The Importance of Being Earnest (Wisehouse Classics Edition)

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 Jamess Theatre in London it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personæ to escape burdensome social obligations. Working within the social conventions of late Victorian London the plays 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 plays humour though some were cautious about its explicit lack of social messages while others foresaw the modern consensus that it was the culmination of Wildes artistic career so far. Its high farce and witty dialogue have helped make THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Wildes most enduringly popular play.. The successful opening night marked the climax of Wildes career but also heralded his downfall. The Marquess of Queensberry whose son Lord Alfred Douglas was Wildes 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 Wildes 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. (more on www.wisehouse-classics.com)