Overview
People enjoy drama for many reasons. Dramatic works
are entertaining, and they also may educate you and
even provoke thoughts about life. This course explores
the elements of drama and presents excerpts of plays
as well as one complete play. It also includes scenarios
where fictional students discuss the meaning of the
works. Examining certain plays will enable you to
increase your understanding of this literary genre.
This course includes five lessons. First, Lesson 1
defines drama and its elements and types. Lesson 2
considers the elements of conflict and setting, and
Lesson 3 examines the role of character development in
a play. Lesson 4 explores the elements of plot
resolution and theme in drama. Finally, Lesson 5
focuses on a complete play.
The course includes the following drama selections:
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
(excerpt)
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (excerpt)
Hamlet by William Shakespeare (excerpt)
Overview
i
An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen (excerpt)
Trifles by Susan Glaspell
This course includes special features. For instance, the
lessons provide background information about literary
works and authors. This information often examines
the time and place when a work was written. Note that
language and ideas that are offensive today may not
have been considered controversial at the time the
literary work was written. Keep in mind that The
Hadley School for the Blind does not mean to offend
anyone. As another special feature, each lesson
includes a fictional class discussion in which students
discuss the drama pieces. These fictional students
frequently challenge the language or ideas presented in
the readings.
The Glossary for this course provides the definitions of
certain words that appear in the reading excerpts. The
terms are organized according to lesson sections.
Before reading an excerpt, review the corresponding list
of terms in the Glossary so you can better understand
the excerpt. Note that the Glossary provides the
meanings of words only as they are used in the
Overview
ii
excerpts; these words may have additional meanings. If
possible, obtain and use a good dictionary as well.
The section reviews in each lesson are for your
personal development only. Do not send your
responses to your Hadley instructor. Rather, check your
comprehension by comparing your answers with those
provided. You can always contact your instructor,
however, to clarify concepts.
You are required to submit five assignments, one at the
end of each lesson. These assignments enable your
instructor to measure your understanding of the
material presented in the lessons. Adult Continuing
Education (ACE) students must complete Part A of
each assignment; they do NOT need to complete Part
B. High school students must complete both Part A and
Part B of each assignment. Refer to the Getting Started
instructions for information about submitting
assignments.
If you are ready to explore drama, begin Lesson 1:
Elements of the Play and The Importance of Being
Earnest.
Overview
iii
Overview
iv
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and
The Importance of Being Earnest
Although drama began in ancient times, people today
enjoy live plays in theaters, as well as movies and
television dramas. Indeed, drama is a major literary
genre. This lesson defines drama and its elements, and
describes the different types of drama. It then presents
Act 1 of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar
Wilde. Finally, it discusses the meaning of this excerpt.
Familiarity with the elements of drama will enable you
to increase your understanding of this literary genre.
Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to
a. define drama and its elements
b. describe different types of drama
c.
analyze content in Act 1 of The Importance of
Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
d.
discuss the meaning of Act 1 of The Importance of
Being Earnest
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
1
What Is Drama?
People have written and enjoyed plays for centuries.
The word drama comes from an ancient Greek word
that means "to do" or "to act." The Greek philosopher
Aristotle described drama as imitated human action.
Throughout history, plays have shared specific
elements: character, plot, setting, theme, dialogue, and
stagecraft. Note that this lesson focuses on actual
stage plays, but much of the information also may
apply to contemporary movies.
Definition
Drama is literature meant to be acted in front of an
audience. When you read a play, remember the writer
wrote it primarily for people to act, not for people just
to read. You are reading the actors' script. So use your
imagination, and try reading the play aloud to better
understand it.
A play contains dialogue, which is what the characters
say. A play may also have stage directions that tell the
actors what to do and give information on stagecraft
such as lighting. Usually, a play has five acts, or parts,
and each act is divided into smaller parts, or scenes.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
2
Each scene advances the plot, reveals character, and
explores the theme. Note the word usually, however.
The Importance of Being Earnest has three acts, which
are not divided into scenes.
History of Drama
Drama began as a way to reenact religious myths and
rituals. Greece had theaters as early as 700 B.C. Greek
plays were based on familiar stories about the Greek
gods, and a chorus, or a group of performers,
commented in verse on the message of the play. These
early plays emphasized the chorus, but later the role of
individual actors became more important.
Drama began developing at various times throughout
the world. Chinese drama began in the Tang Dynasty in
the eighth century. In medieval Europe, between A.D.
