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Overview

People enjoy drama for many reasons. Dramatic works are entertaining, and they also may educate you and even provoke thoughts about life. This course explores the elements of drama and presents excerpts of plays as well as one complete play. It also includes scenarios where fictional students discuss the meaning of the works. Examining certain plays will enable you to increase your understanding of this literary genre.

This course includes five lessons. First, Lesson 1 defines drama and its elements and types. Lesson 2 considers the elements of conflict and setting, and Lesson 3 examines the role of character development in a play. Lesson 4 explores the elements of plot resolution and theme in drama. Finally, Lesson 5 focuses on a complete play.

The course includes the following drama selections:The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

(excerpt)Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (excerpt)

Overview i

Hamlet by William Shakespeare (excerpt)An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen (excerpt)Trifles by Susan Glaspell

This course includes special features. For instance, the lessons provide background information about literary works and authors. This information often examines the time and place when a work was written. Note that language and ideas that are offensive today may not have been considered controversial at the time the literary work was written. Keep in mind that The Hadley School for the Blind does not mean to offend anyone. As another special feature, each lesson includes a fictional class discussion in which students discuss the drama pieces. These fictional students frequently challenge the language or ideas presented in the readings.

The Glossary for this course provides the definitions of certain words that appear in the reading excerpts. The terms are organized according to lesson sections. Before reading an excerpt, review the corresponding list of terms in

Overview ii

the Glossary so you can better understand the excerpt. Note that the Glossary provides the meanings of words only as they are used in the excerpts; these words may have additional meanings. If possible, obtain and use a good dictionary as well.

The section reviews in each lesson are for your personal development only. Do not send your responses to your Hadley instructor. Rather, check your comprehension by comparing your answers with those provided. You can always contact your instructor, however, to clarify concepts.

You are required to submit five assignments, one at the end of each lesson. These assignments enable your instructor to measure your understanding of the material presented in the lessons. Adult Continuing Education (ACE) students must complete Part A of each assignment; they do NOT need to complete Part B. High school students must complete both Part A and Part B of each assignment. Refer to the Getting Started

Overview iii

instructions for information about submitting assignments.

If you are ready to explore drama, begin Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and The Importance of Being Earnest.

Overview iv

Overview v

Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and The Importance of Being

Earnest

Although drama began in ancient times, people today enjoy live plays in theaters, as well as movies and television dramas. Indeed, drama is a major literary genre. This lesson defines drama and its elements, and describes the different types of drama. It then presents Act 1 of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. Finally, it discusses the meaning of this excerpt. Familiarity with the elements of drama will enable you to increase your understanding of this literary genre.

ObjectivesAfter completing this lesson, you will be able toa. define drama and its elementsb. describe different types of dramac. analyze content in Act 1 of The Importance of

Being Earnest by Oscar Wilded. discuss the meaning of Act 1 of The

Importance of Being Earnest

Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ... 1

What Is Drama?People have written and enjoyed plays for centuries. The word drama comes from an ancient Greek word that means "to do" or "to act." The Greek philosopher Aristotle described drama as imitated human action. Throughout history, plays have shared specific elements: character, plot, setting, theme, dialogue, and stagecraft. Note that this lesson focuses on actual stage plays, but much of the information also may apply to contemporary movies.

DefinitionDrama is literature meant to be acted in front of an audience. When you read a play, remember the writer wrote it primarily for people to act, not for people just to read. You are reading the actors' script. So use your imagination, and try reading the play aloud to better understand it.

A play contains dialogue, which is what the characters say. A play may also have stage directions that tell the actors what to do and give information on stagecraft such as lighting. Usually,


a play has five acts, or parts, and each act is divided into smaller parts, or scenes. Each scene advances the plot, reveals character, and explores the theme. Note the word usually, however. The Importance of Being Earnest has three acts, which are not divided into scenes.

History of DramaDrama began as a way to reenact religious myths and rituals. Greece had theaters as early as 700 B.C. Greek plays were based on familiar stories about the Greek gods, and a chorus, or a group of performers, commented in verse on the message of the play. These early plays emphasized the chorus, but later the role of individual actors became more important.

Drama began developing at various times throughout the world. Chinese drama began in the Tang Dynasty in the eighth century. In medieval Europe, between A.D. 500 and A.D. 1500, mystery and miracle plays with religious themes were popular. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Noh drama developed in Japan. Noh drama


combines drama, music, and dance. Note that one specific kind of drama is opera, or plays in which the dialogue is sung. The first European operas, written during the Renaissance, tried to revive the ancient Greek tradition of combining music and drama.

The Renaissance impacted drama greatly. This was a cultural revolution that began in Italy in the fourteenth century and then spread throughout Europe. Renaissance thinking emphasized the value of the individual person over society and logic over religion. Renaissance drama began to focus on the stories of people besides saints and religious figures. In fact, Renaissance plays tended to feature members of the aristocracy.

By the end of the nineteenth century, however, playwrights began to depict the lives of everyday people. For example, the twentieth-century play The Death of a Salesman portrays an ordinary working-class man who suspects his life has been a failure.


Specific ElementsAccording to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, drama has six elements. These elements are character, plot, ideas (or theme), language (or dialogue), music, and spectacle (or stagecraft). Setting is another element, and for this lesson music is considered as part of stagecraft.

Character

Probably the most important element in drama is character. Generally, if people don't care about the characters, chances are they won't care about the play. The playwright must make the people in the play come alive on the stage. To make people care about the characters, the writer gives the characters traits, or specific qualities. For example, a character may be kind or cruel, lazy or industrious, beautiful or plain. In the same way that you learn about people in real life, you learn about characters through their appearance and by what they say and do, as well as by what others say about them.


A play usually contains both major and minor characters. The main character is the protagonist, the one whom the audience often empathizes with. The antagonist is the character who wants to prevent the protagonist from getting what he or she wants. Note, however, that the antagonist is not necessarily an enemy of the protagonist. In a play about unrequited love, the love object may be the antagonist because he or she does not love the lover. A play can have more than one antagonist, and an antagonist can be society or fate. For example, in a play where the main character constantly battles prejudice because of race or religion, society might be the antagonist. Some people consider fate as the antagonist in Romeo and Juliet, because the lovers are "star-cross'd."

What does the main character want? This is the character's motivation. What obstacle stands in the way of the protagonist getting what he or she wants? This leads to the plot, which is what happens in the play.


Plot and Conflict

The plot of a play develops as characters attempt to solve problems or resolve conflicts. From wars to minor disagreements between friends and family members, conflict is an integral part of human activity. A character may also feel conflicted inside, needing to make a choice, but unsure as to which one. As in reality, conflict is integral to drama.

Four basic conflicts are person against person person against society person against fate person against him- or herself

Think of conflict as a problem to be solved or a question to be answered. As you read The Importance of Being Earnest, notice the problem the protagonist faces. Is the protagonist in conflict with another person, society, or fate? Or is the protagonist conflicted inside, unsure of what to do? What does the protagonist do to resolve this conflict?


Setting

Where and when people live affect how they live. Culture has a major impact on how people think they and others should behave. Where and when people live also determine what problems they face. Similarly, the setting, which involves time and place, affects a dramatic work. When you read a play, consider the time and place of the play, as well as the time and place when the writer lived.

Setting also involves the culture of the time and place. Culture refers to the way a specific group of people live and includes their beliefs and values. Characters act differently at different times and places. As you read The Importance of Being Earnest, ask yourself questions about culture. One background information section includes information on Victorian England. How does Victorian culture affect the characters and how they behave?

Some settings are essential to the play, as the plot depends on a specific time and place. For example, a play about the American Civil War would be very


different set in the twenty-first century. In other plays, such as one that is predominantly a love story, the setting may create the mood yet not be necessary for the plot. Essential settings are called integral settings, and those that mainly provide mood are backdrop settings. As you read The Importance of Being Earnest, ask yourself whether the setting is integral or backdrop.

Theme

The theme is a meaning of the play or an opinion proved by the play. A play may have more than one theme, and even literary critics may disagree about what a play's themes are. Examples of theme might be that people can overcome obstacles or that family background affects a person forever. You can find the theme by looking at the work as a whole, but sometimes you can find the theme in parts or even lines of the play. As you read the first act of The Importance of Being Earnest, consider what the theme is. What is Oscar Wilde trying to prove in this play? Do the words of


any of the characters hint at the meaning of the play?

Sometimes writers use symbols to emphasize the theme. A symbol is an object or action that stands for an idea. For example, in a play about a young man overcoming an abusive childhood, the protagonist may run a marathon race. The trophy he wins may symbolize his victory in life. Note that with most questions about symbols and theme, there can be more than one correct answer. Suppose the protagonist realized that winning races did not replace being part of a happy family. The trophy might symbolize the emptiness of awards compared to loving relationships.

Dialogue

The words spoken by the characters in a play form the dialogue. In real life, what a person says tells you something about him or her. Likewise, each line of dialogue usually reveals characterization and advances the plot, letting you know how characters are resolving the conflict. Dialogue may also give clues about setting and theme.


As you read The Importance of Being Earnest, notice the dialogue. What does the dialogue tell you about the characters, conflict, setting, and theme? Note that many terms that deal with verbal combat, such as repartee, come from actual terms for swordplay. Do any of the characters use words as weapons or to compete? Do they engage in verbal duels?

Three special kinds of dialogue are soliloquy, monologue, and aside. A soliloquy is a speech that is not meant to be heard by other characters. A monologue is a long speech. An aside is a brief sharing of a character's thoughts with the audience, which are not supposed to be heard by the other characters. Shakespeare, whose plays you will study in Lessons 2 and 3, frequently used soliloquies, monologues, and asides. These types of dialogue let you know what characters are thinking.

Note that while dialogue is an important element, the playwright takes care to follow the number one writing rule: Show, don't tell. In other words,


people probably don't want to watch a play where characters sit around and tell each other their life stories. The audience prefers to see these stories as they occur. Likewise, people don't want to simply hear characters tell them that another character is nice or obnoxious. Instead, they want to watch that particular character in action and decide for themselves.

Stagecraft

Different techniques are used to bring a play to life before an audience. These techniques are known as stagecraft and include stage directions, lighting, music, props, and costumes.

Stage directions are in italics or appear in brackets, [ ], and they directly tell actors when to enter the stage and what props to bring. For example, consider the following stage directions:

[Lane is arranging afternoon tea on the table, and after the music has ceased, Algernon enters.]


This tells the actor playing Lane what to do: arrange food items on a table. It also tells the actor playing Algernon when to enter the stage.

The other stagecraft techniques are important to the play. Lighting illuminates the stage and sets the mood and focus. It is sometimes indicated in the stage directions. Besides establishing mood, music can help indicate the setting. For example, the music may indicate the time period. If you hear songs by the Beatles, you have a clue that the action may be taking place during the 1960s. Props are objects actors use on stage, and costumes are the clothes they wear. Props and costume can also indicate the setting. Props that resemble flowers may indicate that the characters are in a garden. Style of dress, such as miniskirts, tie-dyed shirts, and love beads, may suggest a setting of the United States during the 1960s.

Section ReviewIndicate whether the following statements are true or false. If the statement is false, reword it to make it true. A suggested response follows each item.


