Essential, 04 Sep 2008
Really great book that can be used throughout A level study or as a last minute revision guide.

This would be a good investment, 23 Mar 2004
I'm studying Hamlet at the moment and due to the nature of Shakespeare's over descriptive and complicated yet beautiful language, it's quite hard to follow and concentrate upon the plot. Though when I got this guide, I easily grasped what was happening and was able to concentrate more on the themes and language etc which you have to comment on in exams. It is helpful and gives lots of hints and info into what you're supposed to be focusing on in the scenes. It gives you ideas and pushes you in the right direction if you are struggling. It even has a glossary to simplify meanings and words. A more thorough understanding can be made from Hamlet and in the end you'll wonder why you didn't get this sooner. For five pounds, it's worth it, if you get an 'a' in your exams.

Getting to the Heart of Hamlet?, 23 Feb 2004
This is one of the most thorough study guides on the market, not likely to confuse anyone and particularly well informed on the latest developments in critical approaches to the play though never too dense for the average school student to digest. The scene summaries and commentaries are models of clarity and precision whilst the textual analyses are searching, provocative and incisive. There is an excellent bibliography and useful pointers to websites, films and theatrical tradition. An invaluable introduction to advanced studies and a handy revision tool for teachers pressurised to work on the play at short notice!

Nice clear summary of the action, 15 Apr 2002
The best aspect of this guide to Hamlet is the careful scene-by-scene summary of the action. The plot seems not so tricky to follow, after all. It's also good to be reminded of the significant differences between the quarto and folio versions of the play. Perhaps the authors should have devoted a bit more space to the really big issue raised by the play: the intermingling of good and evil in human existence. The assessment of Ophelia's character is strangely thin, as well. But it's very helpful, all in all.

A difficult task, 10 Apr 2000
To make an "informative" notebook on such a vast and complicated work, will never be easy. There are simply too many interpretative opportunities. But York Notes list up most of the basics, in a comprehensive manner.

Essential, 04 Sep 2008
Really great book that can be used throughout A level study or as a last minute revision guide.

This would be a good investment, 23 Mar 2004
I'm studying Hamlet at the moment and due to the nature of Shakespeare's over descriptive and complicated yet beautiful language, it's quite hard to follow and concentrate upon the plot. Though when I got this guide, I easily grasped what was happening and was able to concentrate more on the themes and language etc which you have to comment on in exams. It is helpful and gives lots of hints and info into what you're supposed to be focusing on in the scenes. It gives you ideas and pushes you in the right direction if you are struggling. It even has a glossary to simplify meanings and words. A more thorough understanding can be made from Hamlet and in the end you'll wonder why you didn't get this sooner. For five pounds, it's worth it, if you get an 'a' in your exams.

Getting to the Heart of Hamlet?, 23 Feb 2004
This is one of the most thorough study guides on the market, not likely to confuse anyone and particularly well informed on the latest developments in critical approaches to the play though never too dense for the average school student to digest. The scene summaries and commentaries are models of clarity and precision whilst the textual analyses are searching, provocative and incisive. There is an excellent bibliography and useful pointers to websites, films and theatrical tradition. An invaluable introduction to advanced studies and a handy revision tool for teachers pressurised to work on the play at short notice!

Nice clear summary of the action, 15 Apr 2002
The best aspect of this guide to Hamlet is the careful scene-by-scene summary of the action. The plot seems not so tricky to follow, after all. It's also good to be reminded of the significant differences between the quarto and folio versions of the play. Perhaps the authors should have devoted a bit more space to the really big issue raised by the play: the intermingling of good and evil in human existence. The assessment of Ophelia's character is strangely thin, as well. But it's very helpful, all in all.

A difficult task, 10 Apr 2000
To make an "informative" notebook on such a vast and complicated work, will never be easy. There are simply too many interpretative opportunities. But York Notes list up most of the basics, in a comprehensive manner.

A very witty masterpiece , 11 Mar 2008
In my quest to read more work by Irish literary greats this year, I recently purchased a newly repackaged Penguin Popular Classic version of Oscar Wilde's 1895 play The Importance of Being Earnest. This edition, with its vibrant green cover and tracing-paper thin paper (all 100 per cent recycled), retails for a meagre £2 -- that's a very cheap price for a masterpiece, in my opinion.

I had seen a film version of this play a couple of years ago (the 2002 version starring Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Frances O'Connor, Reese Witherspoon and Judi Dench) and I remember laughing out loud at a lot of it. But seeing the words in black-and-white print makes them seem even funnier -- if that is possible.

For those who don't know the storyline, the brief synopsis goes something like this: Country gentleman Jack Worthing invents a younger brother, Ernest, whom he pretends to be when he visits the city. This gives him free reign to pursue the beautiful Gwendolen. Meanwhile his city-based friend, Algernon Moncrieff, invents a poorly relative, Bunbury, whom he pretends to visit in the country in order that he can leave his dull city existence behind for a bit of fun and frivolity. One day Algernon pretends to be Ernest and visits Jack's pretty charge, Cecily, in the country, which leads to all kinds of confusion about identity. Obviously, Jack is not happy, but when his own deceptive behaviour is called into question, the scene is ripe for much farce and hilarity.

In three short acts, this play delivers so many laughs and classic one-liners it's difficult to appreciate the genius of it in just one reading. Fortunately, it's short enough -- just 67 pages in this edition -- to read cover-to-cover twice in a very short amount of time.

How many people haven't heard this line?

* (Delivered by Lady Bracknell to Jack): To lose one parent, Mr Worthing, may be regarded as misfortune: to lose both looks like carelessness.

Or this one:
* (Delivered by Gwendolen to Cecily): I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.

But it's not just the lines which are funny, but the setting and the ways in which they are delivered that makes certain scenes especially comedic. This scene, in which Cecily serves tea and cake to her new rival in love, Gwendolen, is a good example of Wilde's ability to capture the little details in people's behaviour that conveys so much about their character and mood.

Cecily [sweetly]: Sugar?
Gwendolen [superciliously]: No thank you. Sugar is not fashionable any more. [Cecily looks angrily at her, takes up the tongs and puts four lumps of sugar in the cup.]
Cecily [severely]: Cake or bread and butter?
Gwendolen [in a bored manner]: Bread and butter, please. Cake is rarely seen at the best houses nowadays.
Cecily [cuts a very large slice of cake and puts it on the tray]: Hand that to Miss Fairfax.

Without wishing to wax lyrical, this is a sumptuous, dazzling read -- a wonderfully clever farce to brighten up the dullest day. It's tightly written, with not a word wasted, and there's a delightful conclusion in which all the lose ends are brought together and tied up with an unexpected flourish. Masterpiece, indeed.

absolutely brilliant!, 29 Nov 2007
everything about this book is perfect, the timing, the comedy, the situation. I can't even go into how fantastic it is, but i know that Osar Wilde is a genius and i wish he was still around, read this book, and don't loose out another second without it!

A very enjoyable reading, witty and full of "English" humor, 16 Jun 2005
Despite the fact that I usually like to watch plays, not so much to read them on paper, I found "The Importance of Being Earnest" a very enjoyable reading. The plot is greatly witty and I had a real fun reading several scenes described in this book. Given the theatrical style, the overall plot is not quite realistic, yet it is highly brilliant and full of "English" humor. After having read the book, I also bought the Audio-CD version of it, which I also enjoyed sincerely.

The Importance of Reading Earnest, 13 Dec 2004
I personally think that this play is fantastic. Superficially it is a very trivial, lighthearted play with little plot but peppered with witty conceits. On a deeper level it provides an incredible, satirical view of Victorian moral society, from one of the the 'insiders'. The links between the play and the life of Wilde are rife, especially regarding Algernon. I would recommend it wholeheartedly.

The wittiest play ever written in the English language, 11 Jul 2004
"The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People" is one of the first plays written in English since the works of Shakespeare that celebrates the language itself. Oscar Wilde's comedy has one advantage over the classic comedies of the Bard in that "The Importance of Being Earnest" is as funny today as it was when it was first performed at the St. Jame's Theater in London on February 14, 1895. After all, enjoying Shakespeare requires checking the bottom for footnotes explaining the meaning of those dozens of words that Shakespeare makes up in any one of his plays. But Wilde's brilliant wit, his humor and social satire, remain intact even though he was a writer of the Victorian era.

Wilde believed in art for art's own sake, which explains why he emphasized beauty while his contemporaries were dealing with the problems of industrial England. "The Importance of Being Earnest" is set among the upper class, making fun of their excesses and absurdities while imbuing them with witty banter providing a constant stream of epigrams. The play's situation is simple in its unraveling complexity. Algernon Moncrieff is an upper-class English bachelor who is visited by his friend Jack Worthing, who is known as "Ernest." Jack has come to town to propose to Gwendolen Fairfax, the daugher of the imposing Lady Bracknell and Algy's first cousin. Jack has a ward named Cecily who lives in the country while Algernon has an imaginary friend named "Bunbury" whom he uses as an excuse to get out of social engagements.

Jack proposes to Gwendolen but has two problems. First, Gwendolen is wiling to agree because his name is Ernest, a name that "seems to inspire absolute confidence," but which, of course, is not his true Christian name. Second, Lady Bracknell objects to Jack as a suitor when she learns he was abandoned by his parents and found in a handbag in Victoria Station by Mr. Thomas Cardew. Meanwhile, Algernon heads off to the country to check out Cecily, to whom he introduces himself as being her guardian Jack's brother Ernest. This meets with Ceclily's approval because in her diary she has been writing about her engagement to a man named Ernest. Then things get really interesting.

