A Trivial Comedy for Serious People

In the Victorian Age, which encompassed the last quarter of the nineteenth century,
England was at its climax of power. The
British Empire extended all over the world, coining the phrase, "The sun never sets in the British Empire."
The era saw the flourishing of the English aristocracy, but the rise of the elite created a huge wealth disparity between the very rich and the very poor.
Wilde, a respected member of the upperclass, concentrated his satirical efforts only on the aristocracy.

The Victorians were interested in order and manners.
This emphasis on manners grew from the idea that life would be improved if it became more refined, more rationally organized, better policed, and therefore safer.

"Oscar took the ball of talk wherever it happened to be and played with it so humorously that everyone was soon smiling delightedly.“
(Frank Harris)

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.

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 shoulder-length 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 controversial trial and imprisonment, Earnest closed down.
It was revived in 1902, without the 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)

Algernon Moncrieff Jack Worthing
Y ward of
Gwendolen Fairfax mother of
Lady Bracknell aunt of
Cecily Cardew

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.

" (Algernon, Act I)

• http://www.hoboes.com/html/FireBlade/Wilde/earnest/
The full text of The Importance of Being Earnest
• http://together.net/~theatre/earnest/synopsis.htm
A short synopsis and analysis of Earnest
• http://www.english.upenn.edu/~cmazer/imp.html
Wilde, Society, and Society Drama : an essay
• http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/earnest/ information for pupils
• http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~govind/earnest.html
questions and quotes
• http://www.showgate.com/tots/gross/wildeweb.html
the world wilde web
• http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/8889/poetry/mp-wilde.htm
The Monty Python Oscar Wilde Sketch
• http://www.oscariana.net/ Oscariana – a wonderful fan site