The Importance of Being Earnest is a play by Oscar Wilde, a comedy of manners on the seriousness of society in either three or four acts (depending on edition) inspired by W. S. Gilbert's Engaged. It was first performed for the public on February 14, 1895 at the St. James's Theatre in London.
Set in England during the late Victorian era, its primary source of humour is based upon the main character Jack's fictitious younger brother Ernest.
Wilde's plays had reached a pinnacle of success, and anything new from the playwright was eagerly awaited. The press were always hungry for details and would pursue stories about new plots and characters with a vengeance. To combat this Wilde gave the play a working title, Lady Lancing. The use of seaside town names for leading characters, or the locations of their inception, can be recognised in all four of Wilde's society plays (Jack's surname, Worthing, is itself taken from the town where Wilde was staying when he wrote the play). (Quote from wikipedia.org)
About the Author
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (October 16, 1854 - November 30, 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and author of short stories. Known for his barbed wit, he was one of the most successful playwrights of late Victorian London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. As the result of a famous trial, he suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned for two years of hard labour after being convicted of the offence of "gross indecency."
Oscar Wilde was the second son born into an Anglo-Irish family, at 21 Westland Row, Dublin, to Sir William Wilde and his wife Jane Francesca Elgee (her pseudonym being Speranza). Jane was a successful writer, being a poet for the revolution
Set in England during the late Victorian era, its primary source of humour is based upon the main character Jack's fictitious younger brother Ernest.
Wilde's plays had reached a pinnacle of success, and anything new from the playwright was eagerly awaited. The press were always hungry for details and would pursue stories about new plots and characters with a vengeance. To combat this Wilde gave the play a working title, Lady Lancing. The use of seaside town names for leading characters, or the locations of their inception, can be recognised in all four of Wilde's society plays (Jack's surname, Worthing, is itself taken from the town where Wilde was staying when he wrote the play). (Quote from wikipedia.org)
About the Author
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (October 16, 1854 - November 30, 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and author of short stories. Known for his barbed wit, he was one of the most successful playwrights of late Victorian London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. As the result of a famous trial, he suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned for two years of hard labour after being convicted of the offence of "gross indecency."
Oscar Wilde was the second son born into an Anglo-Irish family, at 21 Westland Row, Dublin, to Sir William Wilde and his wife Jane Francesca Elgee (her pseudonym being Speranza). Jane was a successful writer, being a poet for the revolution
