Despite being thoroughly out of date (it dates from 1895), this play has the striking virtue of being hilariously funny throughout, in a way that transcends time. A modern writer transported back into British society of the 1890s and desiring to make fun of it could hardly have done better.

The story is perfectly composed, I see absolutely nothing wrong with it. But it’s pure social parody: the characters and the plot have no other purpose, and so it’s too light and insubstantial to make it into my top favourites. I certainly enjoy it, but I don’t reread it often.

I was already familiar with it before downloading this edition from Project Gutenberg: I think I’d previously read it (without owning a copy) and seen it performed. ( )

So much Wilde. So much quotable banter. Sure, it's lighter than Dorian Gray, so it's not taught as often, and so is too often overlooked, but come on. I like it even better now than the other times that I read it, when I was the age of the young characters. ( )

What a wonderful book to begin my reading journey of 2021! Of course, I regret a little that I hadn't read this in earlier years, but better late than never, eh?

I was already aware of this story, thanks to the wonderful 2002 movie of the same name. The two Ernests were brought to life brilliantly by Colin Firth and Rupert Everett and I had always wondered if the movie had spiced up the original script. Now that I've read the book, I have new respect for the movie as it has stayed true to the Oscar Wilde's play almost verbatim!

The Importance of being Ernest is a madcap comedy of two men who are Ernest, and yet not! For reasons suited to them, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, best friends and verbal sparring partners, go by the name of "Ernest". The result is a comedy of errors that seems to last from the first page to the last. The entire play is choc-a-bloc with classic British wit that will leave you snorting in laughter while drinking a cuppa tea with your pinky elegantly raised.

I love how the title of the play puns on the word "earnest" by using the homonymous "Ernest" as the name of the characters. The leading men and absolutely earnest in their declarations throughout the book, even if they are fibbing. The result is an ironical lack of earnestness in the two Ernests who are not actually Ernest.

It's been ages since I read a play. That last one must have been in one of the lessons in school-time English textbooks. So this book also generated a very nostalgic feel. I really enjoyed my first book of 2021.

Thanks Srivalli for this suggestion. ( )

To convey humour in writing is notoriously difficult to achieve without sounding flat and unemotional, and I don't find myself laughing for most writers who try desperately to be funny. Wilde, Twain and Wodehouse are some exceptions, however, whose characters jump out of the page with seemingly little effort. But if there is one play you should read (or better, watch), more than any other, it should be this one. Earnest is a chef-d'oeuvre of artful dialogue and titillating witticisms whose only dry moments are those minutely premeditated scenes served for pure deadpan sweetness. With this play and An Ideal Husband alone, they serve to elevate Wilde in my estimations as the world's greatest playwright (sorry for all you dramatic Shakespeare-lovers). ( )

Short and sweet, Oscar Wilde's popular play The Importance of Being Earnest packs a lot into its three brief acts. On the surface it seems frivolous, a mere satire of Victorian social mores, and even on this level it is entertaining. Its farcical nature – a man invents a brother named 'Ernest' to disguise his second life, and hilarity ensues when 'Ernest' comes to visit his country home – has the sort of fun, easy chaos of a sitcom episode in which similar shenanigans might occur. Though less quotable than Wilde's other works, Earnest still has dialogue that sparkles, as the author enlivens the prattle of these stuffy people with lines that they would not have the wit to conjure themselves.

But beyond this crowd-pleasing level, The Importance of Being Earnest endures. Its characters' determination to take trivial matters seriously and serious matters trivially reminds one disconcertingly of how many real people indeed behave, and while the insufferably snobby airs of the likes of Lady Bracknell are still unappealing to me, it's satisfying to see them skewered. And Wilde's play is nothing so trite as a parody – rather, it's as though Wilde wrote a straightforward play but recognised and delighted in the absurdity of such things, and just couldn't help but sprinkle his own genius on it. What would be contrived in a run-of-the-mill farce – for example, the two women both determined to be attracted only to men named 'Ernest' – takes on additional layers against the backdrop of such authorial genius, and we find ourselves comparing the ways and importance of being earnest/Ernest.

