The Importance of
Being Earnest
By Oscar Wilde
(1854-1900)
The Importance of Being Earnest







Written in 1895
A Comedy in 3 Acts
Is a satire
Immediate hit when first performed
Criticizes Victorian moral and social values
Bridges Victorian period/literature with Modern
Uses wit, puns, exaggeration, and wordplay to
create humor
Main Characters




John Worthing, aka
“Jack”, aka “Earnest”
Algernon Montcrief,
Jack’s friend
Lane, the butler for
Algernon
Rev. Chausible, the
preacher in the
country




Lady Bracknell,
mother of Gwendolyn
Gwendolyn, wants to
marry a man named
“Earnest”
Cecily, Jack’s ward
Miss Prism, Cecily’s
governess
Settings





Time: Around 1890
Place(s):
London (“the City”)
Jack’s House in the Country (a very large
estate)
The village church
Settings

Jack’s
Country
House
Settings

Jack’s
Drawing
Room
Settings

Lady
Bracknell’s
mansion in
London
Victorian Period





Named for Queen Victoria of England
Was Queen from 1837-1901
Followed the reign of “Mad” King George
The culture was very moral and serious
Women were expected to be the “angel in
the house” - to take care of their husband
and family
Queen Victoria





Became Queen as a
young girl
Married Albert, Prince
Consort and adored him
After he died, she wore
black for the rest of her life
Had 9 children
Created a culture that
valued family and stability
Victorian Period




Manners were supremely important
English society was divided into classes
The Upper-class was well-educated, came
from a rich and respected family (“old
money”), and having good manners
mattered more than anything else
Considered bad manners to flaunt wealth
Victorian Period




Young women were always chaperoned until they
were married
Women’s clothing covered them from neck to
ankle; clothes had to be modest
In the upper classes, people with a bad reputation
were outcasts no matter how much money they
had
Good manners were extremely important
Victorian Fashion

For the
Gentlemen
Victorian Fashion

For the Ladies
Victorian Period




People did not just “drop in” to visit - they
made formal appointments
Refreshments were expected when visitors
came to “call” (visit) - usually tea and cake
or tiny, elegant cucumber sandwiches
Men were expected to be well-educated
Women were expected to marry well
Literary Vocabulary




Comedy - light-hearted literature with
humor and a happy ending
Satire - literary writing that makes fun of or
criticizes the faults of people or groups.
Purpose is to point out flaws
Wit - using words to be clever and funny
with language
Pun - a play on words
Literary Vocabulary



Protagonist - the main character
Foil - the character who contrasts the main
character (the foil “reflects” the traits of the main
character)
Blocking figure - A character, often old and
cranky, who interferes with the romantic desires
or the other main characters and provides comic
action
Literary Vocabulary


Motif - a recurring character or element
repeated in a literary work. Food is a motif
in The Importance of Being Earnest
Protagonist - the main character
The Importance of Being Earnest

Oscar Wilde created
many amusing quotes
Oscar Wilde Quotes


“I always pass on good advice. It is
the only thing to do with it. It is never
of any use to oneself. “
“I can resist everything except
temptation. “
Oscar Wilde Quotes


“I never travel without my diary. One
should always have something
sensational to read in the train. “
“To lose one parent may be regarded
as a misfortune; to lose both looks
like carelessness.”
The Importance of Being Earnest



Even though this play was written more
than 100 years ago, it continues to be very
popular
More than one movie has been made of
this play, the most recent in the past 5-10
years
This play is currently being performed on
Broadway in New York City (through June)
Importance of Being Earnest

The title of the play is a pun.

To be “earnest” means to be serious, and
the main character (John/Jack) uses the
name “Earnest” when he is in the city

“Bunburying” is using an alias to “get away
with” avoiding social obligatioins
Introduction
With “The Importance of Being Earnest“
(1895), Irish-born Oscar Wilde
(1854-1900) created his final and
most lasting play – in every respect,
a masterpiece of modern comedy.
A century later, it produces a wonderful
balance by remaining both a
respected and studied piece of
literature, as well as a favorite with
audiences.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
Next to his literature, Wilde is largely
remembered for his flamboyant lifestyle and
outrageous behaviour, at least as measured
by the times in which he lived.
Educated at the University of Oxford, he wrote
poetry, studied the classics and adopted a
philosophy of "arts for art’s sake". It wasn’t
uncommon to see him strolling through
Picadilly Circus in London, outfitted with a
velvet coat, knee breeches, and shoulderlength hair, carrying a lily.
Wilde and his Play
On Feb. 14, 1895, was the opening night
of the original production of The
Importance of Being Earnest at the St.
James Theatre in London. It was a
major social event, partly due to the
stunning popularity of Wilde: The
Importance of Being Earnest was his
fourth play in only three years.
While Earnest was in rehearsal, Wilde
was in the middle of his troubled but
long-term relationship with Lord Alfred
Douglas, and was being pursued by
Douglas’s father, the homophobic
marquess of Queensberry.
Wilde and his Play
Two weeks later, Queensberry left a calling card in
Wilde‘s mailbox, accusing Wilde of being
homosexual.
Wilde decided to take legal
action and sued Queensberry
for libel, a step that would
backfire. While Queensberry
was acquitted, Wilde was tried
and convicted of homosexual
practices, and subsequently
sentenced to two years hard
labor, in what was called the
trial of the century,
Wilde and his Play
Upon his release in 1897, Wilde moved to Paris. With
broken spirit and empty pockets, he lived out the
remainder of his life in poor health, relying on the
charity of friends.
On Nov. 30, 1900, at the age of 46, Wilde died of
cerebral meningitis. During the height of Wilde's
controversialIttrial
imprisonment,
Earnest
closed
wasand
revived
in 1902, without
the
down.
disgraced playwright's name on the
program. Only in a 1909 revival after his
death, was Wilde's name returned to the
bill, and the play had the long and
commercially successful theatrical run that
it deserved.
And alien tears will fill for him
Pity‘s long broken urn
For his mourners will be outcast men
And outcasts always mourn
(Wilde‘s tombstone)
The Dramatis Personae
Jack Worthing
Y
Algernon Moncrieff
ward
of
Gwendolen Fairfax
aunt
mother
of
of
Lady Bracknell
Cecily Cardew
A "comedy of manners" is defined
as: A comedy concerned with
the social actions and behavior
of members of a highly
sophisticated, upper-class
society.
Genre Notes
Oscar Wilde, rather than focusing on the lower classes
or social conditions, chose to satirize the life of the
English aristocracy, a world with which he was
personally familiar.
His characters are typical Victorian snobs; they are
often arrogant, don’t seem to work at all, are overly
proper, formal and concerned with money.
One of the ways Wilde's wit manifests itself is in puns:
Running throughout the entire play is the double
meaning behind the word earnest, as a male name
and as an adjective for seriousness.
Wilde saw earnestness as being a key ideal in Victorian
culture. Much of British society struck him as dry and
conservative, and so concerned with the
maintenance of social norms that it had become
almost inhuman. The Importance lightly shows the
limitations and unhappiness produced by such a way
of life.
Also fundamental to Wilde's wit is his use of epigrams:
short, witty sayings.
We see this type of humor at work, for instance, as Jack
announces that he has come to town to ask
Gwendolen to marry him; and Algernon responds: "I
thought you had come up for pleasure? I call that
business. I really don't see anything romantic in
proposing. It is very romantic to be in love. The very
essence of romance is uncertainty. If I ever get
married, I'll certainly try to forget the fact."
The Importance has many goals:
It pokes fun at the aristocracy, the literary world,
marriage and love, English manners and customs,
women and men in modern society.
Furthermore, it does so in a lighthearted fashion while
creating some of the most memorable characters in
the history of English theater. It has always been a
huge commercial success because both its humor
and its themes are as timely today as they have ever
been.
It is awfully hard work doing nothing.
(Algernon, Act I)
"