Oscar Wilde: 'The Importance of Being Earnest'

by Oscar Wilde , Edited by John Lancaster

• ISBN13: 9780521639521
• ISBN10: 0521639522
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-05-13
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

'The truth is rarely pure, and never simple.''. . .in married life three is company and two is none.'Is this play a 'unique work of art' as Oscar Wilde believed? Or, as a first-night reviewer claimed in 1895, it 'represents nothing, means nothing, is nothing'? This is for you to decide. . .Cambridge Literature is a series of study texts which presents writing in the English-speaking world from the 16th century up to the present day. The series includes novels, drama, short stories, poetry, essays and other types of non-fiction. Each edition has the complete text with an appropriate glossary. The student will find in each volume a helpful introduction and a full section of resource notes encouraging active and imaginative study methods.

Table of Contents

Cambridge Literature	6	(7)
Introduction	7	(3)
The Cast	10	(1)
The Importance of Being Earnest	11	(108)
Resource Notes
Who has written The Importance of Being Earnest and why?	93	(5)
The main events of Oscar Wilde's life	98	(1)
What type of text is The Importance of Being Earnest?	99	(7)
How was The Importance of Being Earnest produced?	106	(2)
How does the play present its subject?	108	(5)
Who reads/watches the play? How do they interpret it?	113	(6)
Glossary	119	(4)
Further Reading	123