The Importance of Being Earnest

From Freepedia

The Importance of Being Earnest is a classic Comedy-of-Manners by Oscar Wilde. It was first performed for the public on February 14, 1895 at the St. James' Theatre in London. The play, written in either three or four acts, depending on edition, is regarded by many critics and scholars as being the wittiest play in the English language.

It is set in England during the Victorian era, and its primary source of humour is based upon the main character John's fictitious younger brother Ernest. John's surname, Worthing, is taken from the town where Wilde was staying when he wrote the play.


Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.


Algernon, a wealthy young Londoner, pretends to have a friend named Bunbury who lives in the country and frequently is in ill health. Whenever Algernon wants to avoid an unwelcome social obligation, or just get away for the weekend, he makes an ostensible visit to his "sick friend." In this way Algernon can feign piety and dedication, while having the perfect excuse to get out of town. He calls this practice "Bunburying."

Algernon's real-life best friend lives in the country but makes frequent visits to London. This friend's name is Ernest...or so Algernon thinks. "Ernest" discloses that his visits to the city are also examples of "Bunburying." In the country, "Ernest" goes by his real name, John, and pretends that he has a wastrel brother named Ernest, who lives in London. When John comes to the city, he assumes the name of Ernest and tells everyone he has a brother John who lives in the country.

John wishes to marry Gwendolyn, who is Algernon's cousin, but runs into a few problems. First, Gwendolyn seems to love him only because she believes his name is Ernest, which she thinks is the most beautiful name in the world. Second, Gwendolyn's mother is the terrifying Lady Bracknell. Lady Bracknell is horrified when she learns that John is a foundling who was discovered in a handbag at a railway station.

Algernon gets the idea to visit John in the country, pretending that he is the mysterious brother "Ernest." Unfortunately, unknown to Algernon, John has decided to give up his Bunburying, and to do this he has announced the tragic death of Ernest.

A hilarious series of comic misunderstandings follows, as Algernon-as-Ernest visits the country (as a dead man, as far as the hosts are aware), and John shows up in his mourning clothes. There he encounters John's ward, Cecily, who believes herself in love with Ernest - the non-existent brother she has never met. The play contains many examples of Wilde's famous wit.

It has a small cast, which is as follows:

  • John Worthing
  • Algernon Moncrieff
  • Lady Bracknell
  • Cecily Cardew
  • Gwendolen Fairfax
  • Miss Prism
  • Dr. Chasuble
  • Lane
  • Merriman

Notice that none of the cast is called Ernest: although John pretends to be and turns out to be Ernest, Algernon also pretends to be Ernest. The Character of Algernon Moncrieff, the forever hard-up aristocratic socialite, is a symbolic representation of Wilde himself, and is regarded by both critics and scholars as the wittiest character in the English Canon.

The comedy has been successful even when performed in translation. The title being almost untranslatable, it is then usually staged under the title Bunbury -referring to deceit in general.

Exceptions to this are Germany and The Netherlands. In Germany the reprint of the play and the 2002 movie are called "Ernst sein ist alles" (literally Being Earnest is all), keeping the pun of the original title. (Ernst being both a first name and a synonym for being serious in German). In The Netherlands it has been translated as Het belang van Ernst, in which the pun is also fully functional.

It is sometimes erroneously suggested that some of the expressions in the play have their origins in homosexual subculture of the 1890s. Thus, it is claimed that "Earnest" was used as a euphemism for homosexual, and "Bunburying" meant the art of living a secret homosexual life while appearing to be heterosexual to the outside world: the use of such terms in such a manner is unattested before the date of publication.

Four-act version

When the play was originally performed, it was in four acts. The "missing" extra act, coming between the current second and third, contained an extra character, Mr Grimsby the solicitor, who turns up from London with bills run up by "Ernest" (John) and attempts to get "Ernest" (Algernon) to pay them. The play was edited down to its current three-act form early in the original run, but the four-act version is still sometimes performed.

Movie versions

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Retrieved from "http://en.freepedia.org/The_Importance_of_Being_Earnest.html"


Views
Personal tools
In other languages
Similar Links