Wilde wrote nine plays in all between 1879 and 1894. His fame as a dramatist rests on four comedies – Lady Windermere’s Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, The Importance of Being Earnest –, and the tragedy Salomé. His plays continue to dazzle audiences even a century after his death.

May 28, 2006 · Wilde's three Society comedies were produced by different managers: Lady Windermere's Fan by George Alexander at the St James's Theatre (20 February 1892), A Woman of No Importance by Herbert Beerbohm Tree (19 April 1893) and An Ideal Husband (3 January 1895) by Lewis Waller, both at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket.

ration comedies and Wilde’s comedies of manners, as both concern themselves with the aristocracy, have convoluted plots, have foppish characters (born again as the “dandy” in Wilde’s plays, and then con-flated with the “rake,” as well, in Algernon), and are generally satirical in …

Sep 7, 2024 · Wilde wrote nine plays total, including four society comedies in the 1890s that made him London’s most popular playwright. He also penned a few tragedies.

As the first collection of essays about Oscar Wilde's comedies, the contributors re-evaluate Oscar Wilde's society plays as 'comedies of manners" to see whether this is actually an apt way to read Wilde's most emblematic plays.

A comedy of manners is a witty, satirical play which mocks aristocratic society. Wilde revived the comedy of manners, which had its zenith in the Restoration comedies of Sheridan and Goldsmith, to write an immensely popular, funny criticism of Victorian aristocracy.

Rather than labour the interchangeability of “dowdies and dandies” any further, this essay proceeds to discuss a handful of episodes from the Society comedies that accentuate how and why Wilde...

As the first collection of essays specifically about Oscar Wilde’s comedies, the contributors re-evaluate Oscar Wilde’s society plays as “comedies of manners” to see whether this is actually...

Oscar Wilde wrote plays at the fag end of the nineteenth century when the notion of morality and society were swiftly revamping. His plays, chiefly social comedies, deal with the criticism of society, particularly the upper-class aristocratic society.

As the first collection of essays about Oscar Wilde's comedies, the contributors re-evaluate Oscar Wilde's society plays as 'comedies of manners" to see whether this is actually an...