The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde, 1895

ACT I – 1st extract

● Recap: Oscar Wilde + book cover

● Anticipation: Comment on this quote

“Men marry because they are tired; women, because they are curious; both are
disappointed” Oscar Wilde

● Look at the document

Type of document? Extract from a play
Title? The Importance of Being Earnest →The moral of the story might be that we should
be sincere/real.

● Read the text:

-Place?
London, in Algernon’s flat/apartment

-Time? The traditional British tea time.

-Characters?
→ Lane: Algernon’s manservant
→ Algernon: a bachelor (wealthy)
→ Jack / Ernest Worthing: Algernon’s friend – in love with Gwendoline
 Social status? Algernon and Jack are young men who are not troubled by work and
essentially can please themselves as to how they spend their days. They are privileged
young men who are representative of their social class and very far removed from the
poor of Victorian England.
-Activity? They are drinking tea, waiting for Aunt Augusta and Gwendolen.

-Main topic? They are discussing marriage.

-Find examples of wit / paradox / cynicism and false logic creating a comic effect.
→Wit (= clever humour/esprit):
“When one is in town one amuses oneself. When one is in the country one amuses other
people.” (l.25-26)
→Paradox (= a seemingly absurd or contradictory statement): “Divorces are made in
Heaven.” (l.51)
Divorce = Heaven → Marriage = Hell?
Very grim/cynical vision of marriage.

→Cynicism: (= when something is bitterly or contemptuously distrustful or pessimistic)

“I have only been married once. That was in consequence of a misunderstanding between
myself and a young person.” (l.7-8)
The only experience of marriage that Lane has in based on a misunderstanding → Quite sad.

“if the lower orders don’t set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them” (l.13-14)
“Then the excitement is all over. The very essence of romance is uncertainty.” (l.47)
Then as the end of romance.

→False logic: “She is my aunt” (l.55)

Why would Algernon’s relation to Aunt Augusta make him more entitled to the cucumber
sandwiches??

-Can you call this scene realistic? Can it be taken in “earnest”/seriously?

Society is not portrayed realistically here.
Indeed, the characters are caricatures /ˈkærɪkətʃʊə/: the mannered behaviour of the upper
classes is exaggerated in order to criticize it.
Indeed, they have no real identity and the rest of the play will show that they are not what
they seem to be.
They cannot be taken in earnest – a pun on the word Ernest, the name Jack uses to court
Gwendoline.

-What aspects of Victorian society are criticized here? (Think in terms of marriage,
hypocrisy, appearances and social class.)
Oscar Wilde mocks the Victorian society in which marriage is often based on social position
rather than love. Social class and respectability matter more than truth.
Algernon’s opinions are the very opposite of those expressed at that time. His cynicism is a
way of mocking the hypocritical Victorian values of truth and sincerity.

Homework: Learn the lesson

Discovering literature p.87-88
Part 1.

a) What do you learn about Algernon’s situation from the stage directions? Do you learn anything about his private life? What
information do the stage directions provide the reader with?

b) What information about Algernon’s position in British society can you collect through the text?

c) Do Algernon and Lane speak in a natural way? Explain why it’s not the case.

d) What are the stage directions mainly about? (2 elements expected)

e) Food and drinks are a critical topic at the beginning of the play… does it strike / shock you? Why?

Part 2.

a) Focus on the character of Algernon, what are the elements in the text emphasizing his belonging to the upper-class?

b) Focus on the character of Lane, what are the elements in the text emphasizing his belonging to the lower class?

For questions a) & b) focus on factual elements as well as on the way both characters address one another

Now focus on the relationship between Algernon & Jack

c) What advantage does the reader have over the spectator with regards to (concernant) the play?

d) What brings Jack into town? Why does he leave the country?

e) Now focus on the characters of Algernon, Jack & Lane: What are each characters’ view on “Marriage”?

Quote the text to justify your answers

Algernon Jack Lane

Part 3.

a) Look up for the definition of the word “Dandy”, which character best corresponds to that definition?

b) What visions of love does this passage convey?(Jack’s vision & Algernon’s vision)

c)“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.]” (78-80)

>what does the spectator expect when he hears about “Cecily”?

>what is the effect produced by the stage direction [Rings bell]?

d) globally speaking, what is the tone of this play? Why?

○ serious ○ tedious ○ trivial ○ ridiculous