A review by diana_eveline
The Plays of Oscar Wilde by Oscar Wilde
4.0
“When one is in love, one always begins by deceiving one's self, and one always ends by deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance.”
Though this collection has its ups and downs in terms of quality, the overall achievement is marvellous. My favourites were 'A Woman of No Importance', 'The Duchess of Padua', with my top pick still landing on 'The Importance of Being Earnest'. I was not very interested in 'Salome', partially because the writing was immensely repetitive. Occasionally, this suited the message but I did get frustrated by it towards the end. It is fascinating to see that Wilde has certain tropes in his plays that keep coming back in the same fashion. For example, the dandy gentleman that is accused by society of being a horrible influence which he in turn gladly accepts to avoid serious judgement on his life philosophy. It makes me wonder if this was Wilde's role in society in his time, as he was known to cause quite the stir, especially so when he became a successful playwright.
I'll come back to the plays once I've managed to get through his massive biography I have on my shelf now. I look forward to placing them in the social and personal context of the author! Wilde is still one of my favourite authors and he certainly hasn't dissapointed me so far.
Though this collection has its ups and downs in terms of quality, the overall achievement is marvellous. My favourites were 'A Woman of No Importance', 'The Duchess of Padua', with my top pick still landing on 'The Importance of Being Earnest'. I was not very interested in 'Salome', partially because the writing was immensely repetitive. Occasionally, this suited the message but I did get frustrated by it towards the end. It is fascinating to see that Wilde has certain tropes in his plays that keep coming back in the same fashion. For example, the dandy gentleman that is accused by society of being a horrible influence which he in turn gladly accepts to avoid serious judgement on his life philosophy. It makes me wonder if this was Wilde's role in society in his time, as he was known to cause quite the stir, especially so when he became a successful playwright.
I'll come back to the plays once I've managed to get through his massive biography I have on my shelf now. I look forward to placing them in the social and personal context of the author! Wilde is still one of my favourite authors and he certainly hasn't dissapointed me so far.