OSCAR WILDE ( ) The Importance of Being Earnest

Childhood  Wilde’s father, William Wilde was educated as a doctor, was medical advisor during the Irish Census of 1841  Specialized in ear and eye diseases  Opened St. Mark’s Ophthalmic Hospital in Dublin, as a service to the poor

 Wilde’s mother, Jane Francesca Elgee, was a poet with a working knowledge of most European languages  Had three children  William “Willie” Charles Kingsbury  Oscar Fingal O’Flahertief (October 16, 1854)  Isola Emily Francesca

 Oscar attended the Portora Royal School at Enniskillen  Studied the classics  Top of his class his last two years  Attended Trinity College in Dublin, earned several awards and graduated top of his class  Published his first collection of poetry, “Poems,” in 1881

 May 29, 1884 – married Constance Lloyd  Two children  Cyril in 1885  Vyvyan in 1886

Major Works  Children’s Stories  “The Happy Prince and Other Tales” (1888)  “The House of Pomegranates” (1892)  Novel  “The Picture of Dorian Gray” (1890) – plot was considered immoral by Victorians  Plays  Lady Windermere’s Fan (1892)  A Woman of No Importance (1893)  An Ideal Husband (1895)  The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)

Last Years  Summer of 1891 – met Lord Alfred “Bosie” Douglas  Became involved romantically  Bosie’s father accused Wilde of homosexuality  Oscar was arrested and convicted of gross indecency and sentenced to two years hard labor  Wrote “The Ballad of Reading Gaol,” a response to his agony in prison  A recurrent ear infection became meningitis; Oscar died November 30, 1900

The Importance of Being Earnest  Setting  Victorian England, Queen Victoria's reign from June 1837 until her death in January 1901 long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence for Britain High levels of morality Sexual restraint Low tolerance of crime Strict social code of conduct

 Themes  Triviality - "That we should treat all trivial things in life very seriously, and all serious things of life with a sincere and studied triviality.” – Oscar Wilde  Duplicity to avoid public situations

 Comedy of Manners  an entertainment form which satirizes the manners and affectations of a social class or of multiple classes  often represented by stereotypical stock characters  also known as a Restoration comedy  The plot, often concerned with scandal, is generally less important than its witty dialogue.