Recently I finished reading the play “The Importance of Being Earnest,” by Oscar Wilde. I found it very interesting and funny, though the characters got a little confusing and I mixed up the two main, male characters at the end. Though the play seemed unassuming in the beginning, it was very funny at the ending, with the main characters’ (Jack’s and Algernon’s) girlfriends fighting over something that turned out to be a lie. In the end, the main characters had been thoroughly ashamed, but special circumstances made Jack reconsider. The apparent ‘lie’ was actually truthful! I enjoyed learning about what had happened, especially when the two men fought over muffins and the two women simply irritating each other and being rather contrary. I also found the notion of a ‘Bunbury’ particularly amusing. It is set in England, when people were still supposed to be very ‘polite’ to each other. The entire play is based on the differences between the adjective ‘earnest,’ meaning sincere, and the name ‘Earnest.’ Often termed a “comedy of manners,” “The Importance of Being Earnest” is definitely an engaging play and a must-read. I would rate it 9.8/10 and recommend it for anyone in middle school or above.
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