Book Review of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
Ah, Mr Wilde can always be counted on to make me laugh, to poke fun at the ridiculousness of human behavior, to tell a story that is both incredibly clever and undeniably silly.
The story is about a
young man named Jack Worthying who creates a fictional brother by the of
Earnest so he can escape his country home and a young ward named Cecily. Jack
says he must visit Earnest often in a way to get away. When in town, Jack uses
the name Earnest for himself. His friend Algernon discovers the truth and so to
help Jack, he poses as Earnest to go to the Worthying estate to meet Cecily.
Jack falls in love and proposes to Algernon’s cousin Gwendolen and comes back
home. Coming back, he wants to put an end to his imaginary brother so that he
can live an honest life with his new love.
And now the twist!
Gwendolen knows Jack as
Earnest, and Cecily knows Algernon as Earnest. The women meet over tea and
believe they’re fighting for the same man. Jack and Algernon each set up
appointments with a local clergyman to be renamed as Earnest. In the end, Jack
and Algernon admit their true identities. Jack receives Gwendolen’s mother’s
approval for marriage, and the couples appear headed toward a life of “happily
ever after.”
The Importance of Being
Earnest combines a hilarious plot, using some of the wittiest lines ever
written. Wilde uses it to showcase the shallow nature of the society in which
he lived in the 1890’s. The play goes a bit deeper and shows a society that yearns
for something more substantial. And nudges us to take a look within ourselves.
Only Oscar Wilde can take a
serious matter and portray it as extremely trivial with his articulateness.
Brilliant
and full of wit and humour, this play is said to be a “landmark in the history
of Western theatre” and also one of Wilde’s greatest writing achievements.
By Carishma Nevis Roll No. 39 SY..B.ED 19-21
Reference:
Wilde, O. (2018). The importance of being earnest : A
play. ProQuest Ebook Central https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
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