500 and A.D. 1500, mystery and miracle plays with
religious themes were popular. In the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries, Noh drama developed in Japan. Noh
drama combines drama, music, and dance. Note that
one specific kind of drama is opera, or plays in which
the dialogue is sung. The first European operas, written
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
3
during the Renaissance, tried to revive the ancient
Greek tradition of combining music and drama.
The Renaissance impacted drama greatly. This was a
cultural revolution that began in Italy in the fourteenth
century and then spread throughout Europe.
Renaissance thinking emphasized the value of the
individual person over society and logic over religion.
Renaissance drama began to focus on the stories of
people besides saints and religious figures. In fact,
Renaissance plays tended to feature members of the
aristocracy.
By the end of the nineteenth century, however,
playwrights began to depict the lives of everyday
people. For example, the twentieth-century play The
Death of a Salesman portrays an ordinary working-class
man who suspects his life has been a failure.
Specific Elements
According to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, drama
has six elements. These elements are character, plot,
ideas (or theme), language (or dialogue), music, and
spectacle (or stagecraft). Setting is another element,
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
4
and for this lesson music is considered as part of
stagecraft.
Character
Probably the most important element in drama is
character. Generally, if people don't care about the
characters, chances are they won't care about the
play. The playwright must make the people in the play
come alive on the stage. To make people care about
the characters, the writer gives the characters traits, or
specific qualities. For example, a character may be kind
or cruel, lazy or industrious, beautiful or plain. In the
same way that you learn about people in real life, you
learn about characters through their appearance and by
what they say and do, as well as by what others say
about them.
A play usually contains both major and minor
characters. The main character is the protagonist, the
one whom the audience often empathizes with. The
antagonist is the character who wants to prevent the
protagonist from getting what he or she wants. Note,
however, that the antagonist is not necessarily an
enemy of the protagonist. In a play about unrequited
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
5
love, the love object may be the antagonist because he
or she does not love the lover. A play can have more
than one antagonist, and an antagonist can be society
or fate. For example, in a play where the main
character constantly battles prejudice because of race
or religion, society might be the antagonist. Some
people consider fate as the antagonist in Romeo and
Juliet, because the lovers are "star-cross'd."
What does the main character want? This is the
character's motivation. What obstacle stands in the
way of the protagonist getting what he or she wants?
This leads to the plot, which is what happens in the
play.
Plot and Conflict
The plot of a play develops as characters attempt to
solve problems or resolve conflicts. From wars to minor
disagreements between friends and family members,
conflict is an integral part of human activity. A
character may also feel conflicted inside, needing to
make a choice, but unsure as to which one. As in
reality, conflict is integral to drama.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
6
Four basic conflicts are
person
person
person
person
against
against
against
against
person
society
fate
him- or herself
Think of conflict as a problem to be solved or a
question to be answered. As you read The Importance
of Being Earnest, notice the problem the protagonist
faces. Is the protagonist in conflict with another
person, society, or fate? Or is the protagonist
conflicted inside, unsure of what to do? What does the
protagonist do to resolve this conflict?
Setting
Where and when people live affect how they live.
Culture has a major impact on how people think they
and others should behave. Where and when people live
also determine what problems they face. Similarly, the
setting, which involves time and place, affects a
dramatic work. When you read a play, consider the
time and place of the play, as well as the time and
place when the writer lived.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
7
Setting also involves the culture of the time and place.
Culture refers to the way a specific group of people live
and includes their beliefs and values. Characters act
differently at different times and places. As you read
The Importance of Being Earnest, ask yourself
questions about culture. One background information
section includes information on Victorian England. How
does Victorian culture affect the characters and how
they behave?
Some settings are essential to the play, as the plot
depends on a specific time and place. For example, a
play about the American Civil War would be very
different set in the twenty-first century. In other plays,
such as one that is predominantly a love story, the
setting may create the mood yet not be necessary for
the plot. Essential settings are called integral settings,
and those that mainly provide mood are backdrop
settings. As you read The Importance of Being Earnest,
ask yourself whether the setting is integral or backdrop.
Theme
The theme is a meaning of the play or an opinion
proved by the play. A play may have more than one
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
8
theme, and even literary critics may disagree about
what a play's themes are. Examples of theme might be
that people can overcome obstacles or that family
background affects a person forever. You can find the
theme by looking at the work as a whole, but
sometimes you can find the theme in parts or even
lines of the play. As you read the first act of The
Importance of Being Earnest, consider what the theme
is. What is Oscar Wilde trying to prove in this play? Do
the words of any of the characters hint at the meaning
of the play?
Sometimes writers use symbols to emphasize the
theme. A symbol is an object or action that stands for
an idea. For example, in a play about a young man
overcoming an abusive childhood, the protagonist may
run a marathon race. The trophy he wins may
symbolize his victory in life. Note that with most
questions about symbols and theme, there can be more
than one correct answer. Suppose the protagonist
realized that winning races did not replace being part of
a happy family. The trophy might symbolize the
emptiness of awards compared to loving relationships.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
9
Dialogue
The words spoken by the characters in a play form the
dialogue. In real life, what a person says tells you
something about him or her. Likewise, each line of
dialogue usually reveals characterization and advances
the plot, letting you know how characters are resolving
the conflict. Dialogue may also give clues about setting
and theme.
As you read The Importance of Being Earnest, notice
the dialogue. What does the dialogue tell you about the
characters, conflict, setting, and theme? Note that
many terms that deal with verbal combat, such as
repartee, come from actual terms for swordplay. Do
any of the characters use words as weapons or to
compete? Do they engage in verbal duels?
Three special kinds of dialogue are soliloquy,
monologue, and aside. A soliloquy is a speech that is
not meant to be heard by other characters. A
monologue is a long speech. An aside is a brief sharing
of a character's thoughts with the audience, which are
not supposed to be heard by the other characters.
Shakespeare, whose plays you will study in Lessons 2
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
10
and 3, frequently used soliloquies, monologues, and
asides. These types of dialogue let you know what
characters are thinking.
Note that while dialogue is an important element, the
playwright takes care to follow the number one writing
rule: Show, don't tell. In other words, people probably
don't want to watch a play where characters sit around
and tell each other their life stories. The audience
prefers to see these stories as they occur. Likewise,
people don't want to simply hear characters tell them
that another character is nice or obnoxious. Instead,
they want to watch that particular character in action
and decide for themselves.
Stagecraft
Different techniques are used to bring a play to life
before an audience. These techniques are known as
stagecraft and include stage directions, lighting, music,
props, and costumes.
Stage directions are in italics or appear in brackets, [ ],
and they directly tell actors when to enter the stage
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
11
and what props to bring. For example, consider the
following stage directions:
[Lane is arranging afternoon tea on the table, and after
the music has ceased, Algernon enters.]
This tells the actor playing Lane what to do: arrange
food items on a table. It also tells the actor playing
Algernon when to enter the stage.
The other stagecraft techniques are important to the
play. Lighting illuminates the stage and sets the mood
and focus. It is sometimes indicated in the stage
directions. Besides establishing mood, music can help
indicate the setting. For example, the music may
indicate the time period. If you hear songs by the
Beatles, you have a clue that the action may be taking
place during the 1960s. Props are objects actors use
on stage, and costumes are the clothes they wear.
Props and costume can also indicate the setting. Props
that resemble flowers may indicate that the characters
are in a garden. Style of dress, such as miniskirts, tiedyed shirts, and love beads, may suggest a setting of
the United States during the 1960s.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
12
Section Review
Indicate whether the following statements are true or
false. If the statement is false, reword it to make it
true. A suggested response follows each item.
1. A play is written primarily to be read silently.
False. A play is written primarily to be performed.
2. Greek plays were performed as early as 700 B.C.
True
3. An antagonist is always the enemy of the
protagonist.
False. An antagonist is a character who causes the
protagonist to feel conflict. In a love story, the
antagonist could be the person the protagonist is in
love with.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
13
4. A play about a quarrel between two teenage
siblings would have a person-against-society
conflict.
False. The conflict in a play about a quarrel
between two teenage siblings would most likely be
a person-against-person conflict.
5. The setting of a play about World War II would be
an integral setting.
True
6. The theme of a play is a meaning of the play.
True
7. The only purpose of dialogue is to move the plot
forward.
False. In good dialogue, each line both moves the
plot forward and says something about the
character speaking.
8. Stagecraft refers only to stage directions.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
14
False. Stagecraft also includes lighting, music,
props, and costumes.
This section defined drama and described its history. It
then discussed the elements of drama: character, plot,
setting, theme, dialogue, and stagecraft. The next
section explores different types of drama.
Types of Drama
The main types of drama are tragedy and comedy. The
word tragedy comes from a Greek word that means
"goat song," and critics think it may have referred to a
religious ritual. The word comedy is based on another
ancient Greek word that means "merrymaker" or
"singer." Different types of comedy exist: romantic
comedy, comedy of manners, satire, and farce. Other
types of drama also include tragicomedy, melodrama,
historical plays, and problem plays.
Tragedy
In a tragedy, a noble protagonist makes an error in
judgment due to a tragic flaw in his or her personality.
