-
Oscar
Wilde
,
The
Importance of Being
Earnest
(1895)
?
?
?
?
Wilde
’s dramatic
masterpiece
Immediate
success
Wilde
claimed the
play
had
“no
philosophy”
Plot turns on Victorian
emphasis on earnest
behavior
Image borrowed
from:
http://65.107.211.206/victorian/decadence/
wilde
/
1
Oscar
Wilde
,
The
Importance of Being
Earnest
(1895)
?
?
?
?
Play draws constant
attention to the
artifice
involved in life
Challenges our
perception of the
“real”
1762:
play
begins in
luxurious
room
—
sets
decadent mood
1763:
Jack can only
imagine going
anywhere for pleasure
2
?
Jack has come to town
to
propose to
Gwendolyn
Oscar
Wilde
,
The
Importance of Being
Earnest
(1895)
?
?
1764:
Algernon claims
women don
’t marry the
men they flirt with
1764-65:
cigarette
case reveals
Jack
’s
“true”
identity
3
?
?
?
1766:
Jack has
created Earnest as
his
brother in town
Algernon
claims
“truth is
rarely pure
and never
simple”
Algernon
has an
invented Bunbury
Oscar
Wilde
,
The
Importance of Being
Earnest
(1895)
?
1767:
Algernon
offended by women
4
who flirt with
their
husbands
?
Jack plans to
kill
“Earnest”
?
Algernon claims
married men must
know
Bunbury
?
Lady Bracknell
claims
behaving well and
feeling well rarely go
together
?
1768:
Gwendolyn
doesn
’t
want to be
5
perfect
—
hopes to
develop
Oscar
Wilde
,
The
Importance of Being
Earnest
(1895)
?
1769:
Gwendolyn
doesn
’t
want to talk
about the
weather
o
She knows
people always mean
something
else
?
Gwendolyn
’s “ideal” to
love someone named
Earnest
6
o
Playing with the Victorian
obsession with earnestness and
ideals
Oscar
Wilde
,
The
Importance of Being
Earnest
(1895)
?
?
1770:
Gwendolyn
finds Earnest a divine
name
—
only real
safe
name
Gwendolyn assures
Jack she will accept his
proposal
7
?
1771:
Lady Bracknell
claims
Gwendolyn
’s
parents will
inform her
when she’s
engaged
?
Lady Bracknell
has a
“test” for proper men
Oscar
Wilde
,
The
Importance of Being
Earnest
(1895)
?
1771:
Lady Bracknell
claims men
should
know everything or
nothing
8
?
1772:
Jack doesn
’t
know
his
origins
—
orpha
ned
?
1773:
Jack was found
in a handbag
?
Lady Bracknell
wants
Jack to produce some
parents
Oscar
Wilde
,
The
Importance of Being
Earnest
(1895)
9
?
?
?
?
1774:
Algernon on
tediousness nature of
relations
Algernon claims
things
were made to argue
for
Jack is sick of
cleverness
Algernon mixing
Jack
’s
false life with his
real life
Oscar
Wilde
,
The
Importance of Being
Earnest
(1895)
10
?
?
?
?
Act
II
—
scene changes to
Jack’s house in the
country
1777:
Miss Prism
wants Cecily to
pursue
intellectual
matters
1778:
Cecily keeps
diary so she doesn
’t
forget the wonderful
moments
of life
1779:
Cecily awaits
“Earnest’s”
arrival
—
worried
that this
11