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A masterpiece of wit, satire, and social commentary!One Minute Reviews

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The Importance of Being Earnest (Dover Thrift Editions: Plays) Paperback – July 1, 1990

by Oscar Wilde (Author)

4.6 1,308 ratings

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Here is Oscar Wilde's most brilliant tour de force, a witty and buoyant comedy of manners that has delighted millions in countless productions since its first performance in London's St. James' Theatre on February 14, 1895.

The Importance of Being Earnest is celebrated not only for the lighthearted ingenuity of its plot, but for its inspired dialogue, rich with scintillating epigrams still savored by all who enjoy artful conversation.

Rich in humor, and memorable characters, Wilde offers a captivating satire of Victorian society and its repressive values and traditions, particularly in the pursuit of love and marriage. To recapture their freedom, the characters liberate themselves by leading double lives.

From the play's effervescent beginnings in Algernon Moncrieff's London flat to its hilarious dénouement in the drawing room of Jack Worthing's country manor in Hertfordshire, this comic masterpiece keeps audiences breathlessly anticipating a new bon mot or a fresh twist of plot moment to moment.

From ancient Greek dramas to great 20th-century masters, Dover publishes low-priced editions of just about every major work of drama, including those by William Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov, and Henrik Ibsen. Bestsellers include A Doll's House, Cyrano de Bergerac, Dr. Faustus, The Importance of Being Ernest, Medea, Oedipus Rex, Pygmalion, Romeo and Juliet, among many others.

Length

64
Pages
Language

EN
English
Publisher

Dover Publications
Publication date

1990
July 1
Dimensions

5.1 x 0.2 x 8.3
inches
ISBN-10

0486264785
ISBN-13

978-0486264783
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Debuting in 1990, the Thrift Editions library of classic literature is a top choice for teachers, students, librarians, and recreational readers around the world. Dover’s longstanding mission of exceptional value has consistently offered excellence in classic fiction, nonfiction, plays, and poetry.

Dover Thrift Editions are low priced, compact (5"x8"), complete and unabridged.
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The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde Dover Thrift Edtions Play

“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.”

“The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what Fiction means.”

“If I am occasionally a little over-dressed, I make up for it by being always immensely over-educated.”

“I hope you have not been leading a double life, pretending to be wicked and being good all the time. That would be hypocrisy.”

Poet and playwright Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) remains best known for his comedies of the 1890s, and for his tragic imprisonment and untimely death.

To recapture their freedom, the characters liberate themselves by leading double lives.

The Importance of Being Earnest is celebrated not only for the lighthearted ingenuity of its plot, but for its inspired dialogue, rich with scintillating epigrams still savored by all who enjoy artful conversation.

Dovers Thrift Edition Library of classic literature - a long standing mission of exceptional value

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About the Author

Poet and playwright Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) remains best known for his comedies of the 1890s, including The Importance of Being Earnest, and for his tragic imprisonment and untimely death.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dover Publications; 1st edition (July 1, 1990)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 64 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0486264785
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0486264783
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.94 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.12 x 0.2 x 8.27 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #39,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #15 in British & Irish Dramas & Plays
- #297 in Fiction Satire
- #920 in Classic Literature & Fiction

Customer Reviews:
4.6 1,308 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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Lisa Gibson

Good for school

Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2023

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Font is kinda small ngl but I bought it cause it was required reading for school over the summer, pretty good read and affordable 👍

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Timeless Wit in Affordable Packaging

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2023

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Hey folks, just wanted to share my thoughts on "The Importance of Being Earnest" from Dover Thrift Editions. If you're after a classic play that's genuinely funny and doesn't empty your wallet, this one's worth a read. It's not just old humor – the witty banter feels surprisingly relatable. The Dover Thrift Editions are perfect for students. They're affordable and compact, plus they come with helpful notes to make sense of the language and context.

Oscar Wilde's writing is a clever blend of poking fun at society while raising questions about identity and expectations. It's like a sneak peek into a different time, yet you can totally see its relevance today. So, if you're up for a play that's both smart and cost-effective, check this one out.

