way2go! 7. Coursebook, Schulbuch

118 LITERATURE Getting to know Oscar Wilde Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was a popular Anglo-Irish author and playwright in late Victorian England 1 known for his brilliant wit and extravagant style. To the present day he is remembered for his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray , his plays, with The Importance of Being Earnest (1894) being the most famous one, and his well-known quotes. Discuss the following quotes together with a partner. Which one do you like best? Why? Are his words still relevant today? Literature along the way 1 “I can resist everything but temptation.” “We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities.” “Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.” “It takes great deal of courage to see the world in all its tainted glory, and still to love it.” “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” “If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you.” “Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” “There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” A B C D E F G H Meeting Lady Bracknell Lady Bracknell is probably one of the most popular characters in Oscar Wilde’s comedy The Importance of Being Earnest . She represents Victorian aristocracy with all its conventions and at the same time satirises it with her witty and pointed remarks. In the following scene Jack Worthing has asked Gwendolen, Lady Bracknell’s daughter, to marry him, and she is willing to accept his proposal. The young lovers are interrupted by Lady Bracknell, who has decided to question Jack as a potential husband for her daughter before giving her consent. Make a list of possible questions Lady Bracknell might be asking Jack Worthing. Then read and listen to the scene. 2 20 1 Victoria was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 to 1901 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv