A review by seeceeread
The Plays of Oscar Wilde by Oscar Wilde
3.25
๐ญ "To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance."
We're treated to five stage plays:
โข ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ ๐ช๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ'๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ป
โข ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐บรฉย
โข ๐ ๐ช๐ผ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ก๐ผ ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒย
โข ๐๐ป ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐๐๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑย
โข ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐
Wilde's style is clear: An impropriety must be concealed, lest one's social standing be bruised ... but, once the curtain drops, the supposed offender is understood to be ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ upstanding, ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ honorable, ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ principled than those who would hold them to a surface standard. If thatโs the cake, Wilde's witticisms, asides and quirky aphorisms are the buttercream that holds all the layers together, makes them palatable, and draws the audience. He barbs the mores of his day with both playful lines and plots that turn on upset. As noted in the lengthy introduction, ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ is the playwright's most beloved because he let go of the stuffy conceits that drag the other work โ the secret is frivolous, and the morality tale a side plot rather than the main vein.
Lahr impressed me with attention to Wilde's profound loneliness and narcissism; his perpetual insincerity as a way to hold off the crash of real connection, which would possibly unveil his inadequacies and insecurities. Wilde's characters often flirt with versions of himself: here, a dandy, there, a social butterfly, there a willful outcast who nevertheless flamboyantly insists on being at the center.
I finish feeling like I better know this historical figure through the mini-biography as well as some of his work.
We're treated to five stage plays:
โข ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ ๐ช๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ'๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ป
โข ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐บรฉย
โข ๐ ๐ช๐ผ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ก๐ผ ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒย
โข ๐๐ป ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐๐๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑย
โข ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐
Wilde's style is clear: An impropriety must be concealed, lest one's social standing be bruised ... but, once the curtain drops, the supposed offender is understood to be ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ upstanding, ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ honorable, ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ principled than those who would hold them to a surface standard. If thatโs the cake, Wilde's witticisms, asides and quirky aphorisms are the buttercream that holds all the layers together, makes them palatable, and draws the audience. He barbs the mores of his day with both playful lines and plots that turn on upset. As noted in the lengthy introduction, ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ is the playwright's most beloved because he let go of the stuffy conceits that drag the other work โ the secret is frivolous, and the morality tale a side plot rather than the main vein.
Lahr impressed me with attention to Wilde's profound loneliness and narcissism; his perpetual insincerity as a way to hold off the crash of real connection, which would possibly unveil his inadequacies and insecurities. Wilde's characters often flirt with versions of himself: here, a dandy, there, a social butterfly, there a willful outcast who nevertheless flamboyantly insists on being at the center.
I finish feeling like I better know this historical figure through the mini-biography as well as some of his work.