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emleemay 's review for:
The Importance of Being Earnest
by Oscar Wilde
“If you are not too long, I will wait for you all my life.”
Ah, Mr Wilde can always be counted on to make me laugh, to poke fun at the ridiculousness of human behaviour, to tell a story that is both incredibly clever and undeniably silly. [b:The Importance of Being Earnest|92303|The Importance of Being Earnest|Oscar Wilde|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298438452s/92303.jpg|649216] is a play about mistaken identity, lies, the English class system, and the never-ending vanity and selfishness of high society members. And it's hilarious. It's one of few pre-20th century comedies to have maintained it's laugh factor to this day. And one of the few plays I actually enjoy to read.
“The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever.”
The story is about Ernest. Ernest is a number of people: John Worthing, John Worthing's imaginary brother, and Algernon Montcrieff... in short, Ernest does not exist but is rather the creation of John's and Algernon's overactive and untruthful minds. As the pair create a web of lies in order to impress the women in their lives who absolutely adore the name Ernest, they become more and more tangled in their mess. When the two meet whilst playing their imaginary characters to different people, their lies start to unravel.
Wilde takes us on a mocking journey through the lives of several wealthy 19th-century people. His dialogue is witty and brimming with jokes at the expense of the upper classes, I especially like Lady Bracknell's response to John Worthing being an orphan when she is assessing whether he is good enough for her daughter: “To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.”
And a few more gems:
“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.”
“My dear fellow, the truth isn’t quite the sort of thing one tells to a nice, sweet, refined girl. What extraordinary ideas you have about the way to behave to a woman!”
“To be natural is such a very difficult pose to keep up.”
Ah, Mr Wilde can always be counted on to make me laugh, to poke fun at the ridiculousness of human behaviour, to tell a story that is both incredibly clever and undeniably silly. [b:The Importance of Being Earnest|92303|The Importance of Being Earnest|Oscar Wilde|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298438452s/92303.jpg|649216] is a play about mistaken identity, lies, the English class system, and the never-ending vanity and selfishness of high society members. And it's hilarious. It's one of few pre-20th century comedies to have maintained it's laugh factor to this day. And one of the few plays I actually enjoy to read.
“The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever.”
The story is about Ernest. Ernest is a number of people: John Worthing, John Worthing's imaginary brother, and Algernon Montcrieff... in short, Ernest does not exist but is rather the creation of John's and Algernon's overactive and untruthful minds. As the pair create a web of lies in order to impress the women in their lives who absolutely adore the name Ernest, they become more and more tangled in their mess. When the two meet whilst playing their imaginary characters to different people, their lies start to unravel.
Wilde takes us on a mocking journey through the lives of several wealthy 19th-century people. His dialogue is witty and brimming with jokes at the expense of the upper classes, I especially like Lady Bracknell's response to John Worthing being an orphan when she is assessing whether he is good enough for her daughter: “To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.”
And a few more gems:
“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.”
“My dear fellow, the truth isn’t quite the sort of thing one tells to a nice, sweet, refined girl. What extraordinary ideas you have about the way to behave to a woman!”
“To be natural is such a very difficult pose to keep up.”