Oscar Wilde 
The Importance of Being Earnest 

Oscar Wilde’s play ”The Importance of Being Earnest” is both humorous and lighthearted. Set in England and published in 1895, it is one of Wilde’s best-loved works. It is a comedy of identity and self-invention. It is a satire on the hollowness of Victorian society and has the themes of homosexual relationships. It was thought to be Wilde’s most original work, however, it has been borrowed from most of the other plays.



‘The Importance of Being Earnest” is the story of two bachelors, John ‘Jack’ Worthing and Algernon ‘Algy’ Moncrieff, who create alter egos named Ernest to escape their tiresome lives. They attempt to win the hearts of two women who, conveniently, claim to only love men called Ernest. The pair struggle to keep up with their own stories and become tangled in a tale of deception, disguise and misadventure. The elaborate plot ridicules Victorian sensibilities with some of the best loved, and indeed bizarre, characters to be found on the modern stage. Wilde originally wrote it in four acts, but during the first rehearsals George Alexander persuaded him to shorten it down to three.