Though not his best play, Wilde's wit, charm, and usual penchant for drama are used to the nth degree here. I found myself amused throughout the majority of it, since even a mediocre Wilde outing is going to have at least some great zingers and heavily quotable material. Lord Goring was the star of the show in that regard, always having the best lines and comedic moments. I liked his character for the most part, with him being the type of friend that everyone deems useless, but really has a great sense of loyalty and compassion. However, he really lost me in the fourth act there with the blatant misogyny that is "a man's life is of more value than a woman's." I understand this was written in a different time and possibly an attempt for Wilde to mirror the scandal of his own identity and situation, but it was just odd to come by in this work.

The plot had me until the fourth act, where any sense of conflict fizzles out completely and oddly conveniently. Our devious antagonist, Mrs. Cheveley has fallen out of the story entirely after one final attempt at blackmail only to fail spectacularly. Again, this was probably due to give a more comedic effect, but it doesn't really make for an engaging final act. I think it would be more interesting to see this play performed, rather than just to read it, to see if the actors would give any nuance to the material.