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amyschmelzer's review against another edition
4.0
Funny play to read. I imagine that with the right set of actors this would be even funnier to see on the stage.
elsieols's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
minyardvines's review against another edition
3.25
read for class but it was kinda fire like i laughed
mooseabs's review against another edition
4.0
This was a hoot and a half! So many laugh-out-loud moments!
gurpthal's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
graciegrace1178's review against another edition
5.0
This book is SO ridiculous I love it. I've been putting off reading this for so long because I thought it was gonna be just,, an uber pretentious classic that I'd have to drag my feet to get through. It was not that! Not at all! Pleasantly surprised!
WIL
1) ridiculous. This entire narrative is so absurd. It doesn't take itself seriously, and it assumes readers will do the same. Fantastic. It's all an absolute joke. Flippant and quippy the entire way through.
2) PUN TITLE! A sarcastic comment about the phrase "the importance of being earnest" for characters who become trapped in artifices of their own making AND a joke about the LITERAL importance of being NAMED Earnest in the narrative. God, that's so clever.
3) Deeply satirical. Beyond just the characters being nonsensical and ridiculous for their own amusement, this is also sociopolitical commentary on what it means to be shallow versus morally considerate and "deep." Brilliant
4) introduction of "the dandy" to audiences. To pull a quote from Sparknotes:
"[a dandy is] a man who pays excessive attention to his appearance... This figure added a moral texture the form had never before possessed. The character of the dandy was heavily autobiographical and often a stand-in for Wilde himself, a witty, overdressed, self-styled philosopher who speaks in epigrams and paradoxes, ridicules the cant and hypocrisy of society’s moral arbiters, and self-deprecatingly presents himself as trivial, shallow, and ineffectual. In fact, the dandy in these plays always proves to be deeply moral and essential to the happy resolution of the plot."
Imagine! Being the person to introduce such a valuable character into the cultural and narrative fabric! A character that is still puttering around in stories today!! the SIGNIFICANCE!
WIDL
1) that I read this later than I could've. Why didn't I read this sooner? I was cackling.
WIL
1) ridiculous. This entire narrative is so absurd. It doesn't take itself seriously, and it assumes readers will do the same. Fantastic. It's all an absolute joke. Flippant and quippy the entire way through.
2) PUN TITLE! A sarcastic comment about the phrase "the importance of being earnest" for characters who become trapped in artifices of their own making AND a joke about the LITERAL importance of being NAMED Earnest in the narrative. God, that's so clever.
3) Deeply satirical. Beyond just the characters being nonsensical and ridiculous for their own amusement, this is also sociopolitical commentary on what it means to be shallow versus morally considerate and "deep." Brilliant
4) introduction of "the dandy" to audiences. To pull a quote from Sparknotes:
"[a dandy is] a man who pays excessive attention to his appearance... This figure added a moral texture the form had never before possessed. The character of the dandy was heavily autobiographical and often a stand-in for Wilde himself, a witty, overdressed, self-styled philosopher who speaks in epigrams and paradoxes, ridicules the cant and hypocrisy of society’s moral arbiters, and self-deprecatingly presents himself as trivial, shallow, and ineffectual. In fact, the dandy in these plays always proves to be deeply moral and essential to the happy resolution of the plot."
Imagine! Being the person to introduce such a valuable character into the cultural and narrative fabric! A character that is still puttering around in stories today!! the SIGNIFICANCE!
WIDL
1) that I read this later than I could've. Why didn't I read this sooner? I was cackling.