A review by alireuter
The Plays of Oscar Wilde by Oscar Wilde

3.5

After reading the picture of dorian gray & the importance of being earnest, i was desperate to read even more of wilde’s work & now it has come to fruition. this collection demonstrates the variety of his work in genre & structure, delving into elements similar to shakespeare in my opinion. the ones i enjoyed most were his tragedies, namely vera & the duchess of padua. these explored the most divisive themes of his plays, showcasing rebels at the forefront planning regicide to their oppressive regimes. both link to historical contexts & wilde was obviously inspired by the rebellions in other nations such as russia. one thing to point out is that five out of the seven completed plays had the main female character as the titles, reflecting their complexities within the storyline & how wilde was a pioneer for better representation (& really was for the girls & the gays)! on the other hand, the comedies feel more flat to me & i can blame this on the fact that course plays are supposed to be seen & not read. i’m sure they’re much more interesting & clever in person with context, but the first world problems & dry drama just didn’t work for me in textual form. overall, wilde is easily one of my favourite authors & i’m excited to read more of his stuff & make him my entire personality!