This leads to an unhappy ending. In other words,
character determines action: a tragic flaw in the
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
15
protagonist affects what the character does and what
happens in the play.
According to Aristotle, the hero of a tragedy should be
better than the average person and have both good and
bad traits. In addition, the unhappy ending should be
much worse than the character deserves. Writer
George Orwell said, "A tragic situation exists precisely
when virtue does not triumph but when it is still felt
that man is nobler than the forces which destroy him."
In tragedy, the protagonist may experience an
epiphany, which is a sudden, important understanding
about something or someone. For example, in
Shakespeare's King Lear there is a moment when the
king realizes, although too late, that his honest
daughter, Cordelia, is more trustworthy than his more
wheedling offspring.
Writers often use comic relief in tragedies to break the
tension. For example, when you read Romeo and Juliet
in Lesson 2, the prologue will tell you the play is a
tragedy. You will still notice funny moments, however,
such as when one character is so talkative that she is
asked to hush.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
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Comedy
This form of drama originated in ancient Greek fertility
rituals that involved the whole community. And in
comedy, the individual character is usually not
considered as important as the community. This is
different from tragedy, in which the individual is
typically regarded as more important than the group.
Early comedies featured a chorus and individual actors
presenting a situation that ends in a celebration of
harmony.
In drama, a comedy is not necessarily funny. If the
ending is happy for the protagonist, the play is
considered a comedy. Typically, the hero or heroine
overcomes his or her flaws to reach a happy ending. In
addition, comedy emphasizes the common condition of
humankind, sometimes criticizing or making fun of
humanity's ways. Comedies often feature people
resolving their differences and may end with the
protagonist getting married.
Ancient Greek comedy often portrayed a conflict
between a young hero and an older authority figure.
Critic Northrop Frye described this as a conflict
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
17
between a "society of youth" and a "society of the
old." As you read The Importance of Being Earnest, see
if you notice a generation-gap conflict.
Critics generally divide comedy into four types:
romantic comedy, satiric comedy, comedy of manners,
and farce. Consider each type carefully; critics find that
The Importance of Being Earnest contains elements of
each.
Romantic Comedy
In this type of play, lovers must cross hurdles before
they can be together. The end not only is happy but
also hints at the main characters living happily ever
after. Many boy-meets-girl movies are of this type.
At a deeper level, romantic comedy may show the
conflict between ideals and reality. During the play, the
lovers often escape to an idyllic setting with no
problems, where no barriers keep them apart.
Shakespeare used this in A Midsummer Night's Dream,
where lovers elope and escape to a beautiful forest
ruled by fairies.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
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Often romantic comedies feature more than one pair of
lovers, and the good are rewarded and the bad
punished. The play usually ends in a wedding or similar
celebration. In A Glossary of Literary Terms, M. H.
Abrams quotes critic Northrop Frye, who says that
romantic comedies mimic primitive stories about spring
conquering winter.
Comedy of Manners
This type of work shows how people of a particular
social group live, often the upper class, and pokes fun
at their ways. The action tends to be realistic, and
usually at least one character sees the humor in the
behavior of the others. These plays often feature young
lovers and witty dialogue. In fact, the dialogue may be
more important than plot.
In addition to funny dialogue, the humor in a comedy of
manners relies on the unusual behavior of the
characters, especially minor ones. These comedies
typically feature stock characters. These characters
seem more like stereotypes than real, multidimensional
people. In addition, stock characters reappear in many
different plays. Some frequently used stock characters
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
19
are the witty servant, the rich rival, and the oldfashioned parents. As you read The Importance of
Being Earnest, see if you can recognize any stock
characters.
Satire
The literary form of satire is used in other literary
genres, such as essays and novels, as well as drama.
Satire makes fun of society in an attempt to improve it.
One well-known satire is Jonathan Swift's essay A
Modest Proposal: For Preventing the Children of Poor
People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents
or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the
Public. The purpose of this essay, published in 1729,
was to draw attention to the suffering of poor people in
Ireland. To make his point, Swift made the ironic
suggestion that one solution would be for poor people
to sell their babies to rich people as food. Of course he
did not mean that babies actually should be slaughtered
for food! Rather, he wanted to emphasize the terrible
poverty in Ireland.
Like drama in general, satire began in ancient Greece,
but it blossomed in ancient Rome. Roman writers
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
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Horace and Juvenal are known as the fathers of satire.
Horace lived from 65 B.C. to 8 B.C., and Juvenal lived
from A.D. 55 to A.D. 138. Horatian satire tends to be
playful and accepting of the flaws of human nature.
