The Importance of Being Earnest

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

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 Main Characters

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 • “Bunburrying” is using an alias to “get away with” avoiding social obligations

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

Oscar Wilde - Author • Born in Ireland; lived in England and abroad • Attended Trinity College in Ireland and Oxford University in England • Very witty and funny • Believed in the value of “art for art’s sake” - art (literature) should not be concerned with political issues • Wrote several plays, but only one novel • Novel: The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde • With other writers and artists, rebelled against the prim, moral, religious culture of Victorian England • Was known to be wild, flamboyant, witty, handsome, dramatic, completely unique, and loved to shock people • Came from an upper-class family • Although homosexual, married and had children • Being homosexual was illegal, and he served time in prison for it – never allowed to see his family again and spent the remainder of his days in Paris until he died there alone

Literary Vocabulary • Comedy of Manners – a form of comedy that satirizes the manners and affectations of contemporary society and questions societal standards • Epigram – a pithy (significant/expressive) saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever and amusing way • Inversion – reversal of the normal order of words, typically for rhetorical effect • Irony - used for humorous or emphatic effect – the expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite

Literary Vocabulary • 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 • Farce – a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously improbable situations

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 • Motif - a recurring character or element repeated in a literary work. Food is a motif in The Importance of Being Earnest

Major Themes and Motifs • Marriage — Courtship and marriage are the driving forces of the play as characters discuss the nature of marriage and have their engagements impeded by trivial obstacles. • Morality — The play includes ideas of Victorian morality and reveals how these strict moral rules constrain society. Wilde also unearths the hypocrisy and paradox of Victorian moral standards. • Deception — Jack and Algernon both invent fictional people so they can escape their lives in the country and city respectively. Cecily also creates a fictional engagement to Ernest. As the characters' deceptions collide, the line between fact and fiction becomes muddled.

The Importance of Being Earnest 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.” • “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 was popular on Broadway in New York City https://www.broadway.com/shows/importance-being-earnest/

The Importance of Being Earnest