1. A play is written primarily to be read silently.

False. A play is written primarily to be performed.

2. Greek plays were performed as early as 700 B.C.

True

3. An antagonist is always the enemy of the protagonist.

False. An antagonist is a character who causes the protagonist to feel conflict. In a love story, the antagonist could be the person the protagonist is in love with.


4. A play about a quarrel between two teenage siblings would have a person-against-society conflict.

False. The conflict in a play about a quarrel between two teenage siblings would most likely be a person-against-person conflict.

5. The setting of a play about World War II would be an integral setting.

True

6. The theme of a play is a meaning of the play.

True

7. The only purpose of dialogue is to move the plot forward.

False. In good dialogue, each line both moves the plot forward and says something about the character speaking.

8. Stagecraft refers only to stage directions.


False. Stagecraft also includes lighting, music, props, and costumes.

This section defined drama and described its history. It then discussed the elements of drama: character, plot, setting, theme, dialogue, and stagecraft. The next section explores different types of drama.

Types of DramaThe main types of drama are tragedy and comedy. The word tragedy comes from a Greek word that means "goat song," and critics think it may have referred to a religious ritual. The word comedy is based on another ancient Greek word that means "merrymaker" or "singer." Different types of comedy exist: romantic comedy, comedy of manners, satire, and farce. Other types of drama also include tragicomedy, melodrama, historical plays, and problem plays.

Tragedy In a tragedy, a noble protagonist makes an error in judgment due to a tragic flaw in his or her


personality. This leads to an unhappy ending. In other words, character determines action: a tragic flaw in the protagonist affects what the character does and what happens in the play.

According to Aristotle, the hero of a tragedy should be better than the average person and have both good and bad traits. In addition, the unhappy ending should be much worse than the character deserves. Writer George Orwell said, "A tragic situation exists precisely when virtue does not triumph but when it is still felt that man is nobler than the forces which destroy him."

In tragedy, the protagonist may experience an epiphany, which is a sudden, important understanding about something or someone. For example, in Shakespeare's King Lear there is a moment when the king realizes, although too late, that his honest daughter, Cordelia, is more trustworthy than his more wheedling offspring.

Writers often use comic relief in tragedies to break the tension. For example, when you read Romeo and Juliet in Lesson 2, the prologue will tell you the


play is a tragedy. You will still notice funny moments, however, such as when one character is so talkative that she is asked to hush.

ComedyThis form of drama originated in ancient Greek fertility rituals that involved the whole community. And in comedy, the individual character is usually not considered as important as the community. This is different from tragedy, in which the individual is typically regarded as more important than the group. Early comedies featured a chorus and individual actors presenting a situation that ends in a celebration of harmony.

In drama, a comedy is not necessarily funny. If the ending is happy for the protagonist, the play is considered a comedy. Typically, the hero or heroine overcomes his or her flaws to reach a happy ending. In addition, comedy emphasizes the common condition of humankind, sometimes criticizing or making fun of humanity's ways. Comedies often feature people resolving their


differences and may end with the protagonist getting married.

Ancient Greek comedy often portrayed a conflict between a young hero and an older authority figure. Critic Northrop Frye described this as a conflict between a "society of youth" and a "society of the old." As you read The Importance of Being Earnest, see if you notice a generation-gap conflict.

Critics generally divide comedy into four types: romantic comedy, satiric comedy, comedy of manners, and farce. Consider each type carefully; critics find that The Importance of Being Earnest contains elements of each.

Romantic Comedy

In this type of play, lovers must cross hurdles before they can be together. The end not only is happy but also hints at the main characters living happily ever after. Many boy-meets-girl movies are of this type.

At a deeper level, romantic comedy may show the conflict between ideals and reality. During the play,


the lovers often escape to an idyllic setting with no problems, where no barriers keep them apart. Shakespeare used this in A Midsummer Night's Dream, where lovers elope and escape to a beautiful forest ruled by fairies.

Often romantic comedies feature more than one pair of lovers, and the good are rewarded and the bad punished. The play usually ends in a wedding or similar celebration. In A Glossary of Literary Terms, M. H. Abrams quotes critic Northrop Frye, who says that romantic comedies mimic primitive stories about spring conquering winter.

Comedy of Manners

This type of work shows how people of a particular social group live, often the upper class, and pokes fun at their ways. The action tends to be realistic, and usually at least one character sees the humor in the behavior of the others. These plays often feature young lovers and witty dialogue. In fact, the dialogue may be more important than plot.


In addition to funny dialogue, the humor in a comedy of manners relies on the unusual behavior of the characters, especially minor ones. These comedies typically feature stock characters. These characters seem more like stereotypes than real, multidimensional people. In addition, stock characters reappear in many different plays. Some frequently used stock characters are the witty servant, the rich rival, and the old-fashioned parents. As you read The Importance of Being Earnest, see if you can recognize any stock characters.

Satire

The literary form of satire is used in other literary genres, such as essays and novels, as well as drama. Satire makes fun of society in an attempt to improve it. One well-known satire is Jonathan Swift's essay A Modest Proposal: For Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public. The purpose of this essay, published in 1729, was to draw attention to


the suffering of poor people in Ireland. To make his point, Swift made the ironic suggestion that one solution would be for poor people to sell their babies to rich people as food. Of course he did not mean that babies actually should be slaughtered for food! Rather, he wanted to emphasize the terrible poverty in Ireland.

Like drama in general, satire began in ancient Greece, but it blossomed in ancient Rome. Roman writers Horace and Juvenal are known as the fathers of satire. Horace lived from 65 B.C. to 8 B.C., and Juvenal lived from A.D. 55 to A.D. 138. Horatian satire tends to be playful and accepting of the flaws of human nature. Juvenalian satire, however, has the more bitter and angry tone of moral indignation.

Satire often uses irony, which points out differences between what is real and what is not. Just as Swift did in A Modest Proposal, writers or their characters may say something obviously untrue so they can make a point. So when you read satire, keep in mind that words don't always mean


what they usually do. As you read The Importance of Being Earnest, think of what Wilde or the characters are really trying to say.

Satire often makes its targets appear ridiculous. Remember, the aim of satire is to inspire changes and correct the wrongs being ridiculed. Sometimes this drama is called corrective comedy. Alexander Pope wrote that "those who are ashamed of nothing else are so of being ridiculous." As you read The Importance of Being Earnest, ask whom Wilde is making appear ridiculous. What is Wilde trying to correct?

Farce

Wilde once proclaimed that farce must go like a pistol shot. In other words, the action and words must surprise you into laughter. In farce, characters with unusual traits are thrown into wildly unreal situations and behave in outlandish ways. The plot often involves people in disguise or switching gender roles. Farce may also use crude jokes and slapstick. Slapstick involves exaggerated physical actions, such as television's The Three


Stooges' eye-gouging and head-knocking antics. The word slapstick is actually the translation of an Italian word for an object made of two long wooden boards. Even when the slats are only tapped, they produce a very loud sound.

A key characteristic of farce is exaggeration. The characters and situations in farce are not realistic. Characters tend to be caricatures rather than real people; that is, one or two character traits tend to be emphasized and exaggerated. As you read The Importance of Being Earnest, consider the characters. What are their predominant traits?

Farce is considered low comedy, as it primarily aims to make people laugh and doesn't always encourage them to think. Some farces, however, are funny because of their witty dialogue, and many plays that are not farces still include scenes that involve farce. Modern situation comedies, or sitcoms, on TV often rely on farce, too.


Other Types of DramaModern plays tend to have characteristics of both comedy and tragedy. Although tragedy and comedy are the major types of drama, other types exist, too. These include tragic comedy, melodrama, history plays, and problem plays.

Tragic Comedy

Sometimes an ending is not simply happy or unhappy. Although tragic comedy has a happy ending for the protagonist, it has a serious tone. For example, a play about war that ends with lovers marrying would have a happy ending for the protagonists. But the war plot would give the play a somber mood. And just as in tragedy, the protagonist of a tragic comedy may experience an epiphany, which is a sudden, important realization about something or someone.

Melodrama

In melodrama, good and evil are clear-cut, and plot is more important than character. The theme is serious, but the ending is unrealistically happy.


Many daytime dramas or "soap operas" are melodramas, as are a number of movies made for TV. Victorian melodrama of Wilde's time was related to the French well-made play. These plays had tight plot structures and unrealistic, happy endings, and often featured "fallen" women, abandoned children, and many coincidences.

History Play

Shakespeare made the history play popular. He wrote plays about many English kings: King John, King Richard II, King Henry IV, King Henry V, King Henry VI, King Richard III, and King Henry VIII. History is still a popular subject for playwrights and screenwriters. Think of movies like Schindler's List, which shows some of the horrors of the Holocaust, and Elizabeth: The Golden Age, which is about the British queen. Indeed, an entire cable channel is devoted to history.

Problem Play

A problem play examines a current social problem. For example, a play could focus on subjects such as poverty, discrimination, and war. Lessons 4 and


5 will focus on the plays An Enemy of the People and Trifles, which are often considered problem plays.

Section ReviewSelect the best item to answer each of the following multiple-choice questions. A suggested response follows each question.1. Which of the following concepts BEST applies

to tragedy?a. A character makes a judgment error

because of a tragic flaw.b. The hero has only negative traits.c. A tragedy cannot include any funny

moments.

The correct answer is (a). The concept that a character makes a judgment error because of a tragic flaw best applies to tragedy.


2. In which type of play is the community usually more important than the individual? a. a comedyb. a tragedyc. a tragic comedy

The correct answer is (a). In a comedy, the community is usually more important than the individual.

3. Which type of play is likely to show lovers escaping to a perfect paradise?a. farceb. romantic comedyc. comedy of manners

The correct answer is (b). A romantic comedy is likely to show lovers escaping to a perfect paradise.

4. Which type of play pokes fun at the ways of a particular social group, often the upper class?a. romantic comedyb. satirec. comedy of manners


The correct answer is (c). A comedy of manners pokes fun at the ways of a particular social group, often the upper class.

5. Which of the following primarily aims to improve society through ridicule? a. melodramab. satirec. tragic comedy

The correct answer is (b). Satire primarily aims at improving society through ridicule.

6. Which type of comedy typically includes crude jokes and characters punching each other? a. farceb. comedy of mannersc. satire

The correct answer is (a). A farce might include crude jokes and characters punching each other.


7. What type of play focuses on a current social problem such as the plight of abused children?a. history playb. tragic comedyc. problem play

The correct answer is (c). A play that focuses on the plight of abused children is a problem play.

8. Which type of play shows good and evil as very clear-cut and ends happily? a. problem playb. historyc. melodrama

The correct answer is (c). A melodrama shows good and evil as very clear-cut and ends happily.


9. In which type of play is a protagonist likely to have an epiphany?a. satireb. tragic comedyc. farce

The correct answer is (b). In a tragic comedy, the protagonist is likely to have an epiphany.

This section defined drama and discussed its history, elements, and types. The next section presents Act 1 of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.

The Play ExcerptBefore beginning Act 1 of The Importance of Being Earnest, go to the Glossary and read the vocabulary definitions for this excerpt. Then consider some background information to better appreciate the play. Ask yourself questions while you read the play. Most of all, enjoy The Importance of Being Earnest.