Juvenalian satire, however, has the more bitter and
angry tone of moral indignation.
Satire often uses irony, which points out differences
between what is real and what is not. Just as Swift did
in A Modest Proposal, writers or their characters may
say something obviously untrue so they can make a
point. So when you read satire, keep in mind that
words don't always mean what they usually do. As you
read The Importance of Being Earnest, think of what
Wilde or the characters are really trying to say.
Satire often makes its targets appear ridiculous.
Remember, the aim of satire is to inspire changes and
correct the wrongs being ridiculed. Sometimes this
drama is called corrective comedy. Alexander Pope
wrote that "those who are ashamed of nothing else are
so of being ridiculous." As you read The Importance of
Being Earnest, ask whom Wilde is making appear
ridiculous. What is Wilde trying to correct?
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
21
Farce
Wilde once proclaimed that farce must go like a pistol
shot. In other words, the action and words must
surprise you into laughter. In farce, characters with
unusual traits are thrown into wildly unreal situations
and behave in outlandish ways. The plot often involves
people in disguise or switching gender roles. Farce may
also use crude jokes and slapstick. Slapstick involves
exaggerated physical actions, such as television's The
Three Stooges' eye-gouging and head-knocking antics.
The word slapstick is actually the translation of an
Italian word for an object made of two long wooden
boards. Even when the slats are only tapped, they
produce a very loud sound.
A key characteristic of farce is exaggeration. The
characters and situations in farce are not realistic.
Characters tend to be caricatures rather than real
people; that is, one or two character traits tend to be
emphasized and exaggerated. As you read The
Importance of Being Earnest, consider the characters.
What are their predominant traits?
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
22
Farce is considered low comedy, as it primarily aims to
make people laugh and doesn't always encourage them
to think. Some farces, however, are funny because of
their witty dialogue, and many plays that are not farces
still include scenes that involve farce. Modern situation
comedies, or sitcoms, on TV often rely on farce, too.
Other Types of Drama
Modern plays tend to have characteristics of both
comedy and tragedy. Although tragedy and comedy are
the major types of drama, other types exist, too. These
include tragic comedy, melodrama, history plays, and
problem plays.
Tragic Comedy
Sometimes an ending is not simply happy or unhappy.
Although tragic comedy has a happy ending for the
protagonist, it has a serious tone. For example, a play
about war that ends with lovers marrying would have a
happy ending for the protagonists. But the war plot
would give the play a somber mood. And just as in
tragedy, the protagonist of a tragic comedy may
experience an epiphany, which is a sudden, important
realization about something or someone.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
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Melodrama
In melodrama, good and evil are clear-cut, and plot is
more important than character. The theme is serious,
but the ending is unrealistically happy. Many daytime
dramas or "soap operas" are melodramas, as are a
number of movies made for TV. Victorian melodrama of
Wilde's time was related to the French well-made play.
These plays had tight plot structures and unrealistic,
happy endings, and often featured "fallen" women,
abandoned children, and many coincidences.
History Play
Shakespeare made the history play popular. He wrote
plays about many English kings: King John, King
Richard II, King Henry IV, King Henry V, King Henry VI,
King Richard III, and King Henry VIII. History is still a
popular subject for playwrights and screenwriters.
Think of movies like Schindler's List, which shows
some of the horrors of the Holocaust, and Elizabeth:
The Golden Age, which is about the British queen.
Indeed, an entire cable channel is devoted to history.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
24
Problem Play
A problem play examines a current social problem. For
example, a play could focus on subjects such as
poverty, discrimination, and war. Lessons 4 and 5 will
focus on the plays An Enemy of the People and Trifles,
which are often considered problem plays.
Section Review
Select the best item to answer each of the following
multiple-choice questions. A suggested response
follows each question.
1. Which of the following concepts BEST applies to
tragedy?
a. A character makes a judgment error because of
a tragic flaw.
b. The hero has only negative traits.
c. A tragedy cannot include any funny moments.
The correct answer is (a). The concept that a
character makes a judgment error because of a
tragic flaw best applies to tragedy.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
25
2. In which type of play is the community usually
more important than the individual?
a. a comedy
b. a tragedy
c. a tragic comedy
The correct answer is (a). In a comedy, the
community is usually more important than the
individual.
3. Which type of play is likely to show lovers
escaping to a perfect paradise?
a. farce
b. romantic comedy
c. comedy of manners
The correct answer is (b). A romantic comedy is
likely to show lovers escaping to a perfect
paradise.
