The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People

By Oscar Wilde

Wilde's best-known play. According to Wikipedia: "Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854 - 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and author of short stories. Known for his barbed wit, he was one of the most successful playwrights of late Victorian London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. As the result of a famous trial, he suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned for two years of hard labour after being convicted of the offence of 'gross indecency.'"

• Language: English
• Publisher: Seltzer Books
• Release date: Mar 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781455395934

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born on the 16th October 1854 and died on the 30th November 1900. He was an Irish playwright, poet, and author of numerous short stories and one novel. Known for his biting wit, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. Several of his plays continue to be widely performed, especially The Importance of Being Earnest.

Book preview

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Reviews for The Importance of Being Earnest

[mickyfine · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've always enjoyed this play and couldn't turn down the opportunity to listen to this audio production with James Marsters (SPIKE!) in one of the lead roles. The play remains as funny and charming as ever, and while not all of the actors rocked the English accent as well as others, it was a delightful and fast listen. Highly recommended.

[solitaryfossil · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

A cute little trifle, just a middle-of-the-road blip, though. At least now I can say I’ve been exposed to it, and exposure is good - unless you’re arrested for it, or die from it.

[alexdaw · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ah where to begin? A lifetime of quotes. Oh to be Lady Bracknell in my dotage. "To lose one parents, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness. " or "Hesitation of any kind is a sign of mental decay in the young, of physical weakness in the old." and finally "Three addresses always inspire confidence, even in tradesmen."

[exiled_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I had to read this for my AP Lit class. It was the first book for the class, and I was a bit skeptical of it at first. As it turns out, it was hilarious! I could rarely find a page where I was not laughing. Nothing better than a good Victorian satire! ;)

[msnikki · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I bought this on a whim, I recognised the name and decided "Why not".I loved it, it was sharp, funny and oh so relevant.

[name99_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Mildly amusing, but really not much more than that. Maybe I'm just too familiar with Wilde's brand of witticism, but I frequently found them irritating this time round.

[yazzyfuzz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A gem of a play. Wilde at his best. Has also been transferred very successfully to the screen.

[breic-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very funny, in the ridiculous sense, and often quotable. (I think Wilde could go further into illogic and non-sequiturs, and should try some longer-running gags.) Edited nicely; the humor doesn't overstay its welcome. Jack: You never talk anything but nonsense. Algernon: Nobody ever does.

[villemezbrown · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I found the play amusing, so I'm giving the book three stars. However, I have to give one star to the homophobic creator biography and literary analysis that is contained in the edition I actually read, a 1959 book in the Barron's Educational Series. When it wasn't offensive, the literary analysis was just boring as hell and written in dry, tortured, overly academic prose that contrasted greatly with the witty dialogue in Wilde's play. Wilde's work stands the test of time, while the introductory matter is best left in the past.

[lkernagh · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

After encountering references to this play in a book I recently read, I decided it was high time I "took in the play", which was rather easy to do with access to the audiorecording of a L.A. Theatreworks production. Now I understand why this play is considered by some to be the apogee of Wilde's work and such a wonderful precursor to the English farcical comic novel style perfected by P.G. Wodehouse. An entertaining Victorian story of courtship and manners, assumed names, mistaken lovers and the epitome of the "dragon" aunt. A whimsical mayhem romp!

[catalogthis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Radio version from L.A. Theatreworks. Perfect!

[rizeandshine · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I just watched a movie version of this play the other day and, although I like Rupert Everett, Colin Firth and Dame Judi Dench, I found some of the embellishments for film too fanciful and distracting. The music was fun but didn't quite fit the period. I decided to read the play in order to really enjoy the language and wit as penned by the author, although I'd much rather spend an evening at the theater watching the original. If you've never experienced it, I cannot overstate the importance of seeing "Earnest".

[aliceap-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

After what feels like a millennium, I have read The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde and I totally get the hype now. Oscar Wilde's play focuses on two men who independently of the other have invented alternate personas that allow them to cut loose without (hopefully) any repercussions. One of the men has created Ernest who is by all rights a scoundrel and his creator has finally decided to do away with him so that he can settle down and get married. The problem is that his friend (the other deceitful man) has decided to take on the mantle of Ernest so that he can win the heart of a girl that he's just met. (I recommend reading this in one sitting because otherwise you're liable to get confused.) Wilde uses word play and absolutely ridiculous circumstances to discuss the folly of youth and poke fun at the whims and fancies of people who believe they are really truly in love even if they don't truly know the other person. For instance, the two women of the play are determined that they will only marry someone named Ernest but as it turns out no one is named Ernest there is a bit of a kerfuffle. After all is said and done, no one comes out on top and everyone is depicted as foolish and unimpressive. It was thoroughly amusing and I guess now I'll have to see the movie that was based on it. :-P If you haven't read it yourself and you'd like a quick, fun read this will do just the trick. 9/10I was staring at the book's title and then it hit me: "Oh because it's about two men proclaiming to be Ernest and they do it will all earnestness." *facepalm*

[hes7 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a hilarious and quick play centered around two couples and the name Ernest.