Background Information: Oscar WildeOscar Wilde was born on October 16, 1854, in Dublin, Ireland, into a well-to-do family. His father was a famous surgeon, and his mother was a writer who advocated the rights of Ireland and of women. Wilde won a scholarship to Magdalen College in Oxford, where he became a proponent of art for art's sake. In other words, art did not have to improve the world but could just be beautiful. He was also known as a dandy. Dandies were men of fashion who paid a lot of attention to dress.

After attending Magdalen College, Wilde married Constance Lloyd and had two children. He edited The Woman's World, a magazine with essays about women's viewpoints on art as well as life in general. Six months after leaving The Woman's World, he wrote the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, which is about a man with a double life. He also wrote poetry, fairy tales, literary criticism, and essays, as well as plays that received standing ovations. Wilde's play Salome became especially


famous after his death when Richard Strauss wrote an operetta using Wilde's words for the libretto.

The Importance of Being Earnest was Wilde's last and most successful play. Many critics consider it his masterpiece.

Background Information: The Victorian Era Oscar Wilde lived in the last half of the nineteenth century, during the time of Queen Victoria. She ruled England from 1837 to 1901. A very strict moral code existed during the Victorian era. Victorians believed in work and duty and hated idleness. Good manners, reputation, and order were important values, and many thought it best to hide undesirable parts of life. Keeping a respectable appearance was paramount. As you read The Importance of Being Earnest, notice how these values affect the characters.

The Victorian era was also a time of dramatic change. Major technological discoveries included the locomotive, steamship, electric light, and photography. Farming practices changed with the


British Agricultural Revolution. Better farming methods meant more food with less labor. People left their farms and moved to the cities to work in new factories. The Industrial Revolution was flourishing, and workers toiled long hours for cheap wages in very poor, unsafe working conditions. At the same time, England was expanding its empire and ruled much of the world, including Ireland, Oscar Wilde's home country.

These changes influenced people's thinking, and some began to question the idea of progress. Were technological advances always helpful? Some scientists predicted that the earth would become unfit to live on, and science-fiction works reflected this view. Was it really best for England to rule the world? People talked about the economic gap between the haves and have-nots, which was known as the "two Englands" debate. Many reforms were due to writers protesting the hard lives of factory workers. Many writers chafed under Victorian restrictions and questioned the Victorian belief that the world had stable values.


Historian Asa Briggs calls this period "The Age of Improvement." The same activities that improved society caused social problems. For example, the agricultural revolution that produced better food caused farmers to lose their farms. One theory of the time, utilitarianism, held that an action was justified if it created the most good for the most people, even if some suffered.

Literary critic Arnold Schmidt writes that Victorians would define the word earnest differently than people do today. To the Victorians, the word meant to be eager and serious about doing the right thing, and to be important rather than trivial. Schmidt notes that people in very different situations were equally "earnest." This included the factory worker struggling to make a living as well as the businessman devoted to making more goods at a cheaper price. As you read The Importance of Being Earnest, notice which characters seem earnest to you.


Aesthetic MovementArtists, including writers, are influenced by their times, so different eras have different artistic and literary movements. The Industrial Revolution fueled the desire to make many practical objects at low cost. But artists of the aesthetic movement, which occurred in the late nineteenth century, rebelled against Victorian values. They were concerned that the beauty of handmade items was being overlooked. They insisted that art did not need to serve a practical purpose, and they believed that people could make their own decisions about art.

The aesthetic movement believed in art for art's sake. In other words, art didn't need to have any value to society or deal with specific social issues; instead, beauty and pleasure were the important values for art. Wilde was a leader of this movement and lectured on aestheticism. He believed life should imitate art, rather than art imitate life. In the preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray, he wrote that "No artist desires to prove anything."


Originally, many people considered The Importance of Being Earnest a mere fluff comedy. Today, however, critics recognize a serious underlying message that criticizes hypocrisy and self-righteousness. As you read The Importance of Being Earnest, see what you think.

Here are some interesting facts to keep in mind: When Wilde was twelve years old, his little

sister died. For his entire life, he kept a lock of her hair in an envelope labeled: "She is not dead but sleepeth."

Wilde's fairy tales were written for his two young sons, Cyril and Vyvyan.

Most actors in Wilde's day were not from the upper class. Therefore, many managers insisted that the actors dressed well even during off-work hours to show that they could act upper-class parts.

The Importance of Being Earnest was an immediate success when it opened on February 14, 1895. Eighty-six straight performances had standing ovations.


The opening night was almost disrupted, however. The Marquis of Queensbury, father of Lord Alfred Douglas with whom Oscar Wilde had a long-term relationship, planned a protest. Wilde found out and had the theater surrounded by policemen. Instead the Marquis left a grotesque bouquet of vegetables at the theater door. When the Marquis later left a calling card referring to Wilde as a sodomite, Wilde sued him for libel. Wilde lost the case and was arrested in May 1895, found guilty of "gross indecency," and sentenced to two years' hard labor.

Before Wilde went to prison, he wrote that "the secret of life is in art"; afterward, he wrote that "the secret of life is suffering." Wilde's experiences inspired his famous poem Ballad of Reading Gaol, which described horrible conditions in prison. Wilde also wrote many letters advocating prison reform.

Wilde died of meningitis in 1900, five years after the opening of The Importance of Being Earnest and two years after his release from


prison. On his deathbed, Wilde converted to Roman Catholicism.

The prison sentence caused Wilde's name to become almost universally despised. Not a single friend visited him in jail. His wife and children checked into a Switzerland hotel under another name, but when it was discovered who they were, they were asked to leave. Wilde's works could no longer be found in bookstores. When the manager revived performances of The Importance of Being Earnest after Wilde's death, he did not include Wilde's name on the program.

Wilde never saw his sons again, who were ages nine and ten at the time of his arrest. The younger son, Vyvyan Holland, became a writer and wrote a 1954 memoir, Son of Oscar Wilde. Vyvyan's son Merlin also wrote a number of books about Oscar Wilde.

Wilde wrote his first draft of The Importance of Being Earnest in three weeks. He said that while writing this play, he "was struck by madness from the moon."


Wilde often gave his characters place names; he believed these names fell "on the ear full toned with a secular dignity." Worthing, the last name of one character, was the name of the resort where Wilde wrote this play.

Note that Jack is a nickname for John. John Worthing goes by the name of Ernest in town and Jack in the country. The script always identifies him as Jack.

J.P. stands for justice of the peace. D.D. stands for doctor of divinity.

Half Moon Street is in the West End of London, a very trendy area of London. Belgrave Square and Grosvenor Square are other wealthy areas in the West End.

Lane was the name of a publisher with whom Wilde was having a dispute. Some critics believe that naming a servant "Lane" was an act of revenge on Wilde's part.

Cucumber sandwiches were a delicacy served at tea by aristocratic people. "Light refreshment at five o'clock" refers to this tea,


which might include sandwiches, cookies, and crackers in addition to actual tea.

Shropshire is a county of England that is very rural with a small population.

The play refers to a divorce court. Before 1857, divorces were rare, as they were costly and needed to be approved by Parliament. In 1857, Parliament created a divorce court, which made it easier to get a divorce.

Scotland Yard is the nickname for London's metropolitan police headquarters.

Wilde was friends with the Cardew family. When Cecily Cardew was born in 1893, Wilde promised to name a character after her.

Willis's is short for Willis's Rooms, a fancy London restaurant where celebrities often dined.

One character speaks of being "sent down." This means being assigned as someone's escort or companion during dinner.

Richard Wagner was a German composer whose operas were known for being loud and powerful.


"Ready money" refers to cash instead of credit. Liberal Unionists were members of the Liberal

Party who voted against Home Rule for Ireland in 1886. Tories were members of the Conservative Party.

One character speaks of people coming in the evening instead of for dinner. In Victorian times, this signified a class difference. Someone who didn't belong to a high social class would not be invited to dinner, but might be welcome for after-dinner conversation.

Victoria Station is one of London's largest railroad stations. At that time, it was made up of two stations. The station for the London, Chatham and Dover Railway wasn't as fancy as the one for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway.

When Lady Bracknell refers to the excesses of the French Revolution, she is likely referring to the beheading of French aristocrats.

A trivet is a three-legged stand, so the phrases "right as a trivet" and "steady as a trivet" mean "perfect."


The Gorgons were three sisters in Greek mythology who had snakes for hair; whoever a Gorgon looked at turned into stone. "Gorgon" also refers to an ugly or unpleasant person.

Cecily is described as being "only eighteen." Eighteen was the age when young women in society "came out," or were introduced during a fashionable season as possible marriage partners.

The Empire is a theater. "Christian name" is the name given to a person

in baptism, or christening; it can also simply mean one's first name.

The Railway Guide was a timetable of train times.

Note that some words have different spellings in Great Britain than they do in the United States. Many words that contain the letters o-r in the United States contain the letters o-u-r instead in Great Britain. For example, the U.S. words neighbor and color are spelled neighbour and colour in Great Britain.


Wilde's first version of The Importance of Being Earnest contained four acts, but the theater manager wanted it cut to three acts. In one scene that had been cut, Mr. Gribsby, a solicitor, comes to arrest "Ernest" for unpaid bills. Gribsby almost arrests Algernon, who at the time is pretending his name is Ernest.

A 2002 movie of this play starred Reese Witherspoon, Colin Firth, and Rupert Everett. This movie includes the deleted Gribsby scene.

Allan Aynesworth, who played Algernon on the opening night of the play, said "In my fifty-three years of acting, I never remember a greater triumph than the first night of The Importance of Being Earnest."

Points to ConsiderTo fully appreciate the play excerpt, keep these questions in mind: What is the setting? What do you learn about the characters from

the dialogue? What is the main conflict?


What type of play is The Importance of Being Earnest?

In Variety magazine, Richard Ouzounian writes that lines in this play "mock everything Victorian England held dear." See if you can find such lines.

What do you think is the theme, based on this excerpt?

As you read Act 1 of The Importance of Being Earnest, think about what the play means to you. Can you relate this meaning to your own life and today's world?

The Importance of Being Earnest:A Trivial Comedy for Serious People, Act 1

by Oscar Wilde

John Worthing, J.P.Algernon MoncrieffRev. Canon Chasuble, D.D.Merriman, ButlerLane, ManservantLady Bracknell


Hon. Gwendolen FairfaxCecily CardewMiss Prism, Governess

Time: The Present.

[Morning room in Algernon's flat in Half-Moon Street. The room is luxuriously and artistically furnished. The sound of a piano is heard in the adjoining room.]

[Lane is arranging afternoon tea on the table, and after the music has ceased, Algernon enters.]

Algernon: Did you hear what I was playing, Lane?

Lane: I didn't think it polite to listen, sir.

Algernon: I'm sorry for that, for your sake. I don't play accurately--anyone can play accurately--but I play with wonderful expression. As far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is my forte. I keep science for Life.

Lane: Yes, sir.


Algernon: And, speaking of the science of Life, have you got the cucumber sandwiches cut for Lady Bracknell?

Lane: Yes, sir. [Hands them on a salver.]