There's also a charmingly human integrity behind the play. It was Wilde's last smash hit before his spectacular downfall; the play being pulled due to his infamous conviction for homosexuality. It's rather touching to see him shine so bright and carelessly here, and rather tragic to know his ascension would soon see him fly too close to the sun (or rather, to Queensberry's son). I remember reading somewhere that 'earnest' was code among Wilde's gay scene for 'homosexual', and while this is disputed by literary detectives, it is rather fantastic to think of that and know that 'The Importance of Being Earnest' was up there in lights in London's West End, with Wilde smiling secretly, even as the unwitting crowds who poured through the doors would not have accepted the importance he placed on being, well, 'earnest'. Even if this speculation is not true – though I hope it is – the play still finds good eating in showing its characters living a double life and riding over the conniptions this causes among the duller people around him. Both feather and maul, The Importance of Being Earnest hides a lot of steel beneath its silk. In keeping with its themes, there's a serious weight beneath its triviality. ( )

Oscar Wilde es un genio del diálogo. Me encantó El Retrato de Dorian Gray y decidí leer esta obra de teatro, que me ha parecido también maestra. ( )

Probably one of the best books (or plays) I’ve ever read. Wilde’s style is infectiously delightful, and almost every paragraph had me in splits. His grasp of the very upper class he was later part of for a while is unparalleled, and the satire is all the more perfect for it. The characters are a blast, the story’s premise is so ludicrous that it reads like a Bollywood masala movie (except infinitely better), and the ending is such a cute one too!
It’s such a short and simple read that I’d recommend this to anyone of any age, no matter what your preferences in reading are. ( )

A very entertaining play by Wilde, with his typical wit and witticisms and oxymoronic statements. ( )

A play about upper class twits, but a funny one. ( )

Simply hilarious play. Wilde, as usual, has dialog that is just so hilariously witty, that it requires the reader to read every single line twice. The plot itself is nonsense, albeit hilarious and entertaining nonsense, but the magic is in the witty dialog and the eccentric characters.

Favorite quotes:

"The truth is rarely pure and never simple"

“To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.”

"Algernon: All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That’s his.
Jack: Is that clever?
Algernon: It is perfectly phrased! and quite as true as any observation in civilized life should be.
Jack: I am sick to death of cleverness. Everybody is clever nowadays. You can't go anywhere without meeting clever people. The thing has become an absolute public nuisance. I wish to goodness we had a few fools left.
ALGERNON: We have.
JACK: I should extremely like to meet them. What do they talk about?
ALGERNON: The fools? Oh! about the clever people of course.
JACK: What fools." ( )

Troppo divertente ( )

This play is tons of fun to read. The characters are interesting, the conversations humorous, and the entire situation is guaranteed to bring smiles and laughter to the reader. Up until the very last line, the irony and gentle satire that are the focus of the play keep the reader entertained.

In addition, although it is a play, The Importance of Being Earnest is a fairly short, easy read and well worth the effort. I look forward to seeing the movie also. ( )

Spring 2020 (March);
~ Live reading w/5 classes

I loved doing this satirical play with my class, and listening to them giggle as the train wreck of a cast train wrecked across the whole of this play. The whole of this play is a contrivance of satire against the upper class and, while I don't find that it has much depth with context research, I do like that one gets a few smiles out of the lunacy of the interactions even without knowing all of that. ( )

After reading Lady Windermere's Fan I decided to move on to this, and I certainly enjoyed it just as much. Very amusing and an excellent short read. ( )

Very Quotable witty farce.

"Jack. [Pulling off his gloves.] When one is in town one amuses oneself. When one is in the country one amuses other people.
Algernon. Got nice neighbours in your part of Shropshire?
Jack. Perfectly horrid! Never speak to one of them."

"Algernon. The amount of women in London who flirt with their own husbands is perfectly scandalous. It looks so bad. It is simply washing one’s clean linen in public."

