The Role of Money in Marriage Even though the four plays were written in four different eras, there are quite a few phenomena they have in common. Written in the 16th century, A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare is the oldest among the four dramas. Goldsmith wrote She Stoops to Conquer in 1773, Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest was published in 1895, while Mrs Warren's Profession by Bernard Shaw was written in 1893. It is obvious …showed first 75 words of 2576 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2576 total…purpose" is to entertain. Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest and Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer meet on the common ground of the desire to entertain the reader. However, neither of them gets deeply into the topic of marriage. There is no doubt that all comedies are meant to entertain the audience, but some of them do it in a more serious and considerate manner, focusing on the most striking matters of the writers' age.