Algernon: [Inspects them, takes two, and sits down on the sofa.] Oh! ... by the way, Lane, I see from your book that on Thursday night, when Lord Shoreman and Mr. Worthing were dining with me, eight bottles of champagne are entered as having been consumed.

Lane: Yes, sir; eight bottles and a pint.

Algernon: Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne? I ask merely for information.

Lane: I attribute it to the superior quality of the wine, sir. I have often observed that in married households the champagne is rarely of a first-rate brand.

Algernon: Good heavens! Is marriage so demoralising as that?


Lane: I believe it is a very pleasant state, sir. I have had very little experience of it myself up to the present. I have only been married once. That was in consequence of a misunderstanding between myself and a young person.

Algernon: [Languidly.] I don't know that I am much interested in your family life, Lane.

Lane: No, sir; it is not a very interesting subject. I never think of it myself.

Algernon: Very natural, I am sure. That will do, Lane, thank you.

[Lane goes out.]

Algernon: Lane's views on marriage seem somewhat lax. Really, if the lower orders don't set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them? They seem, as a class, to have absolutely no sense of moral responsibility.

[Enter Lane.]

Lane: Mr. Ernest Worthing.


[Enter Jack.]

[Lane goes out.]

Algernon: How are you, my dear Ernest? What brings you up to town?

Jack: Oh, pleasure, pleasure! What else should bring one anywhere? Eating as usual, I see, Algy!

Algernon: [Stiffly.] I believe it is customary in good society to take some slight refreshment at five o'clock. Where have you been since last Thursday?

Jack: [Sitting down on the sofa.] In the country.

Algernon: What on earth do you do there?

Jack: [Pulling off his gloves.] When one is in town one amuses oneself. When one is in the country one amuses other people. It is excessively boring.

Algernon: And who are the people you amuse?


Jack: [Airily.] Oh, neighbours, neighbours.

Algernon: Got nice neighbours in your part of Shropshire?

Jack: Perfectly horrid! Never speak to one of them.

Algernon: How immensely you must amuse them! [Goes over and takes sandwich.] By the way, Shropshire is your county, is it not?

Jack: Eh? Shropshire? Yes, of course. Hallo! Why all these cups? Why cucumber sandwiches? Why such reckless extravagance in one so young? Who is coming to tea?

Algernon: Oh! merely Aunt Augusta and Gwendolen.

Jack: How perfectly delightful!

Algernon: Yes, that is all very well; but I am afraid Aunt Augusta won't quite approve of your being here.

Jack: May I ask why?


Algernon: My dear fellow, the way you flirt with Gwendolen is perfectly disgraceful. It is almost as bad as the way Gwendolen flirts with you.

Jack: I am in love with Gwendolen. I have come up to town expressly to propose to her.

Algernon: I thought you had come up for pleasure? ... I call that business.

Jack: How utterly unromantic you are!

Algernon: I really don't see anything romantic in proposing. It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal. Why, one may be accepted. One usually is, I believe. Then the excitement is all over. The very essence of romance is uncertainty. If ever I get married, I'll certainly try to forget the fact.

Jack: I have no doubt about that, dear Algy. The Divorce Court was specially invented for people whose memories are so curiously constituted.


Algernon: Oh! there is no use speculating on that subject. Divorces are made in heaven-- [Jack puts out his hand to take a sandwich. Algernon at once interferes.] Please don't touch the cucumber sandwiches. They are ordered specially for Aunt Augusta. [Takes one and eats it.]

Jack: Well, you have been eating them all the time.

Algernon: That is quite a different matter. She is my aunt. [Takes plate from below.] Have some bread and butter. The bread and butter is for Gwendolen. Gwendolen is devoted to bread and butter.

Jack: [Advancing to table and helping himself.] And very good bread and butter it is too.

Algernon: Well, my dear fellow, you need not eat as if you were going to eat it all. You behave as if you were married to her already. You are not married to her already, and I don't think you ever will be.


Jack: Why on earth do you say that?

Algernon: Well, in the first place girls never marry the men they flirt with. Girls don't think it right.

Jack: Oh, that is nonsense!

Algernon: It isn't. It is a great truth. It accounts for the extraordinary number of bachelors that one sees all over the place. In the second place, I don't give my consent.

Jack: Your consent!

Algernon: My dear fellow, Gwendolen is my first cousin. And before I allow you to marry her, you will have to clear up the whole question of Cecily. [Rings bell.]

Jack: Cecily! What on earth do you mean? What do you mean, Algy, by Cecily! I don't know anyone of the name of Cecily.

[Enter Lane.]


Algernon: Bring me that cigarette case Mr. Worthing left in the smoking room the last time he dined here.

Lane: Yes, sir. [Lane goes out.]

Jack: Do you mean to say you have had my cigarette case all this time? I wish to goodness you had let me know. I have been writing frantic letters to Scotland Yard about it. I was very nearly offering a large reward.

Algernon: Well, I wish you would offer one. I happen to be more than usually hard up.

Jack: There is no good offering a large reward now that the thing is found.

[Enter Lane with the cigarette case on a salver. Algernon takes it at once. Lane goes out.]

Algernon: I think that is rather mean of you, Ernest, I must say. [Opens case and examines it.] However, it makes no matter, for, now that I look at the inscription inside, I find that the thing isn't yours after all.


Jack: Of course it's mine. [Moving to him.] You have seen me with it a hundred times, and you have no right whatsoever to read what is written inside. It is a very ungentlemanly thing to read a private cigarette case.

Algernon: Oh! it is absurd to have a hard and fast rule about what one should read and what one shouldn't. More than half of modern culture depends on what one shouldn't read.

Jack: I am quite aware of the fact, and I don't propose to discuss modern culture. It isn't the sort of thing one should talk of in private. I simply want my cigarette case back.

Algernon: Yes; but this isn't your cigarette case. This cigarette case is a present from someone of the name of Cecily, and you said you didn't know anyone of that name.

Jack: Well, if you want to know, Cecily happens to be my aunt.

Algernon: Your aunt!


Jack: Yes. Charming old lady she is, too. Lives at Tunbridge Wells. Just give it back to me, Algy.

Algernon: [Retreating to back of sofa.] But why does she call herself little Cecily if she is your aunt and lives at Tunbridge Wells? [Reading.] 'From little Cecily with her fondest love.'

Jack: [Moving to sofa and kneeling upon it.] My dear fellow, what on earth is there in that? Some aunts are tall, some aunts are not tall. That is a matter that surely an aunt may be allowed to decide for herself. You seem to think that every aunt should be exactly like your aunt! That is absurd! For heaven's sake give me back my cigarette case. [Follows Algernon around the room.]

Algernon: Yes. But why does your aunt call you her uncle? 'From little Cecily, with her fondest love to her dear Uncle Jack.' There is no objection, I admit, to an aunt being a small aunt, but why an aunt, no matter what her size may be, should call her own nephew her uncle, I can't


quite make out. Besides, your name isn't Jack at all; it is Ernest.

Jack: It isn't Ernest; it's Jack.

Algernon: You have always told me it was Ernest. I have introduced you to everyone as Ernest. You answer to the name of Ernest. You look as if your name was Ernest. You are the most earnest-looking person I ever saw in my life. It is perfectly absurd your saying that your name isn't Ernest. It's on your cards. Here is one of them. [Taking it from case.] 'Mr. Ernest Worthing, B. 4, The Albany.' I'll keep this as a proof that your name is Ernest if ever you attempt to deny it to me, or to Gwendolen, or to anyone else. [Puts the card in his pocket.]

Jack: Well, my name is Ernest in town and Jack in the country, and the cigarette case was given to me in the country.

Algernon: Yes, but that does not account for the fact that your small Aunt Cecily, who lives at Tunbridge Wells, calls you her dear uncle.


Come, old boy, you had much better have the thing out at once.

Jack: My dear Algy, you talk exactly as if you were a dentist. It is very vulgar to talk like a dentist when one isn't a dentist. It produces a false impression.

Algernon: Well, that is exactly what dentists always do. Now, go on! Tell me the whole thing. I may mention that I have always suspected you of being a confirmed and secret Bunburyist; and I am quite sure of it now.

Jack: Bunburyist? What on earth do you mean by a Bunburyist?

Algernon: I'll reveal to you the meaning of that incomparable expression as soon as you are kind enough to inform me why you are Ernest in town and Jack in the country.

Jack: Well, produce my cigarette case first.


Algernon: Here it is. [Hands cigarette case.] Now produce your explanation, and pray make it improbable. [Sits on sofa.]

Jack: My dear fellow, there is nothing improbable about my explanation at all. In fact it's perfectly ordinary. Old Mr. Thomas Cardew, who adopted me when I was a little boy, made me in his will guardian to his granddaughter, Miss Cecily Cardew. Cecily, who addresses me as her uncle from motives of respect that you could not possibly appreciate, lives at my place in the country under the charge of her admirable governess, Miss Prism.

Algernon: Where is that place in the country, by the way?

Jack: That is nothing to you, dear boy. You are not going to be invited ... I may tell you candidly that the place is not in Shropshire.

Algernon: I suspected that, my dear fellow! I have Bunburyed all over Shropshire on two separate


occasions. Now, go on. Why are you Ernest in town and Jack in the country?

Jack: My dear Algy, I don't know whether you will be able to understand my real motives. You are hardly serious enough. When one is placed in the position of guardian, one has to adopt a very high moral tone on all subjects. It's one's duty to do so. And as a high moral tone can hardly be said to conduce very much to either one's health or one's happiness, in order to get up to town I have always pretended to have a younger brother of the name of Ernest, who lives in the Albany, and gets into the most dreadful scrapes. That, my dear Algy, is the whole truth pure and simple.

Algernon: The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Modern life would be very tedious if it were either, and modern literature a complete impossibility!

Jack: That wouldn't be at all a bad thing.


Algernon: Literary criticism is not your forte, my dear fellow. Don't try it. You should leave that to people who haven't been at a University. They do it so well in the daily papers. What you really are is a Bunburyist. I was quite right in saying you were a Bunburyist. You are one of the most advanced Bunburyists I know.

Jack: What on earth do you mean?

Algernon: You have invented a very useful younger brother called Ernest, in order that you may be able to come up to town as often as you like. I have invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury, in order that I may be able to go down into the country whenever I choose. Bunbury is perfectly invaluable. If it wasn't for Bunbury's extraordinary bad health, for instance, I wouldn't be able to dine with you at Willis's tonight, for I have been really engaged to Aunt Augusta for more than a week.

Jack: I haven't asked you to dine with me anywhere tonight.


Algernon: I know. You are absurdly careless about sending out invitations. It is very foolish of you. Nothing annoys people so much as not receiving invitations.

Jack: You had much better dine with your Aunt Augusta.

Algernon: I haven't the smallest intention of doing anything of the kind. To begin with, I dined there on Monday, and once a week is quite enough to dine with one's own relations. In the second place, whenever I do dine there I am always treated as a member of the family, and sent down with either no woman at all, or two. In the third place, I know perfectly well whom she will place me next to, tonight. She will place me next to Mary Farquhar, who always flirts with her own husband across the dinner table. That is not very pleasant. Indeed, it is not even decent ... and that sort of thing is enormously on the increase. The amount of women in London who flirt with their own husbands is perfectly scandalous. It looks so


bad. It is simply washing one's clean linen in public. Besides, now that I know you to be a confirmed Bunburyist I naturally want to talk to you about Bunburying. I want to tell you the rules.