4. Which type of play pokes fun at the ways of a
particular social group, often the upper class?
a. romantic comedy
b. satire
c. comedy of manners
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
26
The correct answer is (c). A comedy of manners
pokes fun at the ways of a particular social group,
often the upper class.
5. Which of the following primarily aims to improve
society through ridicule?
a. melodrama
b. satire
c. tragic comedy
The correct answer is (b). Satire primarily aims at
improving society through ridicule.
6. Which type of comedy typically includes crude
jokes and characters punching each other?
a. farce
b. comedy of manners
c. satire
The correct answer is (a). A farce might include
crude jokes and characters punching each other.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
27
7. What type of play focuses on a current social
problem such as the plight of abused children?
a. history play
b. tragic comedy
c. problem play
The correct answer is (c). A play that focuses on
the plight of abused children is a problem play.
8. Which type of play shows good and evil as very
clear-cut and ends happily?
a. problem play
b. history
c. melodrama
The correct answer is (c). A melodrama shows
good and evil as very clear-cut and ends happily.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
28
9. In which type of play is a protagonist likely to have
an
a.
b.
c.
epiphany?
satire
tragic comedy
farce
The correct answer is (b). In a tragic comedy, the
protagonist is likely to have an epiphany.
This section defined drama and discussed its history,
elements, and types. The next section presents Act 1
of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.
The Play Excerpt
Before beginning Act 1 of The Importance of Being
Earnest, go to the Glossary and read the vocabulary
definitions for this excerpt. Then consider some
background information to better appreciate the play.
Ask yourself questions while you read the play. Most
of all, enjoy The Importance of Being Earnest.
Background Information: Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde was born on October 16, 1854, in Dublin,
Ireland, into a well-to-do family. His father was a
famous surgeon, and his mother was a writer who
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
29
advocated the rights of Ireland and of women. Wilde
won a scholarship to Magdalen College in Oxford,
where he became a proponent of art for art's sake. In
other words, art did not have to improve the world but
could just be beautiful. He was also known as a dandy.
Dandies were men of fashion who paid a lot of
attention to dress.
After attending Magdalen College, Wilde married
Constance Lloyd and had two children. He edited The
Woman's World, a magazine with essays about
women's viewpoints on art as well as life in general.
Six months after leaving The Woman's World, he wrote
the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, which is about a
man with a double life. He also wrote poetry, fairy
tales, literary criticism, and essays, as well as plays
that received standing ovations. Wilde's play Salome
became especially famous after his death when Richard
Strauss wrote an operetta using Wilde's words for the
libretto.
The Importance of Being Earnest was Wilde's last and
most successful play. Many critics consider it his
masterpiece.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
30
Background Information: The Victorian Era
Oscar Wilde lived in the last half of the nineteenth
century, during the time of Queen Victoria. She ruled
England from 1837 to 1901. A very strict moral code
existed during the Victorian era. Victorians believed in
work and duty and hated idleness. Good manners,
reputation, and order were important values, and many
thought it best to hide undesirable parts of life. Keeping
a respectable appearance was paramount. As you read
The Importance of Being Earnest, notice how these
values affect the characters.
The Victorian era was also a time of dramatic change.
Major technological discoveries included the
locomotive, steamship, electric light, and photography.
Farming practices changed with the British Agricultural
Revolution. Better farming methods meant more food
with less labor. People left their farms and moved to
the cities to work in new factories. The Industrial
Revolution was flourishing, and workers toiled long
hours for cheap wages in very poor, unsafe working
conditions. At the same time, England was expanding
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
31
its empire and ruled much of the world, including
Ireland, Oscar Wilde's home country.
These changes influenced people's thinking, and some
began to question the idea of progress. Were
technological advances always helpful? Some scientists
predicted that the earth would become unfit to live on,
and science-fiction works reflected this view. Was it
really best for England to rule the world? People talked
about the economic gap between the haves and havenots, which was known as the "two Englands" debate.
Many reforms were due to writers protesting the hard
lives of factory workers. Many writers chafed under
Victorian restrictions and questioned the Victorian
belief that the world had stable values.
Historian Asa Briggs calls this period "The Age of
Improvement." The same activities that improved
society caused social problems. For example, the
agricultural revolution that produced better food caused
farmers to lose their farms. One theory of the time,
utilitarianism, held that an action was justified if it
created the most good for the most people, even if
some suffered.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
32
Literary critic Arnold Schmidt writes that Victorians
would define the word earnest differently than people
do today. To the Victorians, the word meant to be
eager and serious about doing the right thing, and to be
important rather than trivial. Schmidt notes that people
in very different situations were equally "earnest." This
included the factory worker struggling to make a living
as well as the businessman devoted to making more
goods at a cheaper price. As you read The Importance
of Being Earnest, notice which characters seem earnest
to you.
