The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personæ in order to escape burdensome social obligations. Working within the social conventions of late Victorian London, the play's major themes are the triviality with which it treats institutions as serious as marriage, and the resulting satire of Victorian ways. Contemporary reviews all praised the play's humour, though some were cautious about its explicit lack of social messages, while others foresaw the modern consensus that it was the culmination of Wilde's artistic career so far. Its high farce and witty dialogue have helped make The Importance of Being EarnestWilde's most enduringly popular play. The successful opening night marked the climax of Wilde's career but also heralded his downfall. The Marquess of Queensberry, whose son Lord Alfred Douglas was Wilde's lover, planned to present the writer with a bouquet of rotten vegetables and disrupt the show. Wilde was tipped off and Queensberry was refused admission. Soon afterwards their feud came to a climax in court, where Wilde's homosexual double life was revealed to the Victorian public and he was eventually sentenced to imprisonment. His notoriety caused the play, despite its early success, to be closed after 86 performances. After his release, he published the play from exile in Paris, but he wrote no further comic or dramatic work. The Importance of Being Earnest has been revived many times since its premiere. It has been adapted for the cinema on three occasions. In The Importance of Being Earnest (1952), Dame Edith Evans reprised her celebrated interpretation of Lady Bracknell; The Importance of Being Earnest (1992) by Kurt Baker used an all-black cast; andOliver Parker's The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) incorporated some of Wilde's original material cut during the preparation of the original stage production.
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Kick off your study of The Importance of Being Earnest with an engaging discussion! For this anticipation guide activity, students respond to seven provocative statements related to the themes of the play by checking off how much they agree with each statement and explaining their opinions. Starting off a novel study with an opinionnaire always energizes the classroom! Have students write their answers down first, and then have fun sharing out. Students love to see what their peers think, so it works well to post signs for "Strongly Agree," "Agree," "Disagree," and "Strongly Disagree" in the four corners of the room and have them move around to represent their opinion about each statement. Related blog posts: The challenges of teaching Earnest and how to overcome them Try a humor unit (especially at the end of the school year!) Other resources you may find helpful: Beowulf Anticipation Guide Hamlet Anticipation Guide Macbeth Intro Activity: Would You Rather...? Keep in touch with BritLitWit! Blog Instagram Pinterest Facebook
A selection of Oscar Wildes best and most important plays, brought together in an attractive, non-academic readers edition.
'A trivial comedy for serious people' is how Oscar Wilde described The Importance of Being Earnest. Have a look at the play’s history on stage and screen
A Study Guide for The Importance of Being Earnest: Plays in ContextThis study guide aims to support the reader in extended study of the play 'The Importance of Being Earnest'. Throughout the guide, the reader is presented with various critical approaches to enable the exploration of style, structure, dramatic presentation and themes within the work. It provides careful support and a framework for reflection which challenges readers to establish their own interpretations and inform wider reading. Additional sections provide exploration of the writer's life and work and an outline of major critical views places the text within the wider contexts of reception and production.The guide is presented in four parts: -Part One, Contexts of Production, considers the writer's life and times, with a focus on significant historical, social and literary contexts.-Part Two introduces some critical approaches, including exploration of; dramatic presentation, characterisation, structure, key themes and relevant critical ideas.-Part Three provides detailed commentary and analysis of each act of the play, with relevant background information and reading tasks to enhance understanding.-Part Four, Contexts of Reception, examines how the text was initially received, as well as providing a critical overview of a range of interpretations and approaches. Topics covered include: Textual analysis; the life of Oscar Wilde; Aspects of Comedy; Victorian Britain; the Wildean Dandy; Critical contexts, including postmodern and postcolonial approaches to the text.
'A trivial comedy for serious people' is how Oscar Wilde described The Importance of Being Earnest. Have a look at the play’s history on stage and screen
Do you love turn-of-the-20th-century costume? If you don’t, you may be inclined to overlook The Importance of Being Earnest (2002). You’d be doing yourself a disservice, though, because…
Once they started a new interesting game in pseudonyms, which led to funny and curious consequences. Each time he came to London, he was convicted of only marrying a man named Ernest. Upon learning of an advanced friend, Algerie decides to play him, for which he goes to Jack’s country estate, where he impersonates his brother Ernest, who immediately falls in love with charming Cecilia. Only friends forgot how important it is to be serious, because Ernestov and lies were too much, and there is very little truth.
This Macmillan Collectors Library edition ofThe Importance of Being Earnest & Other Playsechoes the book form in which Wilde originally insisted his plays were published, and includes illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley and an afterword by Ned Halley.
Read & Co. Classics presents this brand new edition of Oscar Wilde's famous play, "The Importance of Being Earnest", first performed in London in 1895. The play questions the nature and purpose of the institution of marriage, poking fun at the morals, assumptions and constraints found in Victorian values. During the play’s release, Wilde’s social life was aired to the Victorian public after an altercation with his lover’s father, resulting in him being sent to prison for his homosexual relationship. Oscar Wilde (1884-1900) was an Irish author, playwright and poet. He moved from Dublin to Oxford where he studied under renowned art critics Walter Pater and John Ruskin and became associated with the literary and philosophical movement of Aestheticism.
This final play from the pen of Oscar Wilde is a stylish send-up of Victorian courtship and manners, complete with assumed names, mistaken lovers, and a lost handbag. Jack and Algernon are best friends, both wooing ladies who think their names are Ernest, “that name which inspires absolute confidence.” Wilde’s effervescent wit, scathing social satire, and high farce make this one of the most cherished plays in the English language. Includes an interview with director Michael Hackett, Professor of Theater in the School of Theater, Film and Television at UCLA. An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring: James Marsters as Jack Charles Busch as Lady Bracknell Emily Bergl as Cecily Neil Dickson as Lane and Merriman Jill Gascoine as Miss Prism Christopher Neame as Chasuble Matthew Wolf as Algernon Sarah Zimmerman as Gwendolen Directed by Michael Hackett. Recorded before a live audience at the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles.
Often considered the wittiest play in the English language, The Importance of Being Earnest has thrilled audiences for nearly one hundred and fifty years with undiminished sparkle, wit, and bite. Many of Wilde's famous epigrams are uttered by the memorable characters in this comedy of mistaken identities. But the perfectly phrased social satire packs a velvet-gloved punch. Can we break with the hypocrisies of respectable society to reveal our authentic selves and find happiness? This elegant new edition includes a timeline of Wilde's life, and Ulrich Baer's accessible afterword that identifies the play's major themes and its relevance for twenty-first century audiences, along with commentary by George Bernard Shaw and Mary McCarthy.
Kick off your study of The Importance of Being Earnest with this just-for-fun quiz based on a real Victorian etiquette book! The quiz introduces students to the absurdity of Victorian era manners, and then prompts them to think about whether our own era has equally ridiculous expectations for behavior. A key is included. This activity can be used with other comedies of manners, such as the works of Jane Austen or a history unit about Victorian England. Related blog posts: The challenges of teaching Earnest and how to overcome them Try a humor unit (especially at the end of the school year!) How I've used BuzzFeed-style quizzes to kick off literature units If you like the idea of hooking your students' attention with a personality quiz, check out the BritLitWit Do You Have What It Take to Be a Knight? Just-for-Fun Quiz for use with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight or any other King Arthur tales! Other resources you may find helpful: British Literature Mega Bundle Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Bundle World War I Poetry Bundle Keep in touch with BritLitWit! Blog Instagram Pinterest Facebook
Algernon Moncrieff, a bachelor-about-town, has invented an invalid friend called Bunbury in order to get out of tiresome family engagements. At the same time, his friend Jack Worthing has invented a wicked brother called Ernest to disguise his own misdemeanours. When Algernon poses as Ernest to win the heart of Cecily Cardew, confusion reigns, and it takes the discovery of an old black handbag to reveal the truth... Oscar Wilde’s dazzling comedy about mistaken identities and secret engagements still delights audiences over a century after its first performance in 1895. This BBC Radio production, first broadcast in 1977, features Jeremy Clyde as Algernon, Richard Pasco as Worthing, Prunella Scales as Cecily and Maurice Denham as the Rev. Canon Chasuble, and is the first broadcast of the original four-act version of the play. The Classic Radio Theatre range presents notable radio productions of much-loved plays by some of the most renowned playwrights, and starring some of our finest actors.