Jack: I'm not a Bunburyist at all. If Gwendolen accepts me, I am going to kill my brother, indeed I think I'll kill him in any case. Cecily is a little too much interested in him. It is rather a bore. So I am going to get rid of Ernest. And I strongly advise you to do the same with Mr. ... with your invalid friend who has the absurd name.

Algernon: Nothing will induce me to part with Bunbury, and if you ever get married, which seems to me extremely problematic, you will be very glad to know Bunbury. A man who marries without knowing Bunbury has a very tedious time of it.

Jack: That is nonsense. If I marry a charming girl like Gwendolen, and she is the only girl I ever


saw in my life that I would marry, I certainly won't want to know Bunbury.

Algernon: Then your wife will. You don't seem to realise that in married life three is company and two is none.

Jack: [Sententiously.] That, my dear young friend, is the theory that the corrupt French Drama has been propounding for the last fifty years.

Algernon: Yes; and that the happy English home has proved in half the time.

Jack: For heaven's sake, don't try to be cynical. It's perfectly easy to be cynical.

Algernon: My dear fellow, it isn't easy to be anything nowadays. There's such a lot of beastly competition about. [The sound of an electric bell is heard.] Ah! that must be Aunt Augusta. Only relatives, or creditors, ever ring in that Wagnerian manner. Now, if I get her out of the way for ten minutes, so that you can have an opportunity for proposing to


Gwendolen, may I dine with you tonight at Willis's?

Jack: I suppose so, if you want to.

Algernon: Yes, but you must be serious about it. I hate people who are not serious about meals. It is so shallow of them.

[Enter Lane.]

Lane: Lady Bracknell and Miss Fairfax.

[Algernon goes forward to meet them. Enter Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen.]

Lady Bracknell: Good afternoon, dear Algernon, I hope you are behaving very well.

Algernon: I'm feeling very well, Aunt Augusta.

Lady Bracknell: That's not quite the same thing. In fact the two things rarely go together. [Sees Jack and bows to him with icy coldness.]

Algernon: [To Gwendolen.] Dear me, you are smart!


Gwendolen: I am always smart! Am I not, Mr. Worthing?

Jack: You're quite perfect, Miss Fairfax.

Gwendolen: Oh! I hope I am not that. It would leave no room for developments, and I intend to develop in many directions. [Gwendolen and Jack sit down together in the corner.]

Lady Bracknell: I'm sorry if we are a little late, Algernon, but I was obliged to call on dear Lady Harbury. I hadn't been there since her poor husband's death. I never saw a woman so altered; she looks quite twenty years younger. And now I'll have a cup of tea, and one of those nice cucumber sandwiches you promised me.

Algernon: Certainly, Aunt Augusta. [Goes over to tea table.]

Lady Bracknell: Won't you come and sit here, Gwendolen?

Gwendolen: Thanks, Mamma, I'm quite comfortable where I am.


Algernon: [Picking up empty plate in horror.] Good heavens! Lane! Why are there no cucumber sandwiches? I ordered them specially.

Lane: [Gravely.] There were no cucumbers in the market this morning, sir. I went down twice.

Algernon: No cucumbers!

Lane: No, sir. Not even for ready money.

Algernon: That will do, Lane, thank you.

Lane: Thank you, sir. [Goes out.]

Algernon: I am greatly distressed, Aunt Augusta, about there being no cucumbers, not even for ready money.

Lady Bracknell: It really makes no matter, Algernon. I had some crumpets with Lady Harbury, who seems to me to be living entirely for pleasure now.

Algernon: I hear her hair has turned quite gold from grief.


Lady Bracknell: It certainly has changed its colour. From what cause I, of course, cannot say. [Algernon crosses and hands tea.] Thank you. I've quite a treat for you tonight, Algernon. I am going to send you down with Mary Farquhar. She is such a nice woman, and so attentive to her husband. It's delightful to watch them.

Algernon: I am afraid, Aunt Augusta, I shall have to give up the pleasure of dining with you tonight after all.

Lady Bracknell: [Frowning.] I hope not, Algernon. It would put my table completely out. Your uncle would have to dine upstairs. Fortunately he is accustomed to that.

Algernon: It is a great bore, and, I need hardly say, a terrible disappointment to me, but the fact is I have just had a telegram to say that my poor friend Bunbury is very ill again. [Exchanges glances with Jack.] They seem to think I should be with him.


Lady Bracknell: It is very strange. This Mr. Bunbury seems to suffer from curiously bad health.

Algernon: Yes; poor Bunbury is a dreadful invalid.

Lady Bracknell: Well, I must say, Algernon, that I think it is high time that Mr. Bunbury made up his mind whether he was going to live or to die. This shilly-shallying with the question is absurd. Nor do I in any way approve of the modern sympathy with invalids. I consider it morbid. Illness of any kind is hardly a thing to be encouraged in others. Health is the primary duty of life. I am always telling that to your poor uncle, but he never seems to take much notice ... as far as any improvement in his ailment goes. I should be much obliged if you would ask Mr. Bunbury, from me, to be kind enough not to have a relapse on Saturday, for I rely on you to arrange my music for me. It is my last reception, and one wants something that will encourage conversation, particularly at the end of the season when everyone has


practically said whatever they had to say, which, in most cases, was probably not much.

Algernon: I'll speak to Bunbury, Aunt Augusta, if he is still conscious, and I think I can promise you he'll be all right by Saturday. Of course the music is a great difficulty. You see, if one plays good music, people don't listen, and if one plays bad music people don't talk. But I'll run over the programme I've drawn out, if you will kindly come into the next room for a moment.

Lady Bracknell: Thank you, Algernon. It is very thoughtful of you. [Rising, and following Algernon.] I'm sure the programme will be delightful, after a few expurgations. French songs I cannot possibly allow. People always seem to think that they are improper, and either look shocked, which is vulgar, or laugh, which is worse. But German sounds a thoroughly respectable language, and indeed, I believe is so. Gwendolen, you will accompany me.

Gwendolen: Certainly, Mamma.


[Lady Bracknell and Algernon go into the music room, Gwendolen remains behind.]

Jack: Charming day it has been, Miss Fairfax.

Gwendolen: Pray don't talk to me about the weather, Mr. Worthing. Whenever people talk to me about the weather, I always feel quite certain that they mean something else. And that makes me so nervous.

Jack: I do mean something else.

Gwendolen: I thought so. In fact, I am never wrong.

Jack: And I would like to be allowed to take advantage of Lady Bracknell's temporary absence ...

Gwendolen: I would certainly advise you to do so. Mamma has a way of coming back suddenly into a room that I have often had to speak to her about.


Jack: [Nervously.] Miss Fairfax, ever since I met you I have admired you more than any girl ... I have ever met since ... I met you.

Gwendolen: Yes, I am quite well aware of the fact. And I often wish that in public, at any rate, you had been more demonstrative. For me you have always had an irresistible fascination. Even before I met you I was far from indifferent to you. [Jack looks at her in amazement.] We live, as I hope you know, Mr. Worthing, in an age of ideals. The fact is constantly mentioned in the more expensive monthly magazines, and has reached the provincial pulpits, I am told; and my ideal has always been to love someone of the name of Ernest. There is something in that name that inspires absolute confidence. The moment Algernon first mentioned to me that he had a friend called Ernest, I knew I was destined to love you.

Jack: You really love me, Gwendolen?

Gwendolen: Passionately!


Jack: Darling! You don't know how happy you've made me.

Gwendolen: My own Ernest!

Jack: But you don't really mean to say that you couldn't love me if my name wasn't Ernest?

Gwendolen: But your name is Ernest.

Jack: Yes, I know it is. But supposing it was something else? Do you mean to say you couldn't love me then?

Gwendolen: [Glibly.] Ah! that is clearly a metaphysical speculation, and like most metaphysical speculations has very little reference at all to the actual facts of real life, as we know them.

Jack: Personally, darling, to speak quite candidly, I don't much care about the name of Ernest ... I don't think the name suits me at all.


Gwendolen: It suits you perfectly. It is a divine name. It has a music of its own. It produces vibrations.

Jack: Well, really, Gwendolen, I must say that I think there are lots of other much nicer names. I think Jack, for instance, a charming name.

Gwendolen: Jack? ... No, there is very little music in the name Jack, if any at all, indeed. It does not thrill. It produces absolutely no vibrations ... I have known several Jacks, and they all, without exception, were more than usually plain. Besides, Jack is a notorious domesticity for John! And I pity any woman who is married to a man called John. She would probably never be allowed to know the entrancing pleasure of a single moment's solitude. The only really safe name is Ernest.

Jack: Gwendolen, I must get christened at once--I mean we must get married at once. There is no time to be lost.

Gwendolen: Married, Mr. Worthing?


Jack: [Astounded.] Well ... surely. You know that I love you, and you led me to believe, Miss Fairfax, that you were not absolutely indifferent to me.

Gwendolen: I adore you. But you haven't proposed to me yet. Nothing has been said at all about marriage. The subject has not even been touched on.

Jack: Well ... may I propose to you now?

Gwendolen: I think it would be an admirable opportunity. And to spare you any possible disappointment, Mr. Worthing, I think it only fair to tell you quite frankly beforehand that I am fully determined to accept you.

Jack: Gwendolen!

Gwendolen: Yes, Mr. Worthing, what have you got to say to me?

Jack: You know what I have got to say to you.

Gwendolen: Yes, but you don't say it.


Jack: Gwendolen, will you marry me? [Goes on his knees.]

Gwendolen: Of course I will, darling. How long you have been about it! I am afraid you have had very little experience in how to propose.

Jack: My own one, I have never loved anyone in the world but you.

Gwendolen: Yes, but men often propose for practice. I know my brother Gerald does. All my girlfriends tell me so. What wonderfully blue eyes you have, Ernest! They are quite, quite, blue. I hope you will always look at me just like that, especially when there are other people present. [Enter Lady Bracknell.]

Lady Bracknell: Mr. Worthing! Rise, sir, from this semirecumbent posture. It is most indecorous.

Gwendolen: Mamma! [He tries to rise; she restrains him.] I must beg you to retire. This is no place for you. Besides, Mr. Worthing has not quite finished yet.


Lady Bracknell: Finished what, may I ask?

Gwendolen: I am engaged to Mr. Worthing, Mamma. [They rise together.]

Lady Bracknell: Pardon me, you are not engaged to anyone. When you do become engaged to someone, I, or your father, should his health permit him, will inform you of the fact. An engagement should come on a young girl as a surprise, pleasant or unpleasant, as the case may be. It is hardly a matter that she could be allowed to arrange for herself ... And now I have a few questions to put to you, Mr. Worthing. While I am making these inquiries, you, Gwendolen, will wait for me below in the carriage.

Gwendolen: [Reproachfully.] Mamma!

Lady Bracknell: In the carriage, Gwendolen! [Gwendolen goes to the door. She and Jack blow kisses to each other behind Lady Bracknell's back. Lady Bracknell looks vaguely about as if she could not understand what the


noise was. Finally turns round.] Gwendolen, the carriage!

Gwendolen: Yes, Mamma. [Goes out, looking back at Jack.]

Lady Bracknell: [Sitting down.] You can take a seat, Mr. Worthing.

[Looks in her pocket for notebook and pencil.]

Jack: Thank you, Lady Bracknell, I prefer standing.

Lady Bracknell: [Pencil and notebook in hand.] I feel bound to tell you that you are not down on my list of eligible young men, although I have the same list as the dear Duchess of Bolton has. We work together, in fact. However, I am quite ready to enter your name, should your answers be what a really affectionate mother requires. Do you smoke?

Jack: Well, yes, I must admit I smoke.

Lady Bracknell: I am glad to hear it. A man should always have an occupation of some kind. There


are far too many idle men in London as it is. How old are you?

Jack: Twenty-nine.

Lady Bracknell: A very good age to be married at. I have always been of opinion that a man who desires to get married should know either everything or nothing. Which do you know?

Jack: [After some hesitation.] I know nothing, Lady Bracknell.

Lady Bracknell: I am pleased to hear it. I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone. The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever. If it did, it would prove a serious danger to the upper classes, and probably lead to acts of violence in Grosvenor Square. What is your income?


Jack: Between seven and eight thousand a year.

Lady Bracknell: [Makes a note in her book.] In land, or in investments?

Jack: In investments, chiefly.

Lady Bracknell: That is satisfactory. What between the duties expected of one during one's lifetime, and the duties exacted from one after one's death, land has ceased to be either a profit or a pleasure. It gives one position, and prevents one from keeping it up. That's all that can be said about land.

Jack: I have a country house with some land, of course, attached to it, about fifteen hundred acres, I believe; but I don't depend on that for my real income. In fact, as far as I can make out, the poachers are the only people who make anything out of it.

Lady Bracknell: A country house! How many bedrooms? Well, that point can be cleared up afterwards. You have a town house, I hope? A


girl with a simple, unspoiled nature, like Gwendolen, could hardly be expected to reside in the country.

Jack: Well, I own a house in Belgrave Square, but it is let by the year to Lady Bloxham. Of course, I can get it back whenever I like, at six months' notice.

Lady Bracknell: Lady Bloxham? I don't know her.

Jack: Oh, she goes about very little. She is a lady considerably advanced in years.

Lady Bracknell: Ah, nowadays that is no guarantee of respectability of character. What number in Belgrave Square?

Jack: 149.

Lady Bracknell: [Shaking her head.] The unfashionable side. I thought there was something. However, that could easily be altered.

Jack: Do you mean the fashion, or the side?


Lady Bracknell: [Sternly.] Both, if necessary, I presume. What are your politics?

Jack: Well, I am afraid I really have none. I am a Liberal Unionist.

Lady Bracknell: Oh, they count as Tories. They dine with us. Or come in the evening, at any rate. Now to minor matters. Are your parents living?

Jack: I have lost both my parents.

Lady Bracknell: To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness. Who was your father? He was evidently a man of some wealth. Was he born in what the Radical papers call the purple of commerce, or did he rise from the ranks of the aristocracy?

Jack: I am afraid I really don't know. The fact is, Lady Bracknell, I said I had lost my parents. It would be nearer the truth to say that my parents seem to have lost me ... I don't


actually know who I am by birth. I was ... well, I was found.

Lady Bracknell: Found!

Jack: The late Mr. Thomas Cardew, an old gentleman of a very charitable and kindly disposition, found me, and gave me the name of Worthing, because he happened to have a first-class ticket for Worthing in his pocket at the time. Worthing is a place in Sussex. It is a seaside resort.

Lady Bracknell: Where did the charitable gentleman who had a first-class ticket for this seaside resort find you?

Jack: [Gravely.] In a handbag.

Lady Bracknell: A handbag?

Jack: [Very seriously.] Yes, Lady Bracknell. I was in a handbag--a somewhat large, black leather handbag, with handles to it--an ordinary handbag in fact.


Lady Bracknell: In what locality did this Mr. James, or Thomas, Cardew come across this ordinary handbag?

Jack: In the cloakroom at Victoria Station. It was given to him in mistake for his own.

Lady Bracknell: The cloakroom at Victoria Station?

Jack: Yes. The Brighton line.

Lady Bracknell: The line is immaterial. Mr. Worthing, I confess I feel somewhat bewildered by what you have just told me. To be born, or at any rate bred, in a handbag, whether it had handles or not, seems to me to display a contempt for the ordinary decencies of family life that reminds one of the worst excesses of the French Revolution. And I presume you know what that unfortunate movement led to? As for the particular locality in which the handbag was found, a cloakroom at a railway station might serve to conceal a social indiscretion--has probably, indeed, been used for that purpose before now--but it could hardly


be regarded as an assured basis for a recognised position in good society.

Jack: May I ask you then what you would advise me to do? I need hardly say I would do anything in the world to ensure Gwendolen's happiness.

Lady Bracknell: I would strongly advise you, Mr. Worthing, to try and acquire some relations as soon as possible, and to make a definite effort to produce at any rate one parent, of either sex, before the season is quite over.

Jack: Well, I don't see how I could possibly manage to do that. I can produce the handbag at any moment. It is in my dressing room at home. I really think that should satisfy you, Lady Bracknell.

Lady Bracknell: Me, sir! What has it to do with me? You can hardly imagine that I and Lord Bracknell would dream of allowing our only daughter--a girl brought up with the utmost care--to marry into a cloakroom, and form an


alliance with a parcel? Good morning, Mr. Worthing!

[Lady Bracknell sweeps out in majestic indignation.]

Jack: Good morning! [Algernon, from the other room, strikes up the Wedding March. Jack looks perfectly furious, and goes to the door.] For goodness' sake don't play that ghastly tune, Algy. How idiotic you are!

[The music stops and Algernon enters cheerily.]

Algernon: Didn't it go off all right, old boy? You don't mean to say Gwendolen refused you? I know it is a way she has. She is always refusing people. I think it is most ill-natured of her.

Jack: Oh, Gwendolen is as right as a trivet. As far as she is concerned, we are engaged. Her mother is perfectly unbearable. Never met such a Gorgon ... I don't really know what a Gorgon is like, but I am quite sure that Lady Bracknell is one. In any case, she is a monster, without


being a myth, which is rather unfair ... I beg your pardon, Algy, I suppose I shouldn't talk about your own aunt in that way before you.

Algernon: My dear boy, I love hearing my relations abused. It is the only thing that makes me put up with them at all. Relations are simply a tedious pack of people, who haven't got the remotest knowledge of how to live, nor the smallest instinct about when to die.

Jack: Oh, that is nonsense!

Algernon: It isn't!

Jack: Well, I won't argue about the matter. You always want to argue about things.

Algernon: That is exactly what things were originally made for.

Jack: Upon my word, if I thought that, I'd shoot myself ... [A pause.] You don't think there is any chance of Gwendolen becoming like her mother in about a hundred and fifty years, do you, Algy?


Algernon: All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his.

Jack: Is that clever?

Algernon: It is perfectly phrased! and quite as true as any observation in civilised life should be.

Jack: I am sick to death of cleverness. Everybody is clever nowadays. You can't go anywhere without meeting clever people. The thing has become an absolute public nuisance. I wish to goodness we had a few fools left.

Algernon: We have.

Jack: I should extremely like to meet them. What do they talk about?

Algernon: The fools? Oh! about the clever people, of course.

Jack: What fools!

Algernon: By the way, did you tell Gwendolen the truth about your being Ernest in town, and Jack in the country?


Jack: [In a very patronising manner.] My dear fellow, the truth isn't quite the sort of thing one tells to a nice, sweet, refined girl. What extraordinary ideas you have about the way to behave to a woman!

Algernon: The only way to behave to a woman is to make love to her, if she is pretty, and to someone else, if she is plain.

Jack: Oh, that is nonsense.

Algernon: What about your brother? What about the profligate Ernest?

Jack: Oh, before the end of the week I shall have got rid of him. I'll say he died in Paris of apoplexy. Lots of people die of apoplexy, quite suddenly, don't they?

Algernon: Yes, but it's hereditary, my dear fellow. It's a sort of thing that runs in families. You had much better say a severe chill.

Jack: You are sure a severe chill isn't hereditary, or anything of that kind?


Algernon: Of course it isn't!

Jack: Very well, then. My poor brother Ernest to carried off suddenly, in Paris, by a severe chill. That gets rid of him.

Algernon: But I thought you said that ... Miss Cardew was a little too much interested in your poor brother Ernest? Won't she feel his loss a good deal?

Jack: Oh, that is all right. Cecily is not a silly romantic girl, I am glad to say. She has got a capital appetite, goes long walks, and pays no attention at all to her lessons.

Algernon: I would rather like to see Cecily.

Jack: I will take very good care you never do. She is excessively pretty, and she is only just eighteen.

Algernon: Have you told Gwendolen yet that you have an excessively pretty ward who is only just eighteen?


Jack: Oh! one doesn't blurt these things out to people. Cecily and Gwendolen are perfectly certain to be extremely great friends. I'll bet you anything you like that half an hour after they have met, they will be calling each other sister.

Algernon: Women only do that when they have called each other a lot of other things first. Now, my dear boy, if we want to get a good table at Willis's, we really must go and dress. Do you know it is nearly seven?

Jack: [Irritably.] Oh! It always is nearly seven.

Algernon: Well, I'm hungry.

Jack: I never knew you when you weren't ...

Algernon: What shall we do after dinner? Go to a theatre?

Jack: Oh no! I loathe listening.

Algernon: Well, let us go to the Club?

Jack: Oh, no! I hate talking.


Algernon: Well, we might trot round to the Empire at ten?

Jack: Oh, no! I can't bear looking at things. It is so silly.

Algernon: Well, what shall we do?

Jack: Nothing!

Algernon: It is awfully hard work doing nothing. However, I don't mind hard work where there is no definite object of any kind.

[Enter Lane.]

Lane: Miss Fairfax.

[Enter Gwendolen. Lane goes out.]

Algernon: Gwendolen, upon my word!

Gwendolen: Algy, kindly turn your back. I have something very particular to say to Mr. Worthing.

Algernon: Really, Gwendolen, I don't think I can allow this at all.


Gwendolen: Algy, you always adopt a strictly immoral attitude towards life. You are not quite old enough to do that. [Algernon retires to the fireplace.]

Jack: My own darling!

Gwendolen: Ernest, we may never be married. From the expression on Mamma's face I fear we never shall. Few parents nowadays pay any regard to what their children say to them. The old-fashioned respect for the young is fast dying out. Whatever influence I ever had over Mamma, I lost at the age of three. But although she may prevent us from becoming man and wife, and I may marry someone else, and marry often, nothing that she can possibly do can alter my eternal devotion to you.

Jack: Dear Gwendolen!

Gwendolen: The story of your romantic origin, as related to me by Mamma, with unpleasing comments, has naturally stirred the deeper fibres of my nature. Your Christian name has


an irresistible fascination. The simplicity of your character makes you exquisitely incomprehensible to me. Your town address at the Albany I have. What is your address in the country?