Aesthetic Movement
Artists, including writers, are influenced by their times,
so different eras have different artistic and literary
movements. The Industrial Revolution fueled the desire
to make many practical objects at low cost. But artists
of the aesthetic movement, which occurred in the late
nineteenth century, rebelled against Victorian values.
They were concerned that the beauty of handmade
items was being overlooked. They insisted that art did
not need to serve a practical purpose, and they
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
33
believed that people could make their own decisions
about art.
The aesthetic movement believed in art for art's sake.
In other words, art didn't need to have any value to
society or deal with specific social issues; instead,
beauty and pleasure were the important values for art.
Wilde was a leader of this movement and lectured on
aestheticism. He believed life should imitate art, rather
than art imitate life. In the preface to The Picture of
Dorian Gray, he wrote that "No artist desires to prove
anything."
Originally, many people considered The Importance of
Being Earnest a mere fluff comedy. Today, however,
critics recognize a serious underlying message that
criticizes hypocrisy and self-righteousness. As you read
The Importance of Being Earnest, see what you think.
Here are some interesting facts to keep in mind:
When Wilde was twelve years old, his little sister
died. For his entire life, he kept a lock of her hair in
an envelope labeled: "She is not dead but
sleepeth."
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
34
Wilde's fairy tales were written for his two young
sons, Cyril and Vyvyan.
Most actors in Wilde's day were not from the
upper class. Therefore, many managers insisted
that the actors dressed well even during off-work
hours to show that they could act upper-class
parts.
The Importance of Being Earnest was an immediate
success when it opened on February 14, 1895.
Eighty-six straight performances had standing
ovations.
The opening night was almost disrupted, however.
The Marquis of Queensbury, father of Lord Alfred
Douglas with whom Oscar Wilde had a long-term
relationship, planned a protest. Wilde found out
and had the theater surrounded by policemen.
Instead the Marquis left a grotesque bouquet of
vegetables at the theater door. When the Marquis
later left a calling card referring to Wilde as a
sodomite, Wilde sued him for libel. Wilde lost the
case and was arrested in May 1895, found guilty
of "gross indecency," and sentenced to two years'
hard labor.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
35
Before Wilde went to prison, he wrote that "the
secret of life is in art"; afterward, he wrote that
"the secret of life is suffering." Wilde's experiences
inspired his famous poem Ballad of Reading Gaol,
which described horrible conditions in prison. Wilde
also wrote many letters advocating prison reform.
Wilde died of meningitis in 1900, five years after
the opening of The Importance of Being Earnest
and two years after his release from prison. On his
deathbed, Wilde converted to Roman Catholicism.
The prison sentence caused Wilde's name to
become almost universally despised. Not a single
friend visited him in jail. His wife and children
checked into a Switzerland hotel under another
name, but when it was discovered who they were,
they were asked to leave. Wilde's works could no
longer be found in bookstores. When the manager
revived performances of The Importance of Being
Earnest after Wilde's death, he did not include
Wilde's name on the program.
Wilde never saw his sons again, who were ages
nine and ten at the time of his arrest. The younger
son, Vyvyan Holland, became a writer and wrote a
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
36
1954 memoir, Son of Oscar Wilde. Vyvyan's son
Merlin also wrote a number of books about Oscar
Wilde.
Wilde wrote his first draft of The Importance of
Being Earnest in three weeks. He said that while
writing this play, he "was struck by madness from
the moon."
Wilde often gave his characters place names; he
believed these names fell "on the ear full toned
with a secular dignity." Worthing, the last name of
one character, was the name of the resort where
Wilde wrote this play.
Note that Jack is a nickname for John. John
Worthing goes by the name of Ernest in town and
Jack in the country. The script always identifies
him as Jack.
J.P. stands for justice of the peace. D.D. stands
for doctor of divinity.
Half Moon Street is in the West End of London, a
very trendy area of London. Belgrave Square and
Grosvenor Square are other wealthy areas in the
West End.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
37
Lane was the name of a publisher with whom
Wilde was having a dispute. Some critics believe
that naming a servant "Lane" was an act of
revenge on Wilde's part.
Cucumber sandwiches were a delicacy served at
tea by aristocratic people. "Light refreshment at
five o'clock" refers to this tea, which might include
sandwiches, cookies, and crackers in addition to
actual tea.
Shropshire is a county of England that is very rural
with a small population.