[librarygeek33 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The 2 narrators on this version were incredible, immediately switching voices without missing a beat. I don't know how they did it. The book was amusing in a stuffy English way. Silly can be fun.

[margaretfield · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

man pretends to be ernest; comedy

[meditationesmartini · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dear, dear Oscar. I don't know a play that gets away with being less a story than a collection of quips and epigrams and skewerings of the attitudes held by heavily bearded and/or crinolined people in dark clothes as handily as this one does. NB, apparently contemporary with publication "Is he earnest?" was gay slang for "Is he gay?" (later replaced by "Is he musical?"), but Sir John Gielgud assures us that any queer readings are only in our sex-obsessed imaginations. Everybody, treat the serious trivially and the trivial seriously today.

[cameling_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of Oscar Wilde's best works, in my opinion. Great comedy about 2 men, friends, who share the same fake identity while trying to woo 2 women. Then there's the governess and the pastor who can't seem to do anything except yearn for each other from a distance, and a draconian dowager who may just upset everyone's plans for happiness.

[anniesotm_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Timeless, funny and incredibly clever & witty... could you expect anything less of Mr. Wilde?

[tadad_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There's not a lot of depth to this play. Though Wilde does take on the Victorian notions of responsibility, respectability and...well...earnestness, you won't find strikingly real characters that will stay with you, nor any deep and revelatory social messages. What you will find, however, is one of the best assemblies of laugh out oud moments in the English language. Lady Bracknell, alone, had me in stitches for the entire play with her observations on orphans ("To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both looks like carelessness.") to her theories of education ("I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance.").The invented relatives, the mistaken identities, the long-lost foundling, the Tartar of an aunt who controls the purse strings—all of them are sewn together in a way that seems so familiar because they've been a part of our comedic vocabulary ever since Shakespeare. Yet, Wilde's gift is that they don't seem hackneyed nor trite. I think the only downside is that the lawsuits over the play stopped Wilde from writing any more, and that's a loss.

[marcelrochester · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Delightfully clever & funny. Unfortunate that this was the first Wilde piece I read, as the others failed to live up to it.

[benuathanasia · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So very thoroughly enjoyable!!!It has much of the same style of humor of Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors, so if you enjoyed that, this is almost a guaranteed win.

[john257hopper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I felt I needed a lighter read, and this was time for a re-read of this classic play that I have loved since childhood, one of my all time favourites. Huge portions of the dialogue are imprinted on my mind, and I can hear and see the actors in the 1952 film version as I am reading. Wonderful stuff (though I still get Jack and Algernon mixed up in my mind, probably as they are both trying to be earnest!)

[katieloucks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So funny! Did it as a high school play

[hemlokgang · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This drama is absolutely fantastic! It is fast-paced, wonderfully witty, replete with double entendres, and full of rapid about-faces. The moral of the story, of course, is never to forget "the importance of being ernest"!

[yvonne.sevignykaiser · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This comedy reminds me of a episode of Friends.

Making fun of human nature at it's most ridiculous moments. It is a play about nothing just everyday moments.

I absolutely loved this theatre version of the play done by the LA Theatre company. Funny, Funny, Funny

[regoodrich · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An entertaining play full of wit and charm. I found myself laughing out loud now and then, wearing a constant smile. I thoroughly enjoyed the absurd humor and cleverly entangled story line.

[andibook-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Okay, so this was both shorter and dumber than I thought it would be, as well as being a play instead of prose. It starts with a conversation between two friends, both of whom are guilty of bunburying -- having two identities, one in the country and one in the city, as an excuse to get out of things they don’t want to do. And of course, romantic hijinks ensue.I’m actually very happy I read this after a few books like Pride and Prejudice… it’s an absurd take on all those little misunderstandings, complicated family relations, and forbidden love triangles.Recommendation: Fans of absurdities and romantic comedies.Feels: Lighthearted, trivial, exaggerated.Favorites: The word “bunburying,” and the cucumber sandwiches.

[sueincyprus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a well-known classic which I've seen on screen but don't think I had previously read the original play. A free e-book edition encouraged me to try it, and I was surprised at how easy it was to read despite the stage directions and dramatic format.

The story is a satirical jab at the silliness of society at the end of the 19th century, featuring two men who invent fictitious lives in order to escape from their families for a while. Two girls fall in love with them, but insist that they can only ever love men called Ernest...

I found myself smiling a few times, and irritated at others by the trivialities of upper-class society - but then that's the point of it, really. It's not a long play, and I read it in just a couple of days. Well worth reading, in my view.

[booksfordinner · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The single longest joke set-up in history. Brilliant.