Jack: The Manor House, Woolton, Hertfordshire.

[Algernon, who has been carefully listening, smiles to himself, and writes the address on his shirt cuff. Then picks up the Railway Guide.]

Gwendolen: There is a good postal service, I suppose? It may be necessary to do something desperate. That of course will require serious consideration. I will communicate with you daily.

Jack: My own one!

Gwendolen: How long do you remain in town?

Jack: Till Monday.

Gwendolen: Good! Algy, you may turn round now.

Algernon: Thanks, I've turned round already.


Gwendolen: You may also ring the bell.

Jack: You will let me see you to your carriage, my own darling?

Gwendolen: Certainly.

Jack: [To Lane, who now enters.] I will see Miss Fairfax out.

Lane: Yes, sir. [Jack and Gwendolen go off.]

[Lane presents several letters on a salver to Algernon. It is to be surmised that they are bills, as Algernon, after looking at the envelopes, tears them up.]

Algernon: A glass of sherry, Lane.

Lane: Yes, sir.

Algernon: Tomorrow, Lane, I'm going Bunburying.

Lane: Yes, sir.

Algernon: I shall probably not be back till Monday. You can put up my dress clothes, my smoking jacket, and all the Bunbury suits ...


Lane: Yes, sir. [Handing sherry.]

Algernon: I hope tomorrow will be a fine day, Lane.

Lane: It never is, sir.

Algernon: Lane, you're a perfect pessimist.

Lane: I do my best to give satisfaction, sir.

[Enter Jack. Lane goes off.]

Jack: There's a sensible, intellectual girl! the only girl I ever cared for in my life. [Algernon is laughing immoderately.] What on earth are you so amused at?

Algernon: Oh, I'm a little anxious about poor Bunbury, that is all.

Jack: If you don't take care, your friend Bunbury will get you into a serious scrape someday.

Algernon: I love scrapes. They are the only things that are never serious.

Jack: Oh, that's nonsense, Algy. You never talk anything but nonsense.


Algernon: Nobody ever does.

[Jack looks indignantly at him, and leaves the room. Algernon lights a cigarette, reads his shirt cuff, and smiles.]

Section ReviewIndicate whether the following statements are true or false. If the statement is false, reword it to make it true. A suggested response follows each item.1. The setting is a humble house in the country.

False. The setting is a luxuriously furnished flat in London.

2. Jack is the play's protagonist.

True


3. Jack and Algernon have similar opinions about marriage.

False. Jack believes that proposing to Gwendolen is romantic, and Algernon says divorces are made in heaven.

4. Jack's real name is John Worthing. But he calls himself Ernest when he's in the town and Jack when he's in the country.

True

5. Bunbury is a place in the country.

False. Bunbury is an imaginary sick friend whom Algernon says he has to visit when he needs an excuse to avoid other plans.

6. Gwendolen's ideal is to marry an earnest person.

False. Gwendolen's ideal is to marry someone named Ernest.


7. Lady Bracknell believes young girls should not arrange their own marriages.

True

8. Lady Bracknell is concerned that England's education system is not effective.

False. She is happy that the education system has no effect on people. She believes a good education would cause riots and endanger the upper classes.

9. Algernon never learns Jack's address in the country.

False. He listens to Jack and Gwendolen's conversation, and when Jack gives Gwendolen his country address, Algernon writes it on his shirt cuff.

10. The main conflict concerns Jack's desire to marry Gwendolen.

True


11. This play, because it pokes fun at the ways of the upper class, is a melodrama.

False. This play is a comedy, and melodramas are not comedies. Because it pokes fun at the ways of the upper class, a particular group of people, The Importance of Being Earnest is a comedy of manners. Critics also consider it a romantic comedy, farce, and satire.

This section presented Act 1 of The Importance of Being Earnest. The next section considers the meaning of this play excerpt.

Examining MeaningDid you like this excerpt from The Importance of Being Earnest? Why or why not? Would you recommend this play to a friend? Would you like to see a performance?

It may heighten your appreciation to consider specific questions related to the meaning of the play. Then read a scenario that presents a fictional class discussion about The Importance of Being Earnest.


Points to ConsiderConsider these specific questions about The Importance of Being Earnest: What is the main conflict? How does the setting affect the characters and

the plot? What have you found out about the

characters? Do any characters change during this act?

What is the theme of Act 1? Critics disagree about whether The Importance

of Being Earnest is primarily a farce, comedy of manners, satiric comedy, or romantic comedy. What do you think?

As you think about these questions, you may wish to reread all or parts of the play excerpt. As this play involves characters who invent imaginary characters, it's easy to get a little confused. Good readers often reread literary works either to enjoy them again or to better understand them.


DiscussionOne value of studying literature is to discuss works with other people. To imitate a classroom experience, each lesson in this course presents a scenario featuring four fictional students and a teacher. Brad, Darrell, Juanita, and Zahirah are adults who are studying literature for fun, guided by their teacher, Ms. Choi.

Read the following scenario, in which the students discuss The Importance of Being Earnest with Ms. Choi. Notice that these fictional students don't always agree. You may find it helpful to consider their opinions and decide whether or not you agree with them. As you follow the discussion, ask yourself what you think about the work.

Scenario

Ms. Choi: What did you think of this excerpt from The Importance of Being Earnest? Did you like it?

Juanita: I didn't like the way Wilde mocked serious subjects. He made fun of marriage and made light


of divorce. One character even said that divorces are made in heaven!

Brad: But that's not what Wilde meant, Juanita. He was really poking fun at people who made light of marriage. Do Algernon and Jack even seem like role models?

Ms. Choi: Many critics of Wilde's time would have agreed with Juanita. They disliked the play and said it had no moral point of view whatsoever. Other critics, however, believed Wilde was poking fun at hypocrisy.

Darrell: Weren't marriages back then more like business propositions? Lady Bracknell didn't care what Gwendolen felt. She only considered what was in Jack's bank account and who his parents were. That kind of marriage actually didn't seem to be made in heaven.

Ms. Choi: You're right, Darrell. Today we think of people marrying for love, but in Victorian times, marriage was often a business deal between families. The class system in Victorian England was


rigid, and you couldn't marry someone of another class.

Brad: Yeah, only after Lady Harbury's husband died did she live for pleasure. That makes you think that the Harbury marriage must not have been very pleasant.

Darrell: Whenever anyone says anything, either the speaker or Wilde usually means the opposite! You have to keep that in mind while you're reading this, or you won't "get" it!

Ms. Choi: That's an interesting viewpoint, Darrell. Critic Richard Foster writes, "Nothing in this play is quite what it seems."

Darrell: I think the opening lines set the tone. Algernon says anybody can play piano accurately, but he can play piano with sentiment. I'm imagining a lot of wrong notes and mangled chords!

Ms. Choi: What is the main conflict?


Juanita: It's whether or not Jack will be allowed to marry Gwendolen.

Brad: It was hilarious when Lady Bracknell said Jack was careless because he "lost" his parents.

Juanita: I didn't find that funny at all. I thought she was cruel and stupid.

Darrell: But that's what makes it so funny. What she said was so bizarre. Wilde is using verbal irony by having Lady Bracknell say something that's obviously untrue to make a point. He's mocking Lady Bracknell's obsession with family background.

Zahirah: I thought it was funny but scary when Lady Bracknell said that real education would hurt the upper classes and lead to riots in Grosvenor Square.

Darrell: Her statement is very radical! Education is powerful, and learning to think can change the world. Do you remember when we studied nonfiction together and read Frederick Douglass's autobiography? He was born into slavery, and


when he was a kid he heard his master say that learning to read would make a slave unfit for slavery. That's when Douglass knew he had to learn to read!

Zahirah: Sometimes the characters say things that people really think but don't say. Like when Gwendolen asks Jack not to talk about the weather, because people really mean something else when they talk about the weather. That is so true. But people never say that.

Ms. Choi: Wilde liked to examine the reality of everyday expressions people use in polite conversation.

Juanita: All the family structures were odd. Apparently Lady Bracknell's husband often eats by himself. Jack had been an abandoned baby himself, and now he's the guardian of an orphan. The story about him being found in a handbag is just too weird!


Ms. Choi: True. But critic Peter Raby notes that at the time, unwanted babies often were abandoned at railway stations.

Juanita: This play was confusing, too. In the list of characters, there's no Jack, because Jack is a nickname for John, and then Algernon calls Jack Ernest. At least Algernon doesn't become Bunbury!

Brad: But that confusion makes this funny!

Ms. Choi: Some critics believe that this confusion about names challenges the importance of upper-class identity, which was based on family name and ancestry.

Zahirah: I wonder if Lady Bracknell represents the upper classes.

Brad: Or Victorian society.

Darrell: Wilde makes Lady Bracknell appear ridiculous to show that her values are absurd. When she says that losing both parents sounds like carelessness, she's ridiculous, and you can't take her values seriously.


Ms. Choi: What type of play is The Importance of Being Earnest?

Darrell: It's obviously a comedy, and I think it's a comedy of manners. It makes fun of the upper class in particular and makes the characters look ridiculous.

Juanita: But wasn't Wilde a member of the upper class himself?

Ms. Choi: Yes and no. He was from Ireland, which was ruled by England, so he never really fit in with the English upper classes, no matter how successful he became.

Brad: Didn't you say, Ms. Choi, that this could also be considered a farce, a satire, and a romantic comedy?

Ms. Choi: Definitely! It shows exaggerated situations like a farce, satirically challenges society's hypocrisy, and is a funny love story.

Juanita: I know everyone else likes this play, but I really don't see anything great about it. Sure, it's


funny, but I don't understand why it's a classic. Wasn't Wilde a proponent of art for art's sake? He probably didn't care about inserting any deep meaning; he just wanted to entertain people and make something beautiful. But to me, a play that doesn't say anything about life isn't all that great.

Ms. Choi: Writer George Bernard Shaw said pretty much the same thing, Juanita. He wrote, "I cannot say that I greatly cared for The Importance of Being Earnest. It amused me, of course; but unless comedy touches me as well as amuses me, it leaves me with a sense of having wasted an evening."

Juanita: Exactly! The characters seem to criticize deep thoughts about life. Lady Bracknell thinks Bunbury should just hurry up and die. And Algernon says relatives don't have "the smallest instinct about when to die."

Ms. Choi: Some critics note that the Victorians didn't have much sympathy for people who were sick or dying. These critics believe that Wilde is


criticizing people like Lady Bracknell who don't care about people with real problems.

Zahirah: I read The Picture of Dorian Gray, and although this play has a very different tone, the two pieces are so similar in some ways. Dorian had a special mirror that would show his age and faults, while his own face remained young and innocent. He split himself in two. Well, both Jack and Algernon split themselves. Jack has the imaginary wild brother Ernest, and Algernon frequently visits his imaginary friend Bunbury.

Darrell: I just realized that Wilde is turning the saying "Marriages are made in heaven" upside down when he says, "Divorces are made in heaven."

Ms. Choi: Yes, Wilde inverts many ideas in this play. What else does he invert, or turn upside down?

