Starflight

Still funny and observant over a century later

Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2021

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Older literature can be challenging for modern audiences to relate to, especially when it's trying to satirize elements of society at the time that may no longer be relevant. It's often still worth reading in order get a feel for the time period... and sometimes it can still be funny and even surprisingly relevant today. And such was the case with "The Importance of Being Earnest," a play written by the inimitable Oscar Wilde. Just as amusing and cutting today as it was when it was first written, it's a surprisingly enjoyable jaunt that I'd love to see onstage someday.

British society men Jack and Algernon often find themselves bored by their everyday lives, and so each has their own alter ego -- Jack lives a double-life, going by Earnest while in London and Jack while visiting his home in the country, while Algernon has invented a perpetually-sick friend to serve as a handy alibi. But when two lovely women catch each man's eye -- and each lady finds themselves falling in love with the completely fictitious Earnest -- the stage is set for a comedy of errors that will find double identities exposed for all to see.

Being written in script format, it's hard to judge this by the same standards one would judge a book by. There's no real prose to judge, mainly dialogue. But in this case the dialogue is fantastic, full of witty banter and observations that do a good job at pointing out the absurdity of social mores of the time... and some social mores that continue to this day. And despite being relatively short, the play manages to spin a neat and tightly entwined plot that's satisfying -- and hilarious -- to see played out. Most of the characters seem to have the same basic personality and voice, but I can forgive this.

"The Importance of Being Earnest" is a nicely absurd and observant play that manages to still be funny and biting over a century later. I hope to be able to see it on stage someday -- it's probably much more effective when you see it in action than read it on the page...

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Michael Birman

An in-depth presentation of the funniest play ever written

Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2008

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Oscar Wilde made his initial reputation as the master of the epigram: the trenchant and mordant, roughly haiku length flashes of insight into the comic absurdity of the world. No one in English Literature before or since has ever displayed such an effortless mastery of wit. "All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his."

The Importance of Being Earnest not only flaunts Wilde's most inconsequential plot, it is also crammed with his funniest epigrams and wittiest bon mots. This 1895 three-act comedic tour-de-force was an immediate hit in London. The comic word-play was a sensation amongst audiences who flocked to see this brilliant manifestation of Wilde's epicene witticisms. Here was a glittering example of London's avant-garde in the 1890's. Much like the play Hair in the 1960's, it was a signature of the times that no self-respecting sophisticate could miss. Wilde enjoyed himself immensely during this apex of his fame. Unfortunately, his reputation was quickly eclipsed by the scandal that engulfed him and his work. It took several decades for that reputation to be rehabilitated. The Importance of Being Earnest seemed to float above the scandals, never losing its popularity and acquiring a theatrical life of its own as an absolutely iconic work.

This Norton Critical Edition contains an annotated version of the play as well as several brilliantly incisive articles. A few of the analysts engage in some scholarly hand-waving, trying to attribute a social commentary and literary symbolism to the play that may not exist. Some of it is quite funny, in fact. I can't help but think that Wilde would appreciate the irony of one critic portraying his comic depiction of the frequently agitated butler Lane as an assault on the English class system. Other articles are quite helpful, however. The essay by Camille Paglia is especially insightful with her brilliant analysis of Wilde's dramatic projection of an ambiguous sexual persona. It is a rare comic play that merits its own Norton Critical Edition. This is one of the few. If you love this play (and the hilarious 1951 Anthony Asquith film) as much as I do, this is the edition to have. Most strongly recommended.

Mike Birman

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Aquila Chrysaetos

Macmillan collectors library edition

Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2017

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Of Wilde's plays I have only seen The Importance of Being Earnest which is wonderfully witty and ridiculous. Collected in this volume are the title play along with Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband and Salome. The first four are light entertainment filled with witty dialogue. The last, Salome, is macabre and dark. I was curious about that one because of the hubbub over it being a play based on scripture but laced sexual overtones. I'm glad I read it because its not something I would want to go to see like the other four but in Wilde's defense, the Herods were a nasty, incestuous and murderous bunch and he does not do injustice to John the Baptist or Christ. The most disturbing part about the play is when Salome kisses the severed head of the prophet. She does this because he refused her advances while alive.

The illustrations in the book are the originals done by Aubrey Beardsley and they are only in Salome. I liked his illustrations in Macmillan's The Happy Prince and Other Stories but I found the ones for Salome nasty, grotesque and bordering on porn. Not to my taste at all.

The rest of the book still merits my five star rating both in content and quality.

Macmillan's Collectors library editions are well made beautiful pocket sized hard covers. There are two other Oscar Wilde books in the collection: Picture of Dorian Gray and The Happy Prince and Other Stories.

7 people found this helpful

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Steven

Must Have für die Literarische Bibliothek

Reviewed in Germany on May 6, 2024

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"The Importance of Being Earnest" von Oscar Wilde ist ein zeitloser Klassiker, der mich von Anfang bis Ende fasziniert hat. Dieses Stück ist eine brillante Satire auf die viktorianische Gesellschaft und ihre oft lächerlichen sozialen Normen. Wilde verwendet scharfen, humorvollen Dialog, um die Absurditäten des Klassenunterschieds, der Heuchelei und der Doppelmoral aufzudecken.

Die Charaktere sind unglaublich gut gezeichnet und jeder trägt auf seine Weise zum komödiantischen Charme des Stücks bei. Die beiden Protagonisten, Algernon und Jack, führen ein Doppelleben, indem sie sich jeweils als "Ernest" ausgeben, was zu einer Reihe von urkomischen Verwechslungen und Missverständnissen führt. Die weiblichen Charaktere, Gwendolen und Cecily, sind ebenso witzig und intelligent und halten mit den Männern locker Schritt.

Was mich besonders an diesem Stück fasziniert, ist die zeitlose Relevanz seiner Themen. Obwohl es vor mehr als einem Jahrhundert geschrieben wurde, ist seine Kritik an Oberflächlichkeit, Scheinheiligkeit und gesellschaftlicher Konvention immer noch äußerst aktuell. Die scharfsinnigen Kommentare von Wilde über die menschliche Natur und die Gesellschaft sind sowohl unterhaltsam als auch tiefgründig.

Insgesamt ist "The Importance of Being Earnest" ein absoluter Genuss zu lesen oder zu sehen. Es ist eine brillante Darstellung von Oscar Wildes scharfem Verstand und seiner Fähigkeit, die menschliche Natur auf humorvolle und doch treffende Weise zu analysieren. Ich kann dieses Stück jedem empfehlen, der intelligente Komödien und zeitlose Satire schätzt.