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Brohovsky

If humour comes in a spectrum and slapstick is at one end of that spectrum, then this is the other end.

Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2016

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It would be all too easy to dismiss this play as a light romantic comedy. Although it is about a series of near thwarted romances – the stuff of a million ‘chick-flicks’ and romantic comedies going back as far as the eye can see in drama – this is also something much, much more. It is also a delightfully amusing commentary on human sexual relations, the English class system and (much more importantly) a perfect mirror on the amusing excesses of human selfishness. In fact, some of the best lines in the play, and the funniest lines in the play, highlight our near infinite capacity to love ourselves. To quote only a few and without hardly looking:

“If you are not too long, I will wait for you all my life.”

“Oh! Not at all, Gwendolen. I am very fond of being looked at.”

“If I am occasionally overdressed, I make up for it by being always immensely over-educated.”

“I don’t play accurately – anyone can play accurately – but I play with wonderful expression.”

“You see, it (her diary) is simply a very young girl’s record of her thoughts and impressions, and consequently meant for publication.”

The other terribly interesting thing in this play is the role of family. Not only are the families quite dysfunctional, even when people know who their parents are, but the title character is about as confused about how he fits into the complex world of family relations as it is possible to make someone. The thing that makes the line about the handbag quite so funny is that this handbag is about the closest thing he has to family in the entire world. As Pascal once said, we laugh and cry about the same things.

Wilde is, it hardly needs to be said, the closest thing to a God we are likely to have visit us on this planet. There are, for example, even now, more than 100 years after his death, entire companies that produce desk calendars that would not be in business if not for the endless supply of quotes he provides for the foot of Monday the Ninth of February and so on.

If humour comes in a spectrum and slapstick is at one end of that spectrum, then this is the other end.

16 people found this helpful

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Daredevil Q32

Very pleased with the purchase

Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2023

Verified Purchase

I bought this as a gift for my son who had just landed his first real large supervisory position. Over a year later he will still mention it. You have to know how to deal with people who are both friendly and those who are truly adversaries. Unfortunately the world is full of snakes and you have to know how to deal with them and those situations. Nothing violent about the book. It is brief scenarios and quotes to add food for thought. Just like Twain, Zigler, Bombeck, Vonnegut, Will Rogers and many others should be considered, so should Sun Tzu.

Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2022

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Got this for an English assignment, it came on time and not damaged. Perfect for the price I paid.

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A fine inexpensive edition of the classic.

Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2021

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This edition of Wilde’s classic is 54 papers long; the first act is 20 pages, the second act is 22 pages, the third act is 11 pages. The book is well printed and notably inexpensively priced.

2 people found this helpful

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Krystal

Loveeee this!

Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2022

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Hilarious! Amazing! Witty! Overall such a great read!

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Meg

Importance of being the correct version

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2013

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Though I'm a big fan of Wilde's work, my order specified a certain published version. When I received the book, I was surprised to receive a different version (i.e. different publisher, different cover). In the future, please make sure the orders match the advertised image.

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PaulinaS225

Crítico y gracioso

Reviewed in Mexico on February 21, 2019

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The importance of being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People, una de las obras más importantes de Oscar Wilde, nos adentra en el modo de vida de la Inglaterra victoriana. A través de tradiciones conservadoras y las relaciones románticas de Earnest y Algernon, el autor utiliza a los personajes para reflejar, de forma sutil y sumamente elegante, las críticas sociales de la mentalidad aristocrática de la época.
Si bien aprecio el juego de palabras de llamar Earnest al personaje principal, pero utilizaré serio como traducción pues es la más aceptada en las adaptaciones al español.
El autor realiza una brillante sátira de los valores de la sociedad que lo rodea, donde la vida pública tiene una importancia extrema, que se llega a caracterizar como ridícula. La percepción de la sociedad sobre una persona es el único criterio válido y por el que vale la pena regirse. La calidad de serio es la cualidad más importante de una persona. Las conductas socialmente aceptables, el matrimonio y (el reflejo de la) moralidad son aspectos fundamentales en la vida de los personajes, los cuales deben ser cuidadosamente tratados para seguir perteneciendo a las élites.
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.
Es una parte de la obra, se menciona que Algernon tiene un amigo inexistente llamado Bunbury, a quien “visita” cuando quiere librarse de algún compromiso social. Así, el “bunburismo” es una forma de escapar de las estrictas normas sociales de la época, sin exiliarse de sus círculos por las conductas inaceptables. De esa manera, considero que el bunburismo es una de las conductas más sanas dentro de esa sociedad, pues permite un escape de su tensa cotidianeidad.
La narrativa de la obra es fluida, elocuente y entretenida. Es una obra sumamente simpática y con una prosa muy fluida. Las risibles situaciones nos llevan por la atractiva y sutil crítica social que presenta Oscar Wilde