Wilde proves once and for all time that the pun can indeed be elevated to a high art form. Throughout the entire play we have the double meaning of the word "earnest," almost to the level of a conceit, since many of the play's twists and turns deal with the efforts of Jack and Algernon to be "Ernest," by lying, only to discover that circumstances makes honest men of them in the end (and of the women for that matter as well). There is every reason to believe that Wilde was making a point about earnestness being a key ideal of Victorian culture and one worthy of being thoroughly and completely mocked. Granted, some of the puns are really bad, and the discussion of "Bunburying" is so bad it is stands alone in that regard, but there is a sense in which the bad ones only make the good ones so glorious and emphasize that Wilde is at his best while playing games with the English language.

But if Wilde's puns are the low road then his epigrams represent the heights of his genius, especially when they are used by the characters in an ironic vein (e.g., "It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal" and "I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance"). Jack is the male lead, but it is Algernon who represents the ideal Wilde character, who insists he is a rebel speaking out against the institutions of society, such as marriage, but with attacks that are so flamboyant and humorous that the cleverness of the humor ends up standing apart from the inherent point.

In the end, "The Importance of Being Earnest" is the wittiest play every written, in English or any other language, and I doubt that anything written in the future will come close. Wilde was essentially a stand-up comedian who managed to create a narrative in which he could get off dozens of classic one-liners given a high-class sheen by being labeled epigrams. Like a comedian he touches on several topics, from the aristocracy, marriage, and the literary world to English manners, women, love, religion, and anything else that came to his fertile mind. But because it is done with such a lighthearted tone that the barbs remain as timely today as they were at the end of the 19th-century and "The Importance of Being Earnest" will always be at the forefront of the plays of that time which will continue to be produced.

Essential, 04 Sep 2008
Really great book that can be used throughout A level study or as a last minute revision guide.

This would be a good investment, 23 Mar 2004
I'm studying Hamlet at the moment and due to the nature of Shakespeare's over descriptive and complicated yet beautiful language, it's quite hard to follow and concentrate upon the plot. Though when I got this guide, I easily grasped what was happening and was able to concentrate more on the themes and language etc which you have to comment on in exams. It is helpful and gives lots of hints and info into what you're supposed to be focusing on in the scenes. It gives you ideas and pushes you in the right direction if you are struggling. It even has a glossary to simplify meanings and words. A more thorough understanding can be made from Hamlet and in the end you'll wonder why you didn't get this sooner. For five pounds, it's worth it, if you get an 'a' in your exams.

Getting to the Heart of Hamlet?, 23 Feb 2004
This is one of the most thorough study guides on the market, not likely to confuse anyone and particularly well informed on the latest developments in critical approaches to the play though never too dense for the average school student to digest. The scene summaries and commentaries are models of clarity and precision whilst the textual analyses are searching, provocative and incisive. There is an excellent bibliography and useful pointers to websites, films and theatrical tradition. An invaluable introduction to advanced studies and a handy revision tool for teachers pressurised to work on the play at short notice!

Nice clear summary of the action, 15 Apr 2002
The best aspect of this guide to Hamlet is the careful scene-by-scene summary of the action. The plot seems not so tricky to follow, after all. It's also good to be reminded of the significant differences between the quarto and folio versions of the play. Perhaps the authors should have devoted a bit more space to the really big issue raised by the play: the intermingling of good and evil in human existence. The assessment of Ophelia's character is strangely thin, as well. But it's very helpful, all in all.

A difficult task, 10 Apr 2000
To make an "informative" notebook on such a vast and complicated work, will never be easy. There are simply too many interpretative opportunities. But York Notes list up most of the basics, in a comprehensive manner.

A very witty masterpiece , 11 Mar 2008
In my quest to read more work by Irish literary greats this year, I recently purchased a newly repackaged Penguin Popular Classic version of Oscar Wilde's 1895 play The Importance of Being Earnest. This edition, with its vibrant green cover and tracing-paper thin paper (all 100 per cent recycled), retails for a meagre £2 -- that's a very cheap price for a masterpiece, in my opinion.

I had seen a film version of this play a couple of years ago (the 2002 version starring Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Frances O'Connor, Reese Witherspoon and Judi Dench) and I remember laughing out loud at a lot of it. But seeing the words in black-and-white print makes them seem even funnier -- if that is possible.

For those who don't know the storyline, the brief synopsis goes something like this: Country gentleman Jack Worthing invents a younger brother, Ernest, whom he pretends to be when he visits the city. This gives him free reign to pursue the beautiful Gwendolen. Meanwhile his city-based friend, Algernon Moncrieff, invents a poorly relative, Bunbury, whom he pretends to visit in the country in order that he can leave his dull city existence behind for a bit of fun and frivolity. One day Algernon pretends to be Ernest and visits Jack's pretty charge, Cecily, in the country, which leads to all kinds of confusion about identity. Obviously, Jack is not happy, but when his own deceptive behaviour is called into question, the scene is ripe for much farce and hilarity.

In three short acts, this play delivers so many laughs and classic one-liners it's difficult to appreciate the genius of it in just one reading. Fortunately, it's short enough -- just 67 pages in this edition -- to read cover-to-cover twice in a very short amount of time.

How many people haven't heard this line?

* (Delivered by Lady Bracknell to Jack): To lose one parent, Mr Worthing, may be regarded as misfortune: to lose both looks like carelessness.

Or this one:
* (Delivered by Gwendolen to Cecily): I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.

But it's not just the lines which are funny, but the setting and the ways in which they are delivered that makes certain scenes especially comedic. This scene, in which Cecily serves tea and cake to her new rival in love, Gwendolen, is a good example of Wilde's ability to capture the little details in people's behaviour that conveys so much about their character and mood.

Cecily [sweetly]: Sugar?
Gwendolen [superciliously]: No thank you. Sugar is not fashionable any more. [Cecily looks angrily at her, takes up the tongs and puts four lumps of sugar in the cup.]
Cecily [severely]: Cake or bread and butter?
Gwendolen [in a bored manner]: Bread and butter, please. Cake is rarely seen at the best houses nowadays.
Cecily [cuts a very large slice of cake and puts it on the tray]: Hand that to Miss Fairfax.

Without wishing to wax lyrical, this is a sumptuous, dazzling read -- a wonderfully clever farce to brighten up the dullest day. It's tightly written, with not a word wasted, and there's a delightful conclusion in which all the lose ends are brought together and tied up with an unexpected flourish. Masterpiece, indeed.

absolutely brilliant!, 29 Nov 2007
everything about this book is perfect, the timing, the comedy, the situation. I can't even go into how fantastic it is, but i know that Osar Wilde is a genius and i wish he was still around, read this book, and don't loose out another second without it!

A very enjoyable reading, witty and full of "English" humor, 16 Jun 2005
Despite the fact that I usually like to watch plays, not so much to read them on paper, I found "The Importance of Being Earnest" a very enjoyable reading. The plot is greatly witty and I had a real fun reading several scenes described in this book. Given the theatrical style, the overall plot is not quite realistic, yet it is highly brilliant and full of "English" humor. After having read the book, I also bought the Audio-CD version of it, which I also enjoyed sincerely.

The Importance of Reading Earnest, 13 Dec 2004
I personally think that this play is fantastic. Superficially it is a very trivial, lighthearted play with little plot but peppered with witty conceits. On a deeper level it provides an incredible, satirical view of Victorian moral society, from one of the the 'insiders'. The links between the play and the life of Wilde are rife, especially regarding Algernon. I would recommend it wholeheartedly.

The wittiest play ever written in the English language, 11 Jul 2004
"The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People" is one of the first plays written in English since the works of Shakespeare that celebrates the language itself. Oscar Wilde's comedy has one advantage over the classic comedies of the Bard in that "The Importance of Being Earnest" is as funny today as it was when it was first performed at the St. Jame's Theater in London on February 14, 1895. After all, enjoying Shakespeare requires checking the bottom for footnotes explaining the meaning of those dozens of words that Shakespeare makes up in any one of his plays. But Wilde's brilliant wit, his humor and social satire, remain intact even though he was a writer of the Victorian era.

Wilde believed in art for art's own sake, which explains why he emphasized beauty while his contemporaries were dealing with the problems of industrial England. "The Importance of Being Earnest" is set among the upper class, making fun of their excesses and absurdities while imbuing them with witty banter providing a constant stream of epigrams. The play's situation is simple in its unraveling complexity. Algernon Moncrieff is an upper-class English bachelor who is visited by his friend Jack Worthing, who is known as "Ernest." Jack has come to town to propose to Gwendolen Fairfax, the daugher of the imposing Lady Bracknell and Algy's first cousin. Jack has a ward named Cecily who lives in the country while Algernon has an imaginary friend named "Bunbury" whom he uses as an excuse to get out of social engagements.

Jack proposes to Gwendolen but has two problems. First, Gwendolen is wiling to agree because his name is Ernest, a name that "seems to inspire absolute confidence," but which, of course, is not his true Christian name. Second, Lady Bracknell objects to Jack as a suitor when she learns he was abandoned by his parents and found in a handbag in Victoria Station by Mr. Thomas Cardew. Meanwhile, Algernon heads off to the country to check out Cecily, to whom he introduces himself as being her guardian Jack's brother Ernest. This meets with Ceclily's approval because in her diary she has been writing about her engagement to a man named Ernest. Then things get really interesting.

Wilde proves once and for all time that the pun can indeed be elevated to a high art form. Throughout the entire play we have the double meaning of the word "earnest," almost to the level of a conceit, since many of the play's twists and turns deal with the efforts of Jack and Algernon to be "Ernest," by lying, only to discover that circumstances makes honest men of them in the end (and of the women for that matter as well). There is every reason to believe that Wilde was making a point about earnestness being a key ideal of Victorian culture and one worthy of being thoroughly and completely mocked. Granted, some of the puns are really bad, and the discussion of "Bunburying" is so bad it is stands alone in that regard, but there is a sense in which the bad ones only make the good ones so glorious and emphasize that Wilde is at his best while playing games with the English language.

But if Wilde's puns are the low road then his epigrams represent the heights of his genius, especially when they are used by the characters in an ironic vein (e.g., "It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal" and "I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance"). Jack is the male lead, but it is Algernon who represents the ideal Wilde character, who insists he is a rebel speaking out against the institutions of society, such as marriage, but with attacks that are so flamboyant and humorous that the cleverness of the humor ends up standing apart from the inherent point.

In the end, "The Importance of Being Earnest" is the wittiest play every written, in English or any other language, and I doubt that anything written in the future will come close. Wilde was essentially a stand-up comedian who managed to create a narrative in which he could get off dozens of classic one-liners given a high-class sheen by being labeled epigrams. Like a comedian he touches on several topics, from the aristocracy, marriage, and the literary world to English manners, women, love, religion, and anything else that came to his fertile mind. But because it is done with such a lighthearted tone that the barbs remain as timely today as they were at the end of the 19th-century and "The Importance of Being Earnest" will always be at the forefront of the plays of that time which will continue to be produced.

Emotion, Friendship juxtaposed with Pure Horror and Brutality, 06 Dec 2007
'Journey's End' opens in the bleak environment of the Western Front as a new arrival James Raleigh comes to join a group of soldiers in the trench system. The 'journey' on which the soldiers embark upon is contains two human attributes, the first being emotional attachment, the second being the power of perceiverance.

Sherriff does not need to go into the graphic details of what happens when the men 'go over the top', however he builds up a number of passionate friendships that both move and endear the reader. The first of these relationships is between Commander Stanhope and Officer Osborne who is 'the only man who could understand me' as described by the company commander at the moment of Osborne's demise. Their relationship is one of two brothers as they look after each other on the Front line - 'what would I ever do without you old chap' exclaims Stanhope, 'I do not know' responds Osborne - inferring the loving relationship the two characters share. At the moment of Osborne's death I was shocked at the anger that welled up inside Stanhope as he responded to the comments from the survivors of the daylight raid on 'the Boche'. He shouts at Hibbert - 'What did you say!...Get out of my sight!' in anger at losing his 'most trusted friend' and the sense of loss is only solidified by the explosion of emotion that feels his dialogue whilst conversing with Raleigh (the soul commanding survivor of the raid).

The audience can fully understand the sense of anger that is perpetuated by Stanhope at the loss of his comrade. The loss moves the reader as the emotional outpouring fills six pages of intense dialogue between the commanding officer and the other soldiers.

The opposite reaction can be found at the climax of the performance. Stanhope must deal with another loss, this time of his school friend and new arrival Raleigh. The young officer's death is one of immense sadness and brutality as the 'young boy's' dignity is ripped from him as 'he cannot walk sir' - though the most sombre moment comes when Raleigh asks 'is there something on my legs, I cannot move them' unbeknown to him that he is in fact paralysed from shrapnel breaking his spine. This horrific brutality is finalised with the death of 'that fine soldier'. This moment is devoid of anger or confusion, but bears down to the horrific truth of war time conflict. Sherriff highlights the horrific truth with the final dialogue between another officer and Stanhope. Stanhope must leave his fallen friend, 'I'm coming now', as he is called to duty. The audience is left feeling immense for the soldier who thought 'it awful nice of you to bother' when Stanhope fetches him a blanket and a candle as his last dying wish.

Sherriff allows two redeeming features to the two horrific deaths of the soldiers lie with the ignorance of Raleigh and the rapid death endured by Osborne whilst 'waiting for Raleigh on the Front line'. However this only adds to the brilliance of the play as a piece of anti war artwork.

Sherriff is fantastic at delivering a dialogue that not only amuses in places and heartens the audience but also plunges them to the depths of dispair at the brutality and senselessness of war. Two young men die in the play, along with six nameless others, however Sherriff only touches the tip of the iceberg with the play, but my does this tip deliver a piercing cut to the audience. It is emotive and passionate in its description of the group of men in the trenches, but accompanying this is a forceful message that highlights the stupid senselessness of the war effort and pays remeberance to the young souls who fell throughou the Great War.

Very Effective, 09 Aug 2005
This was recommended to me after I read and very much enjoyed 'All Clear On The Western Front'. It's similar in nature I suppose, looking at the human aspect of World War One, though Western Front seems to get across far more starkly just how ghastly it all was.

Some of that will no doubt be down to the fact that Journey's End concentrates on the lives of officers who had a higher standard of living even in the trenches. Also, with Journey's End being a play it is set over a far shorter timeframe which leaves less options to develop each of the characters.

The key player, Stanhope, is a young officer in charge of a company who is suffering incredible stress and keeping his head above water merely with the use of whiskey. They other key officers are all suffering in their own ways, with Raleigh a newcomer who is initially extremely optimistic though quickly shocked into the realities of the war.

There are two key characters killed during the course of the play and the loss is felt in a moving way. You do feel for each of the characters which I guess is a good example of how well written they are.

I've never really been one for reading plays, preferring to see them of course, but this reads well. Now, I must see it.

Not That Bad!, 05 Jul 2005
I have studied this book at a-level and it was a great read. The book allows the reader to develop an understanding of what life would have been like during the war. The book includes some sad and drastic elements, but humour is also a major part of the play. Worth buying your own copy if you're currently studying it!

GCSE? Grin n bear it cos it really aint that bad..., 05 Jun 2004
Novels i can handle, but poetry and plays are the death of me. But y'know what, i've studied a fair few plays in my time - and this is one of the better ones. So grit your teeth and get on with it, cos you could have a lot worse for your literature exam - trust me.
The WW1 play, follows the story of Stanhope, Osbourne, Trotter and Raleigh. Four interlinking characters that are the main reason why the play is so good.
Trotter, i always immagine him as a butcher for some reason, he's a cheery sort of a guy. Doesnt think too much about things, likes his food. Corrie fans - think of a less scary Fred Elliott.
Osbourne - when i grow old i wanna grow old with someone like Osbourne. Everyone calls him "Uncle" and he's the father figure of the group. He's ind, considerate, friendly and generally 'a good old chap.'
Raleigh is the young'n of the group, and he represents the public's misaprehensions of the war. He's the type of guy you'd like to take home to meet the parents.
Stanhope is a mixture of the lot, and a lot else besides. But i'd be here all day if i told you all i could about him - so i'll let you discover his immensly intrecate persona fpr yourself.
It's not a long play. But maybe that was Sherrif's intention, just like going to war it's over practically as soon as you begin.
It's a good play, enjoy it.

Journey's End - A portrait of war, 05 Mar 2003
Surprisingly R.C. Sherrif's 'Journeys End' is about boredom.
Captain Stanhope's company is bored of waiting for an order in a dugout
at the frontline in World War I. The only catastrophy for them could be
some mud in their tea. This british humor makes 'Journey's End' seem to be
very surrealistic. But on closer consideration the reader will be confronted
with the reality of war. Being bored of waiting for your own death could be
a description for the situation of the characters. The author manages to express
very smoothly without any discription of death itself. The missuse of power,
the question of guilt and the process of getting disillusioned from war are topics
of this authentic and exiting drama. Especially during these days of advertising warfare
as a means of politics 'Journey's End' is an insightful portrait of war...

Undoubtedly the most famous of all of Shakespeare's plays, Hamlet remains one of the most enduring but also enigmatic pieces of western literature. The story of Hamlet, the young Prince of Denmark, his tortured relationship with his mother, and his quest to avenge his father's murder at the hand of his brother Claudius has fascinated writers and audiences ever since it was written around 1600.

For many years interest focused on both Hamlet's inability to avenge his father's death, claiming that "the native hue of resolution / Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought", and, according to none other than Freud, his oedipal fixation with his mother. However, more recently critics have turned their attention to Hamlet's bold theatrical self-reflexivity (most famously reflected in the performance of "The Mousetrap"), its fascination with issues of theology and Renaissance humanism, and its dense, complex poetic language. What is so remarkable about the play is the way in which it tends to uncannily reflect the concerns of different epochs. As a result, Hamlet has been at different moments defined as a romantic rebel, an angst-ridden existentialist, a paralysed intellectual and an ambivalent New Man. Whatever subsequent generations make of Hamlet, they are unlikely to exhaust the possibilities of this most extraordinary play. --Jerry Brotton

Essential, 04 Sep 2008
Really great book that can be used throughout A level study or as a last minute revision guide.

This would be a good investment, 23 Mar 2004
I'm studying Hamlet at the moment and due to the nature of Shakespeare's over descriptive and complicated yet beautiful language, it's quite hard to follow and concentrate upon the plot. Though when I got this guide, I easily grasped what was happening and was able to concentrate more on the themes and language etc which you have to comment on in exams. It is helpful and gives lots of hints and info into what you're supposed to be focusing on in the scenes. It gives you ideas and pushes you in the right direction if you are struggling. It even has a glossary to simplify meanings and words. A more thorough understanding can be made from Hamlet and in the end you'll wonder why you didn't get this sooner. For five pounds, it's worth it, if you get an 'a' in your exams.

Getting to the Heart of Hamlet?, 23 Feb 2004
This is one of the most thorough study guides on the market, not likely to confuse anyone and particularly well informed on the latest developments in critical approaches to the play though never too dense for the average school student to digest. The scene summaries and commentaries are models of clarity and precision whilst the textual analyses are searching, provocative and incisive. There is an excellent bibliography and useful pointers to websites, films and theatrical tradition. An invaluable introduction to advanced studies and a handy revision tool for teachers pressurised to work on the play at short notice!

Nice clear summary of the action, 15 Apr 2002
The best aspect of this guide to Hamlet is the careful scene-by-scene summary of the action. The plot seems not so tricky to follow, after all. It's also good to be reminded of the significant differences between the quarto and folio versions of the play. Perhaps the authors should have devoted a bit more space to the really big issue raised by the play: the intermingling of good and evil in human existence. The assessment of Ophelia's character is strangely thin, as well. But it's very helpful, all in all.

A difficult task, 10 Apr 2000
To make an "informative" notebook on such a vast and complicated work, will never be easy. There are simply too many interpretative opportunities. But York Notes list up most of the basics, in a comprehensive manner.

A very witty masterpiece , 11 Mar 2008
In my quest to read more work by Irish literary greats this year, I recently purchased a newly repackaged Penguin Popular Classic version of Oscar Wilde's 1895 play The Importance of Being Earnest. This edition, with its vibrant green cover and tracing-paper thin paper (all 100 per cent recycled), retails for a meagre £2 -- that's a very cheap price for a masterpiece, in my opinion.

I had seen a film version of this play a couple of years ago (the 2002 version starring Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Frances O'Connor, Reese Witherspoon and Judi Dench) and I remember laughing out loud at a lot of it. But seeing the words in black-and-white print makes them seem even funnier -- if that is possible.

For those who don't know the storyline, the brief synopsis goes something like this: Country gentleman Jack Worthing invents a younger brother, Ernest, whom he pretends to be when he visits the city. This gives him free reign to pursue the beautiful Gwendolen. Meanwhile his city-based friend, Algernon Moncrieff, invents a poorly relative, Bunbury, whom he pretends to visit in the country in order that he can leave his dull city existence behind for a bit of fun and frivolity. One day Algernon pretends to be Ernest and visits Jack's pretty charge, Cecily, in the country, which leads to all kinds of confusion about identity. Obviously, Jack is not happy, but when his own deceptive behaviour is called into question, the scene is ripe for much farce and hilarity.

In three short acts, this play delivers so many laughs and classic one-liners it's difficult to appreciate the genius of it in just one reading. Fortunately, it's short enough -- just 67 pages in this edition -- to read cover-to-cover twice in a very short amount of time.

How many people haven't heard this line?

* (Delivered by Lady Bracknell to Jack): To lose one parent, Mr Worthing, may be regarded as misfortune: to lose both looks like carelessness.

Or this one:
* (Delivered by Gwendolen to Cecily): I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.

But it's not just the lines which are funny, but the setting and the ways in which they are delivered that makes certain scenes especially comedic. This scene, in which Cecily serves tea and cake to her new rival in love, Gwendolen, is a good example of Wilde's ability to capture the little details in people's behaviour that conveys so much about their character and mood.

Cecily [sweetly]: Sugar?
Gwendolen [superciliously]: No thank you. Sugar is not fashionable any more. [Cecily looks angrily at her, takes up the tongs and puts four lumps of sugar in the cup.]
Cecily [severely]: Cake or bread and butter?
Gwendolen [in a bored manner]: Bread and butter, please. Cake is rarely seen at the best houses nowadays.
Cecily [cuts a very large slice of cake and puts it on the tray]: Hand that to Miss Fairfax.

Without wishing to wax lyrical, this is a sumptuous, dazzling read -- a wonderfully clever farce to brighten up the dullest day. It's tightly written, with not a word wasted, and there's a delightful conclusion in which all the lose ends are brought together and tied up with an unexpected flourish. Masterpiece, indeed.

absolutely brilliant!, 29 Nov 2007
everything about this book is perfect, the timing, the comedy, the situation. I can't even go into how fantastic it is, but i know that Osar Wilde is a genius and i wish he was still around, read this book, and don't loose out another second without it!

A very enjoyable reading, witty and full of "English" humor, 16 Jun 2005
Despite the fact that I usually like to watch plays, not so much to read them on paper, I found "The Importance of Being Earnest" a very enjoyable reading. The plot is greatly witty and I had a real fun reading several scenes described in this book. Given the theatrical style, the overall plot is not quite realistic, yet it is highly brilliant and full of "English" humor. After having read the book, I also bought the Audio-CD version of it, which I also enjoyed sincerely.

The Importance of Reading Earnest, 13 Dec 2004
I personally think that this play is fantastic. Superficially it is a very trivial, lighthearted play with little plot but peppered with witty conceits. On a deeper level it provides an incredible, satirical view of Victorian moral society, from one of the the 'insiders'. The links between the play and the life of Wilde are rife, especially regarding Algernon. I would recommend it wholeheartedly.

The wittiest play ever written in the English language, 11 Jul 2004
"The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People" is one of the first plays written in English since the works of Shakespeare that celebrates the language itself. Oscar Wilde's comedy has one advantage over the classic comedies of the Bard in that "The Importance of Being Earnest" is as funny today as it was when it was first performed at the St. Jame's Theater in London on February 14, 1895. After all, enjoying Shakespeare requires checking the bottom for footnotes explaining the meaning of those dozens of words that Shakespeare makes up in any one of his plays. But Wilde's brilliant wit, his humor and social satire, remain intact even though he was a writer of the Victorian era.

Wilde believed in art for art's own sake, which explains why he emphasized beauty while his contemporaries were dealing with the problems of industrial England. "The Importance of Being Earnest" is set among the upper class, making fun of their excesses and absurdities while imbuing them with witty banter providing a constant stream of epigrams. The play's situation is simple in its unraveling complexity. Algernon Moncrieff is an upper-class English bachelor who is visited by his friend Jack Worthing, who is known as "Ernest." Jack has come to town to propose to Gwendolen Fairfax, the daugher of the imposing Lady Bracknell and Algy's first cousin. Jack has a ward named Cecily who lives in the country while Algernon has an imaginary friend named "Bunbury" whom he uses as an excuse to get out of social engagements.

Jack proposes to Gwendolen but has two problems. First, Gwendolen is wiling to agree because his name is Ernest, a name that "seems to inspire absolute confidence," but which, of course, is not his true Christian name. Second, Lady Bracknell objects to Jack as a suitor when she learns he was abandoned by his parents and found in a handbag in Victoria Station by Mr. Thomas Cardew. Meanwhile, Algernon heads off to the country to check out Cecily, to whom he introduces himself as being her guardian Jack's brother Ernest. This meets with Ceclily's approval because in her diary she has been writing about her engagement to a man named Ernest. Then things get really interesting.

Wilde proves once and for all time that the pun can indeed be elevated to a high art form. Throughout the entire play we have the double meaning of the word "earnest," almost to the level of a conceit, since many of the play's twists and turns deal with the efforts of Jack and Algernon to be "Ernest," by lying, only to discover that circumstances makes honest men of them in the end (and of the women for that matter as well). There is every reason to believe that Wilde was making a point about earnestness being a key ideal of Victorian culture and one worthy of being thoroughly and completely mocked. Granted, some of the puns are really bad, and the discussion of "Bunburying" is so bad it is stands alone in that regard, but there is a sense in which the bad ones only make the good ones so glorious and emphasize that Wilde is at his best while playing games with the English language.

But if Wilde's puns are the low road then his epigrams represent the heights of his genius, especially when they are used by the characters in an ironic vein (e.g., "It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal" and "I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance"). Jack is the male lead, but it is Algernon who represents the ideal Wilde character, who insists he is a rebel speaking out against the institutions of society, such as marriage, but with attacks that are so flamboyant and humorous that the cleverness of the humor ends up standing apart from the inherent point.

In the end, "The Importance of Being Earnest" is the wittiest play every written, in English or any other language, and I doubt that anything written in the future will come close. Wilde was essentially a stand-up comedian who managed to create a narrative in which he could get off dozens of classic one-liners given a high-class sheen by being labeled epigrams. Like a comedian he touches on several topics, from the aristocracy, marriage, and the literary world to English manners, women, love, religion, and anything else that came to his fertile mind. But because it is done with such a lighthearted tone that the barbs remain as timely today as they were at the end of the 19th-century and "The Importance of Being Earnest" will always be at the forefront of the plays of that time which will continue to be produced.

Emotion, Friendship juxtaposed with Pure Horror and Brutality, 06 Dec 2007
'Journey's End' opens in the bleak environment of the Western Front as a new arrival James Raleigh comes to join a group of soldiers in the trench system. The 'journey' on which the soldiers embark upon is contains two human attributes, the first being emotional attachment, the second being the power of perceiverance.

Sherriff does not need to go into the graphic details of what happens when the men 'go over the top', however he builds up a number of passionate friendships that both move and endear the reader. The first of these relationships is between Commander Stanhope and Officer Osborne who is 'the only man who could understand me' as described by the company commander at the moment of Osborne's demise. Their relationship is one of two brothers as they look after each other on the Front line - 'what would I ever do without you old chap' exclaims Stanhope, 'I do not know' responds Osborne - inferring the loving relationship the two characters share. At the moment of Osborne's death I was shocked at the anger that welled up inside Stanhope as he responded to the comments from the survivors of the daylight raid on 'the Boche'. He shouts at Hibbert - 'What did you say!...Get out of my sight!' in anger at losing his 'most trusted friend' and the sense of loss is only solidified by the explosion of emotion that feels his dialogue whilst conversing with Raleigh (the soul commanding survivor of the raid).

The audience can fully understand the sense of anger that is perpetuated by Stanhope at the loss of his comrade. The loss moves the reader as the emotional outpouring fills six pages of intense dialogue between the commanding officer and the other soldiers.

The opposite reaction can be found at the climax of the performance. Stanhope must deal with another loss, this time of his school friend and new arrival Raleigh. The young officer's death is one of immense sadness and brutality as the 'young boy's' dignity is ripped from him as 'he cannot walk sir' - though the most sombre moment comes when Raleigh asks 'is there something on my legs, I cannot move them' unbeknown to him that he is in fact paralysed from shrapnel breaking his spine. This horrific brutality is finalised with the death of 'that fine soldier'. This moment is devoid of anger or confusion, but bears down to the horrific truth of war time conflict. Sherriff highlights the horrific truth with the final dialogue between another officer and Stanhope. Stanhope must leave his fallen friend, 'I'm coming now', as he is called to duty. The audience is left feeling immense for the soldier who thought 'it awful nice of you to bother' when Stanhope fetches him a blanket and a candle as his last dying wish.

