To convey humour in writing is notoriously difficult to achieve without sounding flat and unemotional, and I don't find myself laughing for most writers who try desperately to be funny. Wilde, Twain and Wodehouse are some exceptions, however, whose characters jump out of the page with seemingly little effort. But if there is one play you should read (or better, watch), more than any other, it should be this one. Earnest is a chef-d'oeuvre of artful dialogue and titillating witticisms whose only dry moments are those minutely premeditated scenes served for pure deadpan sweetness. With this play and An Ideal Husband alone, they serve to elevate Wilde in my estimations as the world's greatest playwright (sorry for all you dramatic Shakespeare-lovers). ( )

4.5 stars

Short and funny. I loved the muffin dialogue. The whole thing was very tightly written, which I appreciated. The ending was somewhat… disconcerting… as it showed its age. ( )

Short and sweet, Oscar Wilde's popular play The Importance of Being Earnest packs a lot into its three brief acts. On the surface it seems frivolous, a mere satire of Victorian social mores, and even on this level it is entertaining. Its farcical nature – a man invents a brother named 'Ernest' to disguise his second life, and hilarity ensues when 'Ernest' comes to visit his country home – has the sort of fun, easy chaos of a sitcom episode in which similar shenanigans might occur. Though less quotable than Wilde's other works, Earnest still has dialogue that sparkles, as the author enlivens the prattle of these stuffy people with lines that they would not have the wit to conjure themselves.

But beyond this crowd-pleasing level, The Importance of Being Earnest endures. Its characters' determination to take trivial matters seriously and serious matters trivially reminds one disconcertingly of how many real people indeed behave, and while the insufferably snobby airs of the likes of Lady Bracknell are still unappealing to me, it's satisfying to see them skewered. And Wilde's play is nothing so trite as a parody – rather, it's as though Wilde wrote a straightforward play but recognised and delighted in the absurdity of such things, and just couldn't help but sprinkle his own genius on it. What would be contrived in a run-of-the-mill farce – for example, the two women both determined to be attracted only to men named 'Ernest' – takes on additional layers against the backdrop of such authorial genius, and we find ourselves comparing the ways and importance of being earnest/Ernest.

There's also a charmingly human integrity behind the play. It was Wilde's last smash hit before his spectacular downfall; the play being pulled due to his infamous conviction for homosexuality. It's rather touching to see him shine so bright and carelessly here, and rather tragic to know his ascension would soon see him fly too close to the sun (or rather, to Queensberry's son). I remember reading somewhere that 'earnest' was code among Wilde's gay scene for 'homosexual', and while this is disputed by literary detectives, it is rather fantastic to think of that and know that 'The Importance of Being Earnest' was up there in lights in London's West End, with Wilde smiling secretly, even as the unwitting crowds who poured through the doors would not have accepted the importance he placed on being, well, 'earnest'. Even if this speculation is not true – though I hope it is – the play still finds good eating in showing its characters living a double life and riding over the conniptions this causes among the duller people around him. Both feather and maul, The Importance of Being Earnest hides a lot of steel beneath its silk. In keeping with its themes, there's a serious weight beneath its triviality. ( )

Oscar Wilde es un genio del diálogo. Me encantó El Retrato de Dorian Gray y decidí leer esta obra de teatro, que me ha parecido también maestra. ( )

Probably one of the best books (or plays) I’ve ever read. Wilde’s style is infectiously delightful, and almost every paragraph had me in splits. His grasp of the very upper class he was later part of for a while is unparalleled, and the satire is all the more perfect for it. The characters are a blast, the story’s premise is so ludicrous that it reads like a Bollywood masala movie (except infinitely better), and the ending is such a cute one too!
It’s such a short and simple read that I’d recommend this to anyone of any age, no matter what your preferences in reading are. ( )