1. THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
By OSCAR WILDE
1895

2. Key Facts
full title · The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People
genre · Social comedy; comedy of manners; satire; intellectual farce
time and place written · Summer 1894 in Worthing, England
date of first production · February 14, In part because of Wilde’s disgrace, the play was not published until 1899.
tone · Light, scintillating, effervescent, deceptively flippant
setting (time) · 1890s (“Present”)
setting (place) · London (Act I) and Hertfordshire, a rural county not far from London (Acts II and III)

3. 1
Complete the character chart. Note relationships, characteriza-tions, and other essential information.
Add Lane and Merriman 3 1 5 2 4 5 3 4 6 2
Relation-ships 7
Characteriza-
tions,
Descriptions 8 7 6

4. Settings and Their Effects
Act 1:
Effects of Setting
Act 2:
Act 3:

5. SUMMARY
protagonist · John Worthing, known as “Ernest” by his friends in town (i.e., London) and as “Jack” by his friends and relations in the country
major conflict · Jack faces many obstacles to his romantic union with Gwendolen. One obstacle is presented by Lady Bracknell (Gwendolen’s Mother), who objects to what she refers to as Jack’s “origins” (i.e. his inability to define his family background). Another obstacle is Gwendolen’s obsession with the name “Ernest,” since she does not know Jack’s real name.
rising action · Algernon ( Jack’s friend in town) discovers that Jack is leading a double life and that he has a pretty young ward named Cecily. The revelation of Jack’s origins causes Lady Bracknell to forbid his union with Gwendolen. Identifying himself as “Ernest,” Algernon visits Jack’s house in the country and falls in love with Cecily.
climax · Gwendolen and Cecily discover that both Jack and Algernon have been lying to them and that neither is really named “Ernest.”
falling action · Miss Prism is revealed to be the governess who mistakenly abandoned Jack as a baby and Jack is discovered to be Algernon’s elder brother, and is in actual fact named Earnest.

6. A Private View at the Royal Academy (1883) by William Powell Frith
Oscar Wilde next to girl in pink dress lecturing on his aesthetic philosophy.
A Private View satirises the aesthetic movement of the late 19th century. Oscar Wilde speaks on his theories of beauty to a crowd of admirers, while John Everett Millais and Anthony Trollope ignore him.[1] Frith specialised in crowd scenes and literary illustrations and rejected Pre-Raphaelitism and the aesthetic movement, the two main artistic trends of English painting during Victoria's reign, making himself unpopular with many of his contemporaries. His career spanned the entire Victorian period, with his first public exhibit in 1838 and his last in 1902

7. Victorian Period – Historical Context
England ( )
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

8. 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

9. Aestheticism: “art for art’s sake”
Theory that spoke for the autonomy of art.
Art was to exist for its own sake, for its own essence or beauty.
The artist was not to be concerned about morality or utility or even the pleasure that a work might bring to its audience.
This approach often contrasted with the strict application of morality, social mannerism, and politics.

10. Comedy – Genre Contexts
Comedy – from komos - a story of the rise in fortune of a sympathetic central character.
Optimistic
Classical comedy can be thought of as the fulfillment of future generations – ends in procreation rites or marriages
Therapeutic
This allows humans to critically view what might be unbearable, or merely uncomfortable, and find solutions, comfort, or solace in situations that could otherwise be unfathomably heinous or merely humiliating.
Inclusive
Opposing forces and culturally different enemies can find common ground in laughter.
Didactic
comedy gives us the uncanny ability to humbly see fault within ourselves, and to change accordingly, without need for defensive repercussions.

11. Conventions of Comedy – Give example of each in Earnest
Hyperbole: exaggeration, overemphasis, overstatement
Incongruity: literary element out of place (time, space, character)
Anticipation: looking forward to something funny
Plant: idea, line, or action established early in the play that is repeated later on
Parody: a composition imitating another, usually serious, piece of work designed to ridicule in nonsensical fashion an original work. Parody : Literature :: caricature : art.

12. Conventions of Comedy – Give example of each in Earnest
Blocking figure: A character, often old and cranky, who interferes with the romantic desires or the other main characters and provides comic action
Deus ex machina: artificial contrivance used to resolve comedic plots
Ambiguity: double meaning, puns, vagueness; leads to misunderstanding.

13. Comedy of Manners
Comedy of Manners is a term that is generally applied to Restoration Comedy 17th Century), Neoclassical Comedy (18th Cent.), and Victorian Comedy (19th Century) – both forms existing in the post-Renaissance world of England and France.
These plays include elements of Romantic comedy and satire. They tend to mock the relations and intrigues of people in the upper classes, rely largely on words and wit, and are often sophisticated and refined.
The Restoration period refers to the restoration of the king (Charles II) to the throne of England, after the Commonwealth Era of Oliver Cromwell, which begins with the beheading of Charles I. ( )
Moliere: The Misanthrope; The Imaginary Invalid
William Congreve: The Way of the World
Oliver Goldsmith: She Stoops to Conquer
Richard Sheridan: The Rivals; The School for Scandal
William Wycherly: The Country Wife

14. LANGUAGE & STRUCTURAL DEVICES cont
FARCE ~ Broadly humorous play based on the exploitation of improbable or ludicrous situations.
Humorous play using exaggerated physical action, slapstick, absurdity & improbability.
Contains surprises where the unexpected is disclosed: Jack misidentifies Prism as his unmarried mother – typical farcical ending.
Farces ~ 3 Acts, Changes in identity, Stock Characters, Misunderstandings between lovers

15. Identify BIG IDEAS and MOTIFS, then analyze how they function to create larger meanings of the play.
Victorian Social Issues. 
The nature of marriage; the constraints of morality; hypocrisy vs. inventiveness; the importance of not being “earnest”; rural vs. urban
Motifs 
naming; puns; inversion; death; the dandy; doubling; food; fiction; writing; parents

16. The Dandy – Character Type
AKA “fop” - the dandy is a man who pays particular attention to his appearance, dress, and lifestyle, almost to the point of excess, while using his wit and charm to point out society’s hypocrisy and double standards.