Transcript The Importance of Being Earnest

Oscar Wilde
The Importance of Being Earnest
A Trivial Comedy for Serious People
The Victorian Age
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.
Victorian Age continued…
• 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.
Timeline
"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)
The Author
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 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)
The Dramatis Personae
Jack Worthing
Y
Algernon Moncrieff
ward of
Gwendolen Fairfax
mother of
Lady Bracknell
Cecily Cardew
aunt of
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)
"
Sources / Links
• http://www.hoboes.com/html/FireBlade/Wilde/earnest/
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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