Darrell: He turns Victorian society upside down. Lane, the servant, seems smarter than Algernon, his boss. I loved the way Lane is so quick to lie


about the cucumbers, saying none were available for "ready money." Also, Gwendolen seems much stronger than Jack. She gives Jack instructions on how to propose to her.

Brad: Wasn't it the father's job in Victorian times to interview the guy about his intentions? Here, Gwendolen's mother takes that role.

Ms. Choi: Yes, the women in this play are the powerful ones, children have more influence than young adults, and servants are cleverer than their masters.

Brad: Algernon says the lower class is setting a bad example, but didn't upper-class Victorians believe that the lower classes should imitate their morals?

Juanita: I think Wilde makes fun of the whole idea of having a moral code.

Brad: Juanita, I think he's making fun of the fact that people have such a strict code, but nobody lives up to it.


Zahirah: And he's mocking the Victorians' obsession with appearances.

Juanita: Yeah, Gwendolen doesn't care who her husband is as long as his name is Ernest. Labels and appearances are everything.

Zahirah: The title suggests the importance of being earnest. So maybe he is saying it's more important to be earnest than to just have the name Ernest.

Ms. Choi: What do you think the title means?

Darrell: Well, the word earnest means serious and sincere. But none of the characters are serious or sincere!

Ms. Choi: Some critics say that Wilde believed that true morality meant not being serious. Instead, Wilde thought you should be irreverent and always question things.

Darrell: And that's the opposite of the Victorian way of thinking, because if you're irreverent and questioning, you care about reality, not appearances.


Zahirah: Maybe, too, he's criticizing his audience. When he's saying this play is a trivial comedy for serious people, maybe he really means that it's a serious comedy for trivial people.

Ms. Choi: It's funny that you say that, Zahirah, because that was the title of his first draft.

Juanita: The characters talk in such a silly way about important things, and they talk in such a serious way about silly things.

Ms. Choi: Can you give examples?

Juanita: Well, Jack goes on about how ungentlemanly a thing it is to read someone's cigarette case. That's silly. But when Algernon talks about his imaginary friend Bunbury being ill, Lady Bracknell says that Bunbury seems wishy-washy about dying. She's talking in a trivial way about something very serious.

Brad: That's how Wilde mocked Victorian society. He wanted to point out that their values were all mixed up.


Darrell: Do you remember when we met to discuss fiction? This play reminds me of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. That book was about a person with two lives, too, and also was written during the Victorian era.

Zahirah: I thought it was ironic that the imaginary Ernest was supposed to be the wild one. Ernest wasn't earnest!

Juanita: Nobody seems to work or have a job, except Lane, the butler.

Ms. Choi: That's another thing that Wilde was mocking, the idleness of the upper class. The upper class of that time had inherited money, rather than money they had earned, and they prided themselves in leading opulent lifestyles. How is Jack different from his friend Algernon?

Juanita: Algernon admits that he has a double life and is proud of it. Jack denies it and says he plans to "kill off" Ernest.


Brad: Jack is a liar. When Algernon asks about Cecily, Jack lies almost automatically, saying she's his aunt.

Juanita: They both lie. When Algernon says he is off to take care of poor Bunbury, he is lying.

Darrell: But Algernon is proud of Bunburying, and Jack wants to "kill" Ernest.

Zahirah: Jack plans to propose to Gwendolen, and Algernon says divorces are made in heaven.

Ms. Choi: Some critics believe that Jack, of all the characters, most represents Victorian ways of thinking and Victorian hypocrisy.

Darrell: He's not just pretending to be better than he is but is actually pretending to be someone else. He actually becomes Ernest when he is in London.

Juanita: Each character had a mask; I didn't know who Jack, Algernon, and Gwendolen really were. What did they really think about life or their own lives?


Ms. Choi: Critic Eric Bentley believed that the characters wore masks to protect themselves from their society. What do you think is the theme based on this excerpt?

Zahirah: I think it's the importance of being your real self. Jack's real self was probably this "Ernest" that he created.

Brad: Maybe, or maybe his real self is half Jack and half Ernest. Nobody is all respectable or all wild! I think the theme is to be honest about who you are.

Darrell: I think the theme is to pay attention to what is real, not just to appearances. That is, to care about being earnest more than about having the name Ernest.

Ms. Choi: Critic Philip K. Cohen writes of the characters never really growing up. What do you think?

Brad: Yes, they're all a bunch of Peter Pans! When you grow up, you can't evade your responsibilities by inventing an imaginary brother or friend.


Darrell: Even that one character we never meet grows younger after her husband dies.

Ms. Choi: Was the setting integral or backdrop?

Darrell: Integral. Wilde critiqued Victorian society for its snobbishness and shallowness.

Juanita: I don't know, Darrell. People can still be snobbish and shallow today.

Zahirah: Isn't this play still performed a lot? Another movie came out in 2002, and it's still a popular play for high schools to perform.

Brad: People still relate to it, and it's still considered a classic.

Zahirah: People don't go to the play to learn about Victorian life. They go to see and laugh at themselves.

Darrell: I'm curious: Do Jack and Gwendolen ever marry? And what's with Algernon writing down the address of Jack's niece? He's planning some mischief, I think!


Ms. Choi: Well, why don't you read the rest of the play and find out?

Section ReviewAnswer the following essay question. Use the standard essay format that includes an introduction, body, and conclusion. Make sure you support your opinions with evidence. Although this question has more than one correct answer, a sample answer is given.

EssaySome critics say that Wilde wanted people to be themselves. Do you think Act 1 of this play supports this idea? Why or why not?

Sample Answer

By making fun of those who value appearances over substance, Act 1 of the play The Importance of Being Earnest suggests people should just be themselves. The protagonist, Jack, splits himself in two, inventing an imaginary brother so he can escape Victorian restrictions. This


deception proves to be disastrous. Other characters also appear ridiculous in how they treat reality.

Jack feels compelled to wear a respectable mask. As the guardian of a minor in the country, Jack believes he must "adopt a very high moral tone on all subjects." But he also feels that doing so does not contribute to his "health" or "happiness." So in town, Jack pretends to have and be a younger brother, Ernest. Gwendolen, however, literally loves "Ernest" because of his name, not for any actual qualities he has. This situation mocks the Victorian emphasis on family name.

Before learning that Gwendolen loves the name "Ernest" but dislikes the name "Jack," Jack thinks he can simply "kill" Ernest, even though the imaginary Ernest is part of who Jack is. But when Algernon asks Jack if he will confess to Gwendolen about the imaginary Ernest, Jack replies that "the


truth isn't quite the sort of thing one tells to a nice, sweet, refined girl." In this world, truth is not valued, only the appearance of virtue. Thus, dividing oneself in two leads to disaster: Gwendolen loves Jack for a name that isn't his; Jack's love for Gwendolen leads him to plan to kill a part of himself.

This reliance on appearances and labels is made to appear ridiculous throughout Act 1 of the play. Lane cites etiquette about eavesdropping to excuse himself from commenting truthfully on Algernon's piano playing. Algernon then dismisses the need to play piano accurately, saying it was more important to play expressively. Lady Bracknell questions Jack's background, wanting to know surface information rather than who he really is. This leads to a ridiculous answer: Jack's origins are a handbag found at a train station.


By making fun of characters who try to be other than themselves, Wilde says people might as well just be themselves. An imaginary brother may help Jack escape his responsibilities, but at a cost. Gwendolen, likewise, seems ridiculous for valuing a name more than a person. It is important to be earnest, not merely to have the label Ernest.

Notice that this essay answer gives an opinion and supports it with examples. That doesn't mean that this is the only correct answer; you may find a totally different theme in The Importance of Being Earnest. The goal is an answer that is supported with evidence.

This section presented specific questions that address the meaning of the play The Importance of Being Earnest. It then offered a scenario where fictional characters discussed the work.


SummaryThis lesson defined drama and its elements and types. It then presented Act 1 of The Importance of Being Earnest. Finally, a fictional scenario helped you examine the meaning of this work.


Assignment 1

For general information on completing assignments, refer to the Getting Started instructions. Then start this assignment by giving your full name, address, and phone number. Also list the name of this course, Assignment 1, your instructor's name, and the date. Be sure to include the question number along with each answer.

If you are an ACE student, complete the multiple-choice and short-answer questions in Part A. If you are a high school student, you must complete both Parts A and B of the assignment.

Note that this assignment is worth 100 points for high school students and 50 points for ACE students.


Part A (ACE and HS Students)

Multiple Choice

Select the best item to answer each of the following questions. (20 points total, 2 points each)1. In the beginning of Act 1, why has Jack come to

London?a. He wants to dine with Algernon at Willis's.b. He wants to propose to Gwendolen.c. He wants to find his relatives.

2. How does Algernon feel about marriage?a. Marriages are made in heaven.b. Divorces are made in heaven.c. He admires married people who flirt with

each other.

3. Who is Cecily?a. Jack's auntb. Jack's niecec. Jack's ward


4. What does Jack plan to do if Gwendolen says she'll marry him?a. "kill" Ernestb. "kill" Bunburyc. tell her about Ernest

5. Why are there no cucumber sandwiches for Aunt Augusta?a. Algernon ate all the sandwiches.b. Lane couldn't buy cucumbers.c. Lane ate all the sandwiches.

6. What does Lady Bracknell say about education?a. Education helps the upper classes.b. Education hurts the lower classes.c. Ignorance is preferable.

7. What does Lady Bracknell say is a minor matter?a. Jack's politicsb. Jack's incomec. whether or not Jack's parents are living


8. How does Lady Bracknell describe the situation of being an orphan?a. a tragic situationb. a misfortunec. a matter of carelessness

9. Where did Jack's guardian find him?a. in a trainb. in an orphanagec. in a handbag

10. What does Gwendolen tell Jack at the end of the act?a. If she can't marry him, she will marry no

one.b. She will always be devoted to him.c. She will never communicate with him again.

Short Answer

Answer the following questions in a brief paragraph or list. (30 points total)11. Describe the setting in Act 1 of The Importance

of Being Earnest. List two ways the setting affects the characters. (9 points)


12. Name one character from Act 1 of The Importance of Being Earnest, and list three details about him or her. (10 points)

13. What is the major conflict revealed in Act 1 of The Importance of Being Earnest? (5 points)

14. What type of play is The Importance of Being Earnest? Why? (6 points)

If you are a high school student, answer the following essay question. This question is optional for other students.

Part B (HS Students)

Essay

Answer the following question in an essay that includes an introduction, body, and conclusion. Make sure you support your opinions with evidence from the play. Limit your essay to 250 words or less. (50 points total)


15. Wilde wrote of his play's philosophy: "That we should treat all the trivial things of life very seriously, and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality." Discuss this philosophy by answering the following questions:a. What does Wilde consider to be serious,

and what does he consider to be trivial? b. What is aestheticism? How do Wilde's

aesthetic beliefs affect Act 1 of this play? c. What is a theme of this play? Why? d. How does the theme relate to the

philosophy of treating serious things in a trivial way and trivial things in a serious way?

When you have completed this assignment, proceed to Lesson 2: Conflict, Setting, and Romeo and Juliet.


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