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The Importance of Being Earnest readalong discussion
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message 51:
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Kristin
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Oct 05, 2019 12:35PM
This second act is a hilarious comedy of errors! It reminds me a bit of a Victorian slant on Midsummer Night’s Dream!
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Live the comparison to P G Wodehouse! Themes in writing just seem to be reinvented constantly to our enjoyment!
Shane wrote: "*Possible spoiler if you’re not finished with Act II*I think my favorite scene so far is in Act II when Cecily is telling Algernon about their “engagement” and all the love letters he “wrote” her..."
Love that scene too and the muffin/sandwich moment.
This is my second time reading the play, and I’ve seen both the 1952 and 2002 film versions multiple times. And it still makes me laugh out loud! I would definitely give one or both of those a try—the old 1952 is delightful and true to the era and spirit of the original, and the newer 2002 version with Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon, among other brilliant actors and actresses, is a lot of fun.
I finished reading the play yesterday. I enjoyed it so much, I may read another one of Wilde's plays to bide the time until we read 'A Woman of No Importance' together.
This turned out to be such a delightful play. Loved the tongue-in-cheek references to social rules used here!
So so good!! 😆 My first time reading it and won’t be my last. So grateful for Booktubers, and these types of readalongs to get us motivated to read some of the classics that are sitting on our shelves. ❤️
Mod
I thought it was entertaining, but a bit flippant. The introduction to my copy said it was actually a critique of late Victorian high society, but if it was, I did not notice. The introduction also said that originally it was a four act play but that it was edited down. I wondered if some of Dr Chasuble and Miss Prism's lines were cut, because they, all of a sudden, decided to get married too.
Mod
I would say that The Importance of Being Earnest is possibly Wilde's lightest play. I love it, and it is absolutely hilarious, but A Woman of No Importance is my favourite, partly because it has a lot more social critique in it, especially in terms of gender and Victorian ideas about morality.
I think that it was interesting reading a play - I don't do that very often. I enjoyed it, but I think it would enjoy it a lot more if I watched it being performed.
Janelle wrote: "I think that it was interesting reading a play - I don't do that very often. I enjoyed it, but I think it would enjoy it a lot more if I watched it being performed."
I felt exactly the same
I felt exactly the same
This was my second time listening to this play and I enjoyed it even more than the first time. Thanks for the push to 'read' it again!
I loved it. Such a fantastic play! Looking at it as a whole, it seems that Wilde was going in a new direction with his final play, as all of his previous plays have more social criticism content (the only other one I’ve read is Lady Windermere’s Fan, but what I’ve heard about the others seems to indicate this). The kind of unhinged nonrealism in Earnest seems to me to point toward the theatre of the absurd, specifically Ionesco, which makes this play decades ahead of its time (if not as blatantly absurd as Ionesco himself). With experimental plays like Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Roi being premiered the very next year (1896), and considering that some early 20th-century movements like Dada are an outgrowth of “art for art’s sake,” I wonder how much Wilde might have been involved in such developments had he been allowed to continue his theatre career and not died a tragically early death.
One could argue that this is a fundamental misreading of Wilde’s personality as a writer and that the increased absurdism in Earnest is incidental to the central elements of his style. However, I don’t see proto-avant-gardeism as incompatible with his personality and I can’t help but be curious, even if we’ll never know the answer. Unless his letters or journals reveal ideas for further plays in the vein of Earnest that were unrealized. Fruit for further reading!
This was my first Oscar Wilde read. So funny, and smart funny. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think I’m gonna have to read it again to pick up everything I may have missed the first time. The first time I was too confused by it being nothing that I expected.
Kristin wrote: "This second act is a hilarious comedy of errors! It reminds me a bit of a Victorian slant on Midsummer Night’s Dream!"I got that impression as well. Also very bitter, cause I just discovered the Victober good reads group! Now I'm going to have to binge on Ernest!
Mod
Did anyone else read the play aloud and try to make different voices for each character?I found it made a big difference in my understanding and appreciation of the play.
I read it aloud to my family. That’s how play are supposed to be read. Their designed for acting. All the characters just jump off the page this way 😊
It was not on the reading schedule, but since I have a book of Wilde's plays, I read Salomé. That was a bit different to TIOBE. What a minx! Not surprised it was banned. I think TIOBE was written to make money, not to get banned.
Kevin Varney, I've long wanted to read Salome after reading a biography of Aubrey Beardsley and learning that he illustrated the play. (His pen and ink illustrations are stunning. If they aren't included in the copy you read, do Google them!)
I fell behind so just finished TIOBE today. I was tempted to start another of his works in the book I had checked out of the library but I have so many other things I want to read and I am not a fast reader. They will have to wait till next year. By the way, I really liked this play.
I can’t help but laugh and grin when I read IOBE! Its such a comedy of manners ☺️My favourite bit is when they’re arguing over muffins... that bit always gets me in the movie ☺️
Hannah wrote: "I can’t help but laugh and grin when I read IOBE! Its such a comedy of manners ☺️My favourite bit is when they’re arguing over muffins... that bit always gets me in the movie ☺️"
I'll have to check out the movie.
Froggles wrote: "Kevin Varney, I've long wanted to read Salome after reading a biography of Aubrey Beardsley and learning that he illustrated the play. (His pen and ink illustrations are stunning. If they aren't in..."
When I was a boy my mother had a copy of the Complete Works of Oscar Wilde, which was had illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley on the cover. I always found them disturbing.
When I was a boy my mother had a copy of the Complete Works of Oscar Wilde, which was had illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley on the cover. I always found them disturbing.
I finally got around to rereading it, and enjoyed it again! First, I watched the movie again, and then reread the play. It never seems to get old! I always laugh and chuckle and giggle my way through each act.It's deliciously witty and hilarious, with a charming style and silly dialogue. The characters are frivolous, and the plot is delightfully ridiculous. Pure enjoyment!