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Cecilia

Oscar Wilde... de traca!

Reviewed in Spain on June 8, 2013

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Recomiendo esta pequeña (pero gran) obra de teatro a todo el mundo sin distincion de edad, sexo, procedencia o conviccion. Como podria hacerlo con cualquier trabajo de Wilde -menos las cartas; que muestran su rostro verdaderamente amargo-. Frases memorables, comentarios ironicos, situaciones delirantes.. hacen que Ernest/Bunbury se quede comodamente instalado en nuestras mentes durante el mes que sigue a la lectura, para hacer asomar de vez en cuando una sonrisa a los labios.

Creo que es importante leerla en inglés para apreciarla mejor, pero igual se puede leer en español si el nivel no es suficiente; porque la riqueza esta en las palabras, y no hay que perderse ni una.

Buena lectura!

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Essbee

Urkomisch

Reviewed in Germany on December 10, 2010

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Hallo zusammen,

ich versuche kurz die Rahmenbedingungen zu beschreiben ohne dabei einzelne Aspekte der Geschichte zu verraten. Ich habe das Buch für meine Anglistik-Zwischenprüfung verwendet und mich daher auch tiefergehend mit dem Werk auseinandergesetzt. Ich habe es nicht bereut.

Bei "The Importance of Being Earnest" handelt es sich um eine satirische Auseinandersetzung mit der Gesellschaft des viktorianischen Zeitalters und deren Lebensweisen bzw. moralischen Einstellungen. Wilde verwendet unzählige Wortspiele (der Titel selbst ist eins) und so genannte "Epigrams". Das sind, um es mal möglichst einfach auszudrücken kurze, witzige Weisheiten.
Protagonisten sind Algernon und Jack, zwei Freunde, welche jeweils um die Gunst zweier junger Damen bemühen.
Das ist alles sehr lustig umgesetzt und spiegelt satrisch die Gesellschaft der damaligen Zeit wider. Ich gebe eine klare Kaufempfehlung für dieses kurze, aber umso unterhaltsamere Werk.

MfG
Sebastian Bergemann

4 people found this helpful

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AJ Mittendorf

The plot may not have a great deal of depth

Reviewed in Canada on December 14, 2017

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The playwright who puts Shakespeare to shame: Oscar Wilde. The plot may not have a great deal of depth, but then, neither did Shakespeare's plays. But "Earnest" does have the benefit of a great tale, marvellous humour with delightful characters all of which are effectively used to poke fun of British---Victorian---society with their hoity-toity lifestyles and superficial ways of thinking. Come to think of it, then, a plot without depth for these superficial folk takes on a depth of its own.

One person found this helpful

Nancy Butler

three act play

Reviewed in Canada on March 3, 2022

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thank you

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Are there any collections of stories or poetry in the Dover Thrift Editions?

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Biography and Autobiography

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Literary Collections

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Gothic and Horror

Philosophy

Plays

Poetry

Political Science

Religion

SciFi and Fantasy

Speeches and Quotations

From the Publisher

Poet and playwright Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) remains best known for his comedies of the 1890s, and for his tragic imprisonment and untimely death.

To recapture their freedom, the characters liberate themselves by leading double lives.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

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A masterpiece of wit, satire, and social commentary!

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Oscar Wilde

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