The play refers to a divorce court. Before 1857,
divorces were rare, as they were costly and
needed to be approved by Parliament. In 1857,
Parliament created a divorce court, which made it
easier to get a divorce.
Scotland Yard is the nickname for London's
metropolitan police headquarters.
Wilde was friends with the Cardew family. When
Cecily Cardew was born in 1893, Wilde promised
to name a character after her.
Willis's is short for Willis's Rooms, a fancy London
restaurant where celebrities often dined.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
38
One character speaks of being "sent down." This
means being assigned as someone's escort or
companion during dinner.
Richard Wagner was a German composer whose
operas were known for being loud and powerful.
"Ready money" refers to cash instead of credit.
Liberal Unionists were members of the Liberal Party
who voted against Home Rule for Ireland in 1886.
Tories were members of the Conservative Party.
One character speaks of people coming in the
evening instead of for dinner. In Victorian times,
this signified a class difference. Someone who
didn't belong to a high social class would not be
invited to dinner, but might be welcome for afterdinner conversation.
Victoria Station is one of London's largest railroad
stations. At that time, it was made up of two
stations. The station for the London, Chatham and
Dover Railway wasn't as fancy as the one for the
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway.
When Lady Bracknell refers to the excesses of the
French Revolution, she is likely referring to the
beheading of French aristocrats.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
39
A trivet is a three-legged stand, so the phrases
"right as a trivet" and "steady as a trivet" mean
"perfect."
The Gorgons were three sisters in Greek mythology
who had snakes for hair; whoever a Gorgon looked
at turned into stone. "Gorgon" also refers to an
ugly or unpleasant person.
Cecily is described as being "only eighteen."
Eighteen was the age when young women in
society "came out," or were introduced during a
fashionable season as possible marriage partners.
The Empire is a theater.
"Christian name" is the name given to a person in
baptism, or christening; it can also simply mean
one's first name.
The Railway Guide was a timetable of train times.
Note that some words have different spellings in
Great Britain than they do in the United States.
Many words that contain the letters o-r in the
United States contain the letters o-u-r instead in
Great Britain. For example, the U.S. words
neighbor and color are spelled neighbour and colour
in Great Britain.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
40
Wilde's first version of The Importance of Being
Earnest contained four acts, but the theater
manager wanted it cut to three acts. In one scene
that had been cut, Mr. Gribsby, a solicitor, comes
to arrest "Ernest" for unpaid bills. Gribsby almost
arrests Algernon, who at the time is pretending his
name is Ernest.
A 2002 movie of this play starred Reese
Witherspoon, Colin Firth, and Rupert Everett. This
movie includes the deleted Gribsby scene.
Allan Aynesworth, who played Algernon on the
opening night of the play, said "In my fifty-three
years of acting, I never remember a greater triumph
than the first night of The Importance of Being
Earnest."
Points to Consider
To fully appreciate the play excerpt, keep these
questions in mind:
What is the setting?
What do you learn about the characters from the
dialogue?
What is the main conflict?
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
41
What type of play is The Importance of Being
Earnest?
In Variety magazine, Richard Ouzounian writes that
lines in this play "mock everything Victorian
England held dear." See if you can find such lines.
What do you think is the theme, based on this
excerpt?
As you read Act 1 of The Importance of Being Earnest,
think about what the play means to you. Can you relate
this meaning to your own life and today's world?
The Importance of Being Earnest:
A Trivial Comedy for Serious People, Act 1
by Oscar Wilde
John Worthing, J.P.
Algernon Moncrieff
Rev. Canon Chasuble, D.D.
Merriman, Butler
Lane, Manservant
Lady Bracknell
Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
42
Cecily Cardew
Miss Prism, Governess
Time: The Present.
[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.]
[Lane is arranging afternoon tea on the table, and after
the music has ceased, Algernon enters.]
Algernon: Did you hear what I was playing, Lane?
Lane: I didn't think it polite to listen, sir.
Algernon: I'm sorry for that, for your sake. I don't play
accurately--anyone can play accurately--but I play
with wonderful expression. As far as the piano is
concerned, sentiment is my forte. I keep science
for Life.
Lane: Yes, sir.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
43
Algernon: And, speaking of the science of Life, have
you got the cucumber sandwiches cut for Lady
Bracknell?
Lane: Yes, sir. [Hands them on a salver.]
Algernon: [Inspects them, takes two, and sits down on
the sofa.] Oh! ... by the way, Lane, I see from your
book that on Thursday night, when Lord Shoreman
and Mr. Worthing were dining with me, