The Importance of Being Earnest and Four Other Plays

LDIVRLDIVRLIRThe Importance of Being Earnest and Four Other PlaysL/IR, by LSTRONGROscar WildeL/BR, is part of the LIRBarnes Noble ClassicsL/IRLIR L/IRseries, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of LIRBarnes Noble ClassicsL/IR: LDIVRNew introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. LIRBarnes Noble Classics L/IRpulls together a constellation of influences--biographical, historical, and literary--to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.L/DIVRL/DIVRL/DIVRLDIVRLSTRONGRL/BR L/DIVRLDIVRLSTRONGROscar WildeL/BR's legendary wit dazzles in LIRThe Importance of Being EarnestL/IR, one of the greatest and most popular works of drama to emerge from Victorian England. A light-hearted satire of the absurdity of all forms and conventions, this comic masterpiece features an unforgettable cast of characters who, as critic Max Beerbohm observed, "speak a kind of beautiful nonsense--the language of high comedy, twisted into fantasy." L/DIVRLPRThis collection also includes Oscar Wilde's most famous comedies, LIRLady Windermere's FanL/IR, LIRA Woman of No ImportanceL/IR, and LIRAn Ideal HusbandL/IR, as well as his poetic tragedy LIRSalom�L/IR--all written between 1891 and 1895, Wilde's most creative period. George Bernard Shaw said of Oscar Wilde that he is "our most thorough playwright. He plays with everything: with wit, with philosophy, with drama, with actors and audience, with the whole theater." L/PRLPRLBRKenneth KraussL/BR received his Ph.D. from Columbia University. He teaches drama at the College of Saint Rose, where he also directs and produces. His most recent book is LIRThe Drama of Fallen FranceL/IR, on French theater under the German Occupation. L/PR