Sherriff allows two redeeming features to the two horrific deaths of the soldiers lie with the ignorance of Raleigh and the rapid death endured by Osborne whilst 'waiting for Raleigh on the Front line'. However this only adds to the brilliance of the play as a piece of anti war artwork.

Sherriff is fantastic at delivering a dialogue that not only amuses in places and heartens the audience but also plunges them to the depths of dispair at the brutality and senselessness of war. Two young men die in the play, along with six nameless others, however Sherriff only touches the tip of the iceberg with the play, but my does this tip deliver a piercing cut to the audience. It is emotive and passionate in its description of the group of men in the trenches, but accompanying this is a forceful message that highlights the stupid senselessness of the war effort and pays remeberance to the young souls who fell throughou the Great War.

Very Effective, 09 Aug 2005
This was recommended to me after I read and very much enjoyed 'All Clear On The Western Front'. It's similar in nature I suppose, looking at the human aspect of World War One, though Western Front seems to get across far more starkly just how ghastly it all was.

Some of that will no doubt be down to the fact that Journey's End concentrates on the lives of officers who had a higher standard of living even in the trenches. Also, with Journey's End being a play it is set over a far shorter timeframe which leaves less options to develop each of the characters.

The key player, Stanhope, is a young officer in charge of a company who is suffering incredible stress and keeping his head above water merely with the use of whiskey. They other key officers are all suffering in their own ways, with Raleigh a newcomer who is initially extremely optimistic though quickly shocked into the realities of the war.

There are two key characters killed during the course of the play and the loss is felt in a moving way. You do feel for each of the characters which I guess is a good example of how well written they are.

I've never really been one for reading plays, preferring to see them of course, but this reads well. Now, I must see it.

Not That Bad!, 05 Jul 2005
I have studied this book at a-level and it was a great read. The book allows the reader to develop an understanding of what life would have been like during the war. The book includes some sad and drastic elements, but humour is also a major part of the play. Worth buying your own copy if you're currently studying it!

GCSE? Grin n bear it cos it really aint that bad..., 05 Jun 2004
Novels i can handle, but poetry and plays are the death of me. But y'know what, i've studied a fair few plays in my time - and this is one of the better ones. So grit your teeth and get on with it, cos you could have a lot worse for your literature exam - trust me.
The WW1 play, follows the story of Stanhope, Osbourne, Trotter and Raleigh. Four interlinking characters that are the main reason why the play is so good.
Trotter, i always immagine him as a butcher for some reason, he's a cheery sort of a guy. Doesnt think too much about things, likes his food. Corrie fans - think of a less scary Fred Elliott.
Osbourne - when i grow old i wanna grow old with someone like Osbourne. Everyone calls him "Uncle" and he's the father figure of the group. He's ind, considerate, friendly and generally 'a good old chap.'
Raleigh is the young'n of the group, and he represents the public's misaprehensions of the war. He's the type of guy you'd like to take home to meet the parents.
Stanhope is a mixture of the lot, and a lot else besides. But i'd be here all day if i told you all i could about him - so i'll let you discover his immensly intrecate persona fpr yourself.
It's not a long play. But maybe that was Sherrif's intention, just like going to war it's over practically as soon as you begin.
It's a good play, enjoy it.

Journey's End - A portrait of war, 05 Mar 2003
Surprisingly R.C. Sherrif's 'Journeys End' is about boredom.
Captain Stanhope's company is bored of waiting for an order in a dugout
at the frontline in World War I. The only catastrophy for them could be
some mud in their tea. This british humor makes 'Journey's End' seem to be
very surrealistic. But on closer consideration the reader will be confronted
with the reality of war. Being bored of waiting for your own death could be
a description for the situation of the characters. The author manages to express
very smoothly without any discription of death itself. The missuse of power,
the question of guilt and the process of getting disillusioned from war are topics
of this authentic and exiting drama. Especially during these days of advertising warfare
as a means of politics 'Journey's End' is an insightful portrait of war...

A student's short review + help with your exam., 06 Jun 2008
I have read Hamlet, however it was not this edition. I have seen these editions in store and they are rather tatty looking, the paper is recycled so that's to be expected. These types of books suit people who are limited in cash perhaps about to board a plane and need something to read. If your a student, your teacher will have already have bought specific books prescribed by the examining board - if this is the case do so and purchase that copy because this does not have notes to explain language or anything.

The play itself is a wonderful piece of literature concerned by deception, political power, and action vs. inaction, perceived madness and religion. Before reading it (if you studying) you should get context about Denmark (where the play is set) but also England (where Shakespeare wrote it) as the two interlink, many of the themes present in Hamlet did actually happen during the time it was written, so do not completely ignore context.


To be , or not to be..., 19 Dec 2007
"Hamlet" is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays , telling the tragic tale of the fall from grace of a young Danish prince who succumbs to madness after receiving a visitation from the Ghost of his late father. The Ghost reveals to Hamlet that he was in fact murdered by his brother,Hamlet's uncle, the new King of Denmark. Hamlet rapidly becomes deranged and murderous and the whole sorry tale concludes with a string of untimely deaths. "Hamlet" is packed full of well known characters and quotes and is rightly regarded as a classic of English Literature. This edition of "Hamlet" is quite basic with regards to notes and explanations of some of the medieval language used by the Bard however and this made parts of the play difficult to follow at times.

Hamlet- the play of everything..., 18 Oct 2006
Studying this play for alevel, i was amazed at how enthralled i was with it. Shakespeare gives absolutely everything in this one!
The creation of Hamlet is an outstanding achievement, simply because he is as true a person as you can find. The mixtures of emotion (guilt, rage, sorrow ect) portrays him as real life.
There is simply too much to talk about in this review, so i will shorten by commenting on this play has it all- murder, revenge, love, humour, poetry, modernist ideas and a pure idea of human emotion. Overall, this play is one of the greatest masterpieces ever written.

You will be absorbed into the story, 19 Jul 2005
This really is "The Tragical History of Hamlet Prince of Denmark" and not only the Prince but his family. Not only his family but his friends. Not only his friends but all though that came before him and is told to those that came after him.

You can take time to scrutinize and pick apart many underlying themes or may of the phrases that now challenge Bible sayings in today's sound bites. But the real fun is in just reading the story and you will find that it is not as foreign as you may have thought.

A quick synopsis is that Old Hamlet conquered Old Fortinbras seizing his land. Now that Old Hamlet is dead, Young Fortinbras wants his land back and is willing to take it by force. Meanwhile back in Dänemark Young Hamlet who is excessively grieving for the loss of his father, gets a now insight from his fathers ghost. Looks like he was a victim of a "murder most foul"; it looks like his mother and uncle were in cahoots on the murder.

The story is about what each person felt and acted or did not act upon the situation.

You will find many movies and perverted imitations of the story but nothing will replace the original scripts that were intended to be watched.



if it didnt hav shakespeare on the front, i wudnt look twice, 23 Jul 2004
I read Macbeth not too long ago, i really enjoyed it. It was clever, intelligent, thought provoking but a really good story too. So perhaps my expectations were too high, when i came to study Hamlet as a text for GCSE.
It's dull, monotinous, boring. The only way you can get anything out of it is if you over-analyse to such a level that you change the plot of the play completely! I apologise to all Hamlet fans out there, but i really dont see why this play demonstrates Shakespeare as a great British writer.
The soliloquies are perhaps why the play is most famous, and i had to write a 3000 word essay on how they connect Hamlet to the audience. But they don't. Apart from one, "tis now the very witching time of night..." they are all bland and show nothing but Hamlet's idiocy, stupidity, and cowardice.
So there you go, read it if you will. Who knows, it may be a question in a pub quiz, but i just want to warn you that compared to a lot of Shakespeare's other work, this just isnt up to scratch. sorry xxx

Essential, 04 Sep 2008
Really great book that can be used throughout A level study or as a last minute revision guide.

This would be a good investment, 23 Mar 2004
I'm studying Hamlet at the moment and due to the nature of Shakespeare's over descriptive and complicated yet beautiful language, it's quite hard to follow and concentrate upon the plot. Though when I got this guide, I easily grasped what was happening and was able to concentrate more on the themes and language etc which you have to comment on in exams. It is helpful and gives lots of hints and info into what you're supposed to be focusing on in the scenes. It gives you ideas and pushes you in the right direction if you are struggling. It even has a glossary to simplify meanings and words. A more thorough understanding can be made from Hamlet and in the end you'll wonder why you didn't get this sooner. For five pounds, it's worth it, if you get an 'a' in your exams.

Getting to the Heart of Hamlet?, 23 Feb 2004
This is one of the most thorough study guides on the market, not likely to confuse anyone and particularly well informed on the latest developments in critical approaches to the play though never too dense for the average school student to digest. The scene summaries and commentaries are models of clarity and precision whilst the textual analyses are searching, provocative and incisive. There is an excellent bibliography and useful pointers to websites, films and theatrical tradition. An invaluable introduction to advanced studies and a handy revision tool for teachers pressurised to work on the play at short notice!

Nice clear summary of the action, 15 Apr 2002
The best aspect of this guide to Hamlet is the careful scene-by-scene summary of the action. The plot seems not so tricky to follow, after all. It's also good to be reminded of the significant differences between the quarto and folio versions of the play. Perhaps the authors should have devoted a bit more space to the really big issue raised by the play: the intermingling of good and evil in human existence. The assessment of Ophelia's character is strangely thin, as well. But it's very helpful, all in all.

A difficult task, 10 Apr 2000
To make an "informative" notebook on such a vast and complicated work, will never be easy. There are simply too many interpretative opportunities. But York Notes list up most of the basics, in a comprehensive manner.

A very witty masterpiece , 11 Mar 2008
In my quest to read more work by Irish literary greats this year, I recently purchased a newly repackaged Penguin Popular Classic version of Oscar Wilde's 1895 play The Importance of Being Earnest. This edition, with its vibrant green cover and tracing-paper thin paper (all 100 per cent recycled), retails for a meagre £2 -- that's a very cheap price for a masterpiece, in my opinion.

I had seen a film version of this play a couple of years ago (the 2002 version starring Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Frances O'Connor, Reese Witherspoon and Judi Dench) and I remember laughing out loud at a lot of it. But seeing the words in black-and-white print makes them seem even funnier -- if that is possible.

For those who don't know the storyline, the brief synopsis goes something like this: Country gentleman Jack Worthing invents a younger brother, Ernest, whom he pretends to be when he visits the city. This gives him free reign to pursue the beautiful Gwendolen. Meanwhile his city-based friend, Algernon Moncrieff, invents a poorly relative, Bunbury, whom he pretends to visit in the country in order that he can leave his dull city existence behind for a bit of fun and frivolity. One day Algernon pretends to be Ernest and visits Jack's pretty charge, Cecily, in the country, which leads to all kinds of confusion about identity. Obviously, Jack is not happy, but when his own deceptive behaviour is called into question, the scene is ripe for much farce and hilarity.

In three short acts, this play delivers so many laughs and classic one-liners it's difficult to appreciate the genius of it in just one reading. Fortunately, it's short enough -- just 67 pages in this edition -- to read cover-to-cover twice in a very short amount of time.

How many people haven't heard this line?

* (Delivered by Lady Bracknell to Jack): To lose one parent, Mr Worthing, may be regarded as misfortune: to lose both looks like carelessness.

Or this one:
* (Delivered by Gwendolen to Cecily): I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.

But it's not just the lines which are funny, but the setting and the ways in which they are delivered that makes certain scenes especially comedic. This scene, in which Cecily serves tea and cake to her new rival in love, Gwendolen, is a good example of Wilde's ability to capture the little details in people's behaviour that conveys so much about their character and mood.

Cecily [sweetly]: Sugar?
Gwendolen [superciliously]: No thank you. Sugar is not fashionable any more. [Cecily looks angrily at her, takes up the tongs and puts four lumps of sugar in the cup.]
Cecily [severely]: Cake or bread and butter?
Gwendolen [in a bored manner]: Bread and butter, please. Cake is rarely seen at the best houses nowadays.
Cecily [cuts a very large slice of cake and puts it on the tray]: Hand that to Miss Fairfax.

Without wishing to wax lyrical, this is a sumptuous, dazzling read -- a wonderfully clever farce to brighten up the dullest day. It's tightly written, with not a word wasted, and there's a delightful conclusion in which all the lose ends are brought together and tied up with an unexpected flourish. Masterpiece, indeed.

absolutely brilliant!, 29 Nov 2007
everything about this book is perfect, the timing, the comedy, the situation. I can't even go into how fantastic it is, but i know that Osar Wilde is a genius and i wish he was still around, read this book, and don't loose out another second without it!

A very enjoyable reading, witty and full of "English" humor, 16 Jun 2005
Despite the fact that I usually like to watch plays, not so much to read them on paper, I found "The Importance of Being Earnest" a very enjoyable reading. The plot is greatly witty and I had a real fun reading several scenes described in this book. Given the theatrical style, the overall plot is not quite realistic, yet it is highly brilliant and full of "English" humor. After having read the book, I also bought the Audio-CD version of it, which I also enjoyed sincerely.

The Importance of Reading Earnest, 13 Dec 2004
I personally think that this play is fantastic. Superficially it is a very trivial, lighthearted play with little plot but peppered with witty conceits. On a deeper level it provides an incredible, satirical view of Victorian moral society, from one of the the 'insiders'. The links between the play and the life of Wilde are rife, especially regarding Algernon. I would recommend it wholeheartedly.

The wittiest play ever written in the English language, 11 Jul 2004
"The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People" is one of the first plays written in English since the works of Shakespeare that celebrates the language itself. Oscar Wilde's comedy has one advantage over the classic comedies of the Bard in that "The Importance of Being Earnest" is as funny today as it was when it was first performed at the St. Jame's Theater in London on February 14, 1895. After all, enjoying Shakespeare requires checking the bottom for footnotes explaining the meaning of those dozens of words that Shakespeare makes up in any one of his plays. But Wilde's brilliant wit, his humor and social satire, remain intact even though he was a writer of the Victorian era.

Wilde believed in art for art's own sake, which explains why he emphasized beauty while his contemporaries were dealing with the problems of industrial England. "The Importance of Being Earnest" is set among the upper class, making fun of their excesses and absurdities while imbuing them with witty banter providing a constant stream of epigrams. The play's situation is simple in its unraveling complexity. Algernon Moncrieff is an upper-class English bachelor who is visited by his friend Jack Worthing, who is known as "Ernest." Jack has come to town to propose to Gwendolen Fairfax, the daugher of the imposing Lady Bracknell and Algy's first cousin. Jack has a ward named Cecily who lives in the country while Algernon has an imaginary friend named "Bunbury" whom he uses as an excuse to get out of social engagements.

Jack proposes to Gwendolen but has two problems. First, Gwendolen is wiling to agree because his name is Ernest, a name that "seems to inspire absolute confidence," but which, of course, is not his true Christian name. Second, Lady Bracknell objects to Jack as a suitor when she learns he was abandoned by his parents and found in a handbag in Victoria Station by Mr. Thomas Cardew. Meanwhile, Algernon heads off to the country to check out Cecily, to whom he introduces himself as being her guardian Jack's brother Ernest. This meets with Ceclily's approval because in her diary she has been writing about her engagement to a man named Ernest. Then things get really interesting.

Wilde proves once and for all time that the pun can indeed be elevated to a high art form. Throughout the entire play we have the double meaning of the word "earnest," almost to the level of a conceit, since many of the play's twists and turns deal with the efforts of Jack and Algernon to be "Ernest," by lying, only to discover that circumstances makes honest men of them in the end (and of the women for that matter as well). There is every reason to believe that Wilde was making a point about earnestness being a key ideal of Victorian culture and one worthy of being thoroughly and completely mocked. Granted, some of the puns are really bad, and the discussion of "Bunburying" is so bad it is stands alone in that regard, but there is a sense in which the bad ones only make the good ones so glorious and emphasize that Wilde is at his best while playing games with the English language.

But if Wilde's puns are the low road then his epigrams represent the heights of his genius, especially when they are used by the characters in an ironic vein (e.g., "It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal" and "I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance"). Jack is the male lead, but it is Algernon who represents the ideal Wilde character, who insists he is a rebel speaking out against the institutions of society, such as marriage, but with attacks that are so flamboyant and humorous that the cleverness of the humor ends up standing apart from the inherent point.

In the end, "The Importance of Being Earnest" is the wittiest play every written, in English or any other language, and I doubt that anything written in the future will come close. Wilde was essentially a stand-up comedian who managed to create a narrative in which he could get off dozens of classic one-liners given a high-class sheen by being labeled epigrams. Like a comedian he touches on several topics, from the aristocracy, marriage, and the literary world to English manners, women, love, religion, and anything else that came to his fertile mind. But because it is done with such a lighthearted tone that the barbs remain as timely today as they were at the end of the 19th-century and "The Importance of Being Earnest" will always be at the forefront of the plays of that time which will continue to be produced.

Emotion, Friendship juxtaposed with Pure Horror and Brutality, 06 Dec 2007
'Journey's End' opens in the bleak environment of the Western Front as a new arrival James Raleigh comes to join a group of soldiers in the trench system. The 'journey' on which the soldiers embark upon is contains two human attributes, the first being emotional attachment, the second being the power of perceiverance.

Sherriff does not need to go into the graphic details of what happens when the men 'go over the top', however he builds up a number of passionate friendships that both move and endear the reader. The first of these relationships is between Commander Stanhope and Officer Osborne who is 'the only man who could understand me' as described by the company commander at the moment of Osborne's demise. Their relationship is one of two brothers as they look after each other on the Front line - 'what would I ever do without you old chap' exclaims Stanhope, 'I do not know' responds Osborne - inferring the loving relationship the two characters share. At the moment of Osborne's death I was shocked at the anger that welled up inside Stanhope as he responded to the comments from the survivors of the daylight raid on 'the Boche'. He shouts at Hibbert - 'What did you say!...Get out of my sight!' in anger at losing his 'most trusted friend' and the sense of loss is only solidified by the explosion of emotion that feels his dialogue whilst conversing with Raleigh (the soul commanding survivor of the raid).

The audience can fully understand the sense of anger that is perpetuated by Stanhope at the loss of his comrade. The loss moves the reader as the emotional outpouring fills six pages of intense dialogue between the commanding officer and the other soldiers.

The opposite reaction can be found at the climax of the performance. Stanhope must deal with another loss, this time of his school friend and new arrival Raleigh. The young officer's death is one of immense sadness and brutality as the 'young boy's' dignity is ripped from him as 'he cannot walk sir' - though the most sombre moment comes when Raleigh asks 'is there something on my legs, I cannot move them' unbeknown to him that he is in fact paralysed from shrapnel breaking his spine. This horrific brutality is finalised with the death of 'that fine soldier'. This moment is devoid of anger or confusion, but bears down to the horrific truth of war time conflict. Sherriff highlights the horrific truth with the final dialogue between another officer and Stanhope. Stanhope must leave his fallen friend, 'I'm coming now', as he is called to duty. The audience is left feeling immense for the soldier who thought 'it awful nice of you to bother' when Stanhope fetches him a blanket and a candle as his last dying wish.

Sherriff allows two redeeming features to the two horrific deaths of the soldiers lie with the ignorance of Raleigh and the rapid death endured by Osborne whilst 'waiting for Raleigh on the Front line'. However this only adds to the brilliance of the play as a piece of anti war artwork.

Sherriff is fantastic at delivering a dialogue that not only amuses in places and heartens the audience but also plunges them to the depths of dispair at the brutality and senselessness of war. Two young men die in the play, along with six nameless others, however Sherriff only touches the tip of the iceberg with the play, but my does this tip deliver a piercing cut to the audience. It is emotive and passionate in its description of the group of men in the trenches, but accompanying this is a forceful message that highlights the stupid senselessness of the war effort and pays remeberance to the young souls who fell throughou the Great War.

Very Effective, 09 Aug 2005
This was recommended to me after I read and very much enjoyed 'All Clear On The Western Front'. It's similar in nature I suppose, looking at the human aspect of World War One, though Western Front seems to get across far more starkly just how ghastly it all was.

Some of that will no doubt be down to the fact that Journey's End concentrates on the lives of officers who had a higher standard of living even in the trenches. Also, with Journey's End being a play it is set over a far shorter timeframe which leaves less options to develop each of the characters.

The key player, Stanhope, is a young officer in charge of a company who is suffering incredible stress and keeping his head above water merely with the use of whiskey. They other key officers are all suffering in their own ways, with Raleigh a newcomer who is initially extremely optimistic though quickly shocked into the realities of the war.

There are two key characters killed during the course of the play and the loss is felt in a moving way. You do feel for each of the characters which I guess is a good example of how well written they are.

I've never really been one for reading plays, preferring to see them of course, but this reads well. Now, I must see it.

Not That Bad!, 05 Jul 2005
I have studied this book at a-level and it was a great read. The book allows the reader to develop an understanding of what life would have been like during the war. The book includes some sad and drastic elements, but humour is also a major part of the play. Worth buying your own copy if you're currently studying it!

GCSE? Grin n bear it cos it really aint that bad..., 05 Jun 2004
Novels i can handle, but poetry and plays are the death of me. But y'know what, i've studied a fair few plays in my time - and this is one of the better ones. So grit your teeth and get on with it, cos you could have a lot worse for your literature exam - trust me.
The WW1 play, follows the story of Stanhope, Osbourne, Trotter and Raleigh. Four interlinking characters that are the main reason why the play is so good.
Trotter, i always immagine him as a butcher for some reason, he's a cheery sort of a guy. Doesnt think too much about things, likes his food. Corrie fans - think of a less scary Fred Elliott.
Osbourne - when i grow old i wanna grow old with someone like Osbourne. Everyone calls him "Uncle" and he's the father figure of the group. He's ind, considerate, friendly and generally 'a good old chap.'
Raleigh is the young'n of the group, and he represents the public's misaprehensions of the war. He's the type of guy you'd like to take home to meet the parents.
Stanhope is a mixture of the lot, and a lot else besides. But i'd be here all day if i told you all i could about him - so i'll let you discover his immensly intrecate persona fpr yourself.
It's not a long play. But maybe that was Sherrif's intention, just like going to war it's over practically as soon as you begin.
It's a good play, enjoy it.

Journey's End - A portrait of war, 05 Mar 2003
Surprisingly R.C. Sherrif's 'Journeys End' is about boredom.
Captain Stanhope's company is bored of waiting for an order in a dugout
at the frontline in World War I. The only catastrophy for them could be
some mud in their tea. This british humor makes 'Journey's End' seem to be
very surrealistic. But on closer consideration the reader will be confronted
with the reality of war. Being bored of waiting for your own death could be
a description for the situation of the characters. The author manages to express
very smoothly without any discription of death itself. The missuse of power,
the question of guilt and the process of getting disillusioned from war are topics
of this authentic and exiting drama. Especially during these days of advertising warfare
as a means of politics 'Journey's End' is an insightful portrait of war...

A student's short review + help with your exam., 06 Jun 2008
I have read Hamlet, however it was not this edition. I have seen these editions in store and they are rather tatty looking, the paper is recycled so that's to be expected. These types of books suit people who are limited in cash perhaps about to board a plane and need something to read. If your a student, your teacher will have already have bought specific books prescribed by the examining board - if this is the case do so and purchase that copy because this does not have notes to explain language or anything.

The play itself is a wonderful piece of literature concerned by deception, political power, and action vs. inaction, perceived madness and religion. Before reading it (if you studying) you should get context about Denmark (where the play is set) but also England (where Shakespeare wrote it) as the two interlink, many of the themes present in Hamlet did actually happen during the time it was written, so do not completely ignore context.


To be , or not to be..., 19 Dec 2007
"Hamlet" is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays , telling the tragic tale of the fall from grace of a young Danish prince who succumbs to madness after receiving a visitation from the Ghost of his late father. The Ghost reveals to Hamlet that he was in fact murdered by his brother,Hamlet's uncle, the new King of Denmark. Hamlet rapidly becomes deranged and murderous and the whole sorry tale concludes with a string of untimely deaths. "Hamlet" is packed full of well known characters and quotes and is rightly regarded as a classic of English Literature. This edition of "Hamlet" is quite basic with regards to notes and explanations of some of the medieval language used by the Bard however and this made parts of the play difficult to follow at times.

Hamlet- the play of everything..., 18 Oct 2006
Studying this play for alevel, i was amazed at how enthralled i was with it. Shakespeare gives absolutely everything in this one!
The creation of Hamlet is an outstanding achievement, simply because he is as true a person as you can find. The mixtures of emotion (guilt, rage, sorrow ect) portrays him as real life.
There is simply too much to talk about in this review, so i will shorten by commenting on this play has it all- murder, revenge, love, humour, poetry, modernist ideas and a pure idea of human emotion. Overall, this play is one of the greatest masterpieces ever written.

You will be absorbed into the story, 19 Jul 2005
This really is "The Tragical History of Hamlet Prince of Denmark" and not only the Prince but his family. Not only his family but his friends. Not only his friends but all though that came before him and is told to those that came after him.

You can take time to scrutinize and pick apart many underlying themes or may of the phrases that now challenge Bible sayings in today's sound bites. But the real fun is in just reading the story and you will find that it is not as foreign as you may have thought.

A quick synopsis is that Old Hamlet conquered Old Fortinbras seizing his land. Now that Old Hamlet is dead, Young Fortinbras wants his land back and is willing to take it by force. Meanwhile back in Dänemark Young Hamlet who is excessively grieving for the loss of his father, gets a now insight from his fathers ghost. Looks like he was a victim of a "murder most foul"; it looks like his mother and uncle were in cahoots on the murder.

The story is about what each person felt and acted or did not act upon the situation.

You will find many movies and perverted imitations of the story but nothing will replace the original scripts that were intended to be watched.



if it didnt hav shakespeare on the front, i wudnt look twice, 23 Jul 2004
I read Macbeth not too long ago, i really enjoyed it. It was clever, intelligent, thought provoking but a really good story too. So perhaps my expectations were too high, when i came to study Hamlet as a text for GCSE.
It's dull, monotinous, boring. The only way you can get anything out of it is if you over-analyse to such a level that you change the plot of the play completely! I apologise to all Hamlet fans out there, but i really dont see why this play demonstrates Shakespeare as a great British writer.
The soliloquies are perhaps why the play is most famous, and i had to write a 3000 word essay on how they connect Hamlet to the audience. But they don't. Apart from one, "tis now the very witching time of night..." they are all bland and show nothing but Hamlet's idiocy, stupidity, and cowardice.
So there you go, read it if you will. Who knows, it may be a question in a pub quiz, but i just want to warn you that compared to a lot of Shakespeare's other work, this just isnt up to scratch. sorry xxx

A Doll's House is a masterpiece, 08 Mar 2005
I read this book not knowing what to expect (my partner is studying Enlish Lit' with the Open University and it is on her reading list).

I think it is a masterpiece, so much drama and suspense trapped inside such a small play, it is very clever and also leaves you feeling that you are a better person for having read it.

My partner paid £0.99 for this book, I would say this price does the book an injustice. A classic to rival 'The Medea'

A brilliant play on Marrige, Supression and Feminisme., 22 Jan 2003
Henrik Ibsen in one of the most famous Norwegian writers thoughout the world. And he is known for his plays where he gives a critical view upon the society.
In this play, everything happens around the main character Nora. She is innocent, naiv and has no education at all, just like most women of her social rank had at that time. Her husband, Torvald, is well known in the city, and his wife is just a "doll". She isn't supposed to have opinions on anything, just smile and look pretty in this male dominated world.
When Torvald Helmer finds out that his wife has "stole" money from her father to be able to pay for a health insitution for him, he's shocked. Nora, not understand what she might have done wrong, was only trying to help her husband, and yet protect her dying father. She wakes up, starting feel independant, wanting to discover herself...
Ibsen was a master of showing different sides of the social levels, and giving a critic view on what he didn't like. He has done it yet again, focusing on the marriage of these two people. Supression and a male dominated world is central aspects, and also the growing feminisme.
The book is worth reading for anyone how loves to read. It is truly one of Ibsen's best plays!

Themes and images I enjoyed thinking about., 26 Jan 2001
When I completed reading, "A Doll's House", by Henrik Ibsen, I had thoroughly enjoyed, this particluar piece of literature and thought about how its themes and images, relate to my own personal experiences. Not only does the play have its motives for the past, but it also serves as a revealing a moral message for modern day society.

Whilst reading the text, Ibsen allows me to mentally picture, "A Doll's House", by so many walls and "doors", which confined the chararcters to becoming alienated within their own environment.

From beginning to end, the text focuses on how Nora becomes isolated by her husband's dominance, which is portrayed through his patronizing behaviour. He calls her, "little spendrift", "little squirrel" and manipulates his, "doll wife" when he articulates her moves, for practicing the "Tarrantella". Overall, Nora becomes the, "songbird" trapped within a cage.

Krogstad is symbolic for bringing the threat of the outside world, into Nora's idealized home, through his blackmailing behaviour. It is frightening to know the damage it causes to ruin a beautiful relationship, which is based on a lie, that metophorically contaminates and poisons individuals within an enclosed home.I found that the atmosphere was so stifiling for the characters,I felt symapthetic towards them.

Ibsen's moral message entails, in order for women to feel independent, they need to get to know themselves, so they are able to experience, develop knowledge and deal with the outside world alone. This is what Ibsen wanted to portray to a Nineteenth Century audience.Ibsen's play relates to everyday experiences, such as, "debt", causing a home to, "never be a place of freedom and beauty". This piece of literature is so powerful, that I believe it is one of Ibsen's most striking master pieces, I have ever read that deals with conventions and norms of women living in a Victorian masculine society.

An interesting and insightful text which I enjoyed studying, 22 Oct 2000
As a part of my A level studies I have concentrated on this text. I have found it most interesting and insightful if a little hard to comprehend at first. This edition is very good for the price but is by no means upto the standard of other texts which boast analysis and also the alternative ending. I have yet to find a good sudy guide to this text so it is perhaps worth investing in a more facilitative original text if your intention is for study.

Be inspired to read Ibsen's plays!!, 22 Oct 2000
This is a great version of the play. The notes and charcter information is really useful and I would reccommend this version to anyone studying A Doll's House. The translation is good and easier to follow than some other versions. It is also useful if you are studying the Victorian period because Ibsen had great insight into his society. It has inspired me to read more of Ibsen's plays.

Essential, 04 Sep 2008
Really great book that can be used throughout A level study or as a last minute revision guide.

This would be a good investment, 23 Mar 2004
I'm studying Hamlet at the moment and due to the nature of Shakespeare's over descriptive and complicated yet beautiful language, it's quite hard to follow and concentrate upon the plot. Though when I got this guide, I easily grasped what was happening and was able to concentrate more on the themes and language etc which you have to comment on in exams. It is helpful and gives lots of hints and info into what you're supposed to be focusing on in the scenes. It gives you ideas and pushes you in the right direction if you are struggling. It even has a glossary to simplify meanings and words. A more thorough understanding can be made from Hamlet and in the end you'll wonder why you didn't get this sooner. For five pounds, it's worth it, if you get an 'a' in your exams.

Getting to the Heart of Hamlet?, 23 Feb 2004
This is one of the most thorough study guides on the market, not likely to confuse anyone and particularly well informed on the latest developments in critical approaches to the play though never too dense for the average school student to digest. The scene summaries and commentaries are models of clarity and precision whilst the textual analyses are searching, provocative and incisive. There is an excellent bibliography and useful pointers to websites, films and theatrical tradition. An invaluable introduction to advanced studies and a handy revision tool for teachers pressurised to work on the play at short notice!

Nice clear summary of the action, 15 Apr 2002
The best aspect of this guide to Hamlet is the careful scene-by-scene summary of the action. The plot seems not so tricky to follow, after all. It's also good to be reminded of the significant differences between the quarto and folio versions of the play. Perhaps the authors should have devoted a bit more space to the really big issue raised by the play: the intermingling of good and evil in human existence. The assessment of Ophelia's character is strangely thin, as well. But it's very helpful, all in all.

A difficult task, 10 Apr 2000
To make an "informative" notebook on such a vast and complicated work, will never be easy. There are simply too many interpretative opportunities. But York Notes list up most of the basics, in a comprehensive manner.

A very witty masterpiece , 11 Mar 2008
In my quest to read more work by Irish literary greats this year, I recently purchased a newly repackaged Penguin Popular Classic version of Oscar Wilde's 1895 play The Importance of Being Earnest. This edition, with its vibrant green cover and tracing-paper thin paper (all 100 per cent recycled), retails for a meagre £2 -- that's a very cheap price for a masterpiece, in my opinion.

I had seen a film version of this play a couple of years ago (the 2002 version starring Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Frances O'Connor, Reese Witherspoon and Judi Dench) and I remember laughing out loud at a lot of it. But seeing the words in black-and-white print makes them seem even funnier -- if that is possible.

For those who don't know the storyline, the brief synopsis goes something like this: Country gentleman Jack Worthing invents a younger brother, Ernest, whom he pretends to be when he visits the city. This gives him free reign to pursue the beautiful Gwendolen. Meanwhile his city-based friend, Algernon Moncrieff, invents a poorly relative, Bunbury, whom he pretends to visit in the country in order that he can leave his dull city existence behind for a bit of fun and frivolity. One day Algernon pretends to be Ernest and visits Jack's pretty charge, Cecily, in the country, which leads to all kinds of confusion about identity. Obviously, Jack is not happy, but when his own deceptive behaviour is called into question, the scene is ripe for much farce and hilarity.

In three short acts, this play delivers so many laughs and classic one-liners it's difficult to appreciate the genius of it in just one reading. Fortunately, it's short enough -- just 67 pages in this edition -- to read cover-to-cover twice in a very short amount of time.

How many people haven't heard this line?

* (Delivered by Lady Bracknell to Jack): To lose one parent, Mr Worthing, may be regarded as misfortune: to lose both looks like carelessness.

Or this one:
* (Delivered by Gwendolen to Cecily): I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.

But it's not just the lines which are funny, but the setting and the ways in which they are delivered that makes certain scenes especially comedic. This scene, in which Cecily serves tea and cake to her new rival in love, Gwendolen, is a good example of Wilde's ability to capture the little details in people's behaviour that conveys so much about their character and mood.

Cecily [sweetly]: Sugar?
Gwendolen [superciliously]: No thank you. Sugar is not fashionable any more. [Cecily looks angrily at her, takes up the tongs and puts four lumps of sugar in the cup.]
Cecily [severely]: Cake or bread and butter?
Gwendolen [in a bored manner]: Bread and butter, please. Cake is rarely seen at the best houses nowadays.
Cecily [cuts a very large slice of cake and puts it on the tray]: Hand that to Miss Fairfax.

Without wishing to wax lyrical, this is a sumptuous, dazzling read -- a wonderfully clever farce to brighten up the dullest day. It's tightly written, with not a word wasted, and there's a delightful conclusion in which all the lose ends are brought together and tied up with an unexpected flourish. Masterpiece, indeed.

absolutely brilliant!, 29 Nov 2007
everything about this book is perfect, the timing, the comedy, the situation. I can't even go into how fantastic it is, but i know that Osar Wilde is a genius and i wish he was still around, read this book, and don't loose out another second without it!

A very enjoyable reading, witty and full of "English" humor, 16 Jun 2005
Despite the fact that I usually like to watch plays, not so much to read them on paper, I found "The Importance of Being Earnest" a very enjoyable reading. The plot is greatly witty and I had a real fun reading several scenes described in this book. Given the theatrical style, the overall plot is not quite realistic, yet it is highly brilliant and full of "English" humor. After having read the book, I also bought the Audio-CD version of it, which I also enjoyed sincerely.

The Importance of Reading Earnest, 13 Dec 2004
I personally think that this play is fantastic. Superficially it is a very trivial, lighthearted play with little plot but peppered with witty conceits. On a deeper level it provides an incredible, satirical view of Victorian moral society, from one of the the 'insiders'. The links between the play and the life of Wilde are rife, especially regarding Algernon. I would recommend it wholeheartedly.

The wittiest play ever written in the English language, 11 Jul 2004
"The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People" is one of the first plays written in English since the works of Shakespeare that celebrates the language itself. Oscar Wilde's comedy has one advantage over the classic comedies of the Bard in that "The Importance of Being Earnest" is as funny today as it was when it was first performed at the St. Jame's Theater in London on February 14, 1895. After all, enjoying Shakespeare requires checking the bottom for footnotes explaining the meaning of those dozens of words that Shakespeare makes up in any one of his plays. But Wilde's brilliant wit, his humor and social satire, remain intact even though he was a writer of the Victorian era.

Wilde believed in art for art's own sake, which explains why he emphasized beauty while his contemporaries were dealing with the problems of industrial England. "The Importance of Being Earnest" is set among the upper class, making fun of their excesses and absurdities while imbuing them with witty banter providing a constant stream of epigrams. The play's situation is simple in its unraveling complexity. Algernon Moncrieff is an upper-class English bachelor who is visited by his friend Jack Worthing, who is known as "Ernest." Jack has come to town to propose to Gwendolen Fairfax, the daugher of the imposing Lady Bracknell and Algy's first cousin. Jack has a ward named Cecily who lives in the country while Algernon has an imaginary friend named "Bunbury" whom he uses as an excuse to get out of social engagements.

Jack proposes to Gwendolen but has two problems. First, Gwendolen is wiling to agree because his name is Ernest, a name that "seems to inspire absolute confidence," but which, of course, is not his true Christian name. Second, Lady Bracknell objects to Jack as a suitor when she learns he was abandoned by his parents and found in a handbag in Victoria Station by Mr. Thomas Cardew. Meanwhile, Algernon heads off to the country to check out Cecily, to whom he introduces himself as being her guardian Jack's brother Ernest. This meets with Ceclily's approval because in her diary she has been writing about her engagement to a man named Ernest. Then things get really interesting.

Wilde proves once and for all time that the pun can indeed be elevated to a high art form. Throughout the entire play we have the double meaning of the word "earnest," almost to the level of a conceit, since many of the play's twists and turns deal with the efforts of Jack and Algernon to be "Ernest," by lying, only to discover that circumstances makes honest men of them in the end (and of the women for that matter as well). There is every reason to believe that Wilde was making a point about earnestness being a key ideal of Victorian culture and one worthy of being thoroughly and completely mocked. Granted, some of the puns are really bad, and the discussion of "Bunburying" is so bad it is stands alone in that regard, but there is a sense in which the bad ones only make the good ones so glorious and emphasize that Wilde is at his best while playing games with the English language.

But if Wilde's puns are the low road then his epigrams represent the heights of his genius, especially when they are used by the characters in an ironic vein (e.g., "It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal" and "I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance"). Jack is the male lead, but it is Algernon who represents the ideal Wilde character, who insists he is a rebel speaking out against the institutions of society, such as marriage, but with attacks that are so flamboyant and humorous that the cleverness of the humor ends up standing apart from the inherent point.

In the end,