"Lady Bracknell. I’m sorry if we are a little late, Algernon, but I was obliged to call on dear Lady Harbury. I hadn’t been there since her poor husband’s death. I never saw a woman so altered; she looks quite twenty years younger."

"lady bracknell. Nor do I in any way approve of the modern sympathy with invalids. I consider it morbid. Illness of any kind is hardly a thing to be encouraged in others. Health is the primary duty of life."

"Lady Bracknell. I have always been of opinion that a man who desires to get married should know either everything or nothing. Which do you know?
Jack. [After some hesitation.] I know nothing, Lady Bracknell.
Lady Bracknell. I am pleased to hear it."

" Lady Bracknell. To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness."

" Algernon. My dear boy, I love hearing my relations abused. It is the only thing that makes me put up with them at all."

" Algernon. What shall we do after dinner? Go to a theatre?
Jack. Oh no! I loathe listening.
Algernon. Well, let us go to the Club? Jack. Oh, no! I hate talking.
Algernon. Well, we might trot round to the Empire at ten?
Jack. Oh, no! I can’t bear looking at things. It is so silly.
Algernon. Well, what shall we do?
Jack. Nothing!"

" Cecily. Well, I know, of course, how important it is not to keep a business engagement, if one wants to retain any sense of the beauty of life,"

" Cecily. You dear romantic boy. [He kisses her, she puts her fingers through his hair.] I hope your hair curls naturally, does it?
Algernon. Yes, darling, with a little help from others."

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

" lady bracknell. I do not approve of mercenary marriages. When I married Lord Bracknell I had no fortune of any kind. But I never dreamed for a moment of allowing that to stand in my way." ( )

Chirp Audiobook

I loved this book as much as I loved it in college. Although the banter gets to be a little much towards the end, it left me wanting more. More Earnest, more Algernon. ( )

To be honest I have no idea whan I read this the first time but it is one of my favorite plays and I have read it numerous times. Maybe it is time to read it again. ( )

A quick, fun read. ( )

I was worried that I would miss the physical comedy of this play with only the audio, but the actors were able to convey some of it through their voices. I did appreciate how the listening to this version really made me focus on Wilde's playing with language. ( )

ALGERNON
[...] Questo mondo mi va abbastanza bene, cuginetta.

CECILY
Sì, ma lei va bene per lui?

ALGERNON
Questo ho paura di no. [...]



Ringrazio il mio caro vecchio amico Oscar per averci lasciato questa sua ultima opera. Lo ringrazio perché, se non l'avessi iniziata e conclusa oggi, probabilmente non mi sarei divertita come ho fatto in queste poche ore.
Mi sono divertita, ho riso e sorriso come mai ho fatto con un libro; per un po' ho dimenticato la realtà, la tristezza e la malinconia quotidiane, e mi sono immersa in un mondo fatto di ipocrisia e disonestà che non avrebbe potuto essere più divertente e realistico - allo stesso tempo - di così.
Forse siamo un po' tutti Jack/John/Ernest. Siamo tutti più persone, proprio come lui è Ernest in città e Jack in campagna, senza sapere che è sempre stato Ernest; e forse siamo come Algernon, che per fare bella figura e conquistare un altro diventiamo Ernest, un Ernest che però non esiste, o che andiamo in giro dicendo che il nostro caro amico Bunbury ha bisogno di noi.
Ernest è noi, che, proprio come Ernest stesso, non sappiamo di esserlo per davvero. ( )

Saw a movie adaptation of this play several years ago without knowing anything about it.This was a delight then, and then taking the time to read it now, was just as lovely. The wordplay, the earnestness. I love it. ( )

Pure comedy based on repartee (mostly making use of paradoxical remarks). ( )

The original Trivial Pursuit...if I'm not mistaken, Jack ends up marrying his cousin Gwendolen. A trivial matter in 19th century London! ( )

Funny, absurd and an absolute classic! ( )

I probably should have expected a fair amount of silliness and slapstick based on it being a 'trivial comedy for serious people,' but que sera, sera. It was a quick, funny read nonetheless. The ending line was a bit on the nose, though, wasn't it? ( )