It's a silly movie; it's not really about anything. The circular plot is vaguely ridiculous. But Wilde's one-liners plus excellent casting save the 2002
Freshen up your lesson plans and help your students begin to analyze the characters in Oscar Wilde's play, The Importance of Being Earnest. Students analyze the given prompts based on the text to determine what it suggests about the character. Character included are: • Jack Worthing • Algernon Moncrieff • Lady Bracknell • Cecily Cardew • Gwendolyn Fairfax • Dr. Chasuble • Lane • Miss Prism Aside from individual classwork, use these 8 worksheets as a quick group activity (each group takes a different character), as bell-ringers or exit slips, or even as a quick quiz. These ready-to-print sheets, can also make a good review activity once you've finished the play. Full teaching bundle on The Importance of Being Earnest coming soon! Teaching other plays? Check out these bundles: Macbeth Bundle: Unit Plan, Worksheets, Projects, PowerPoints, Essays Romeo and Juliet Unit Plan, Worksheets, Projects, PowerPoints, Essays Clip-art provided by MilaWorldDesign
Photograph of cast and set for Act III from a production of The Importance of Being Earnest, written by Oscar Wilde, by Angus McBean, Globe Theatre, 1939
This unit integrates A Modest Proposal and The Importance of Being Earnest seamlessly as it explores the cultural and satirical significance of these two famous texts. The resource includes: - Teacher Tools Page - Satire Pre-Test - Satirical Devices - Satirical Devices Picture Chart - A Modest Proposal Reading Questions - Satire Post Test - Critique Essay Assignment Sheet - Critique Essay Self-Assessment - Critique Essay Rubric - Victorian Era Fashion Style Sketch Notes - Victorian Era Poetry Analysis - The Importance of Being Earnest bookmark - Oscar Wilde author profile - Oscar Wilde writing style - Vocab Sketch Notes - Act I Questions - Becoming a Bunburyist Activity - Two Truths and One Lie Activity - Act II Questions - Social Butterfly Characterization - Dear Alice Advice Columns - What's in a Name? Activity - Act III Questions - Jack and Algy Literary Foils - Character Map - Characterization Chart - Satire Chart - Honesty Debates - Magazine Earnestness Activity - Synthesis Essay Assignment Sheet - Synthesis Essay Rubric - Final Earnest Exam - Exam Key - Societal Norms PBL - PBL Brainstorming - PBL Exit Ticket - PBL Rubric
This study guide and infographic for Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest offer summary and analysis on themes, symbols, and other literary devices found in the text. Explore Course Hero's library of literature materials, including documents and Q&A pairs.
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.
The Importance of Being Earnest lesson plan contains a variety of teaching materials that cater to all learning styles. Inside you'll find 30 Daily Lessons, 20 Fun Activities, 180 Multiple Choice Questions, 60 Short Essay Questions, 20 Essay Questions, Quizzes/Homework Assignments, Tests, and more. The lessons and activities will help students gain an intimate understanding of the text; while the tests and quizzes will help you evaluate how well the students have grasped the material.
This study guide and infographic for Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest offer summary and analysis on themes, symbols, and other literary devices found in the text. Explore Course Hero's library of literature materials, including documents and Q&A pairs.
Reading check quiz for the first act of "The Importance of Being Earnest." All questions are open ended and answer key is included! Act II Quiz https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Importance-of-Being-Earnest-Act-II-Quiz-3829933 Act III Quiz https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Importance-of-Being-Earnest-Act-III-Quiz-3829939
Santino Fontana in The Importance of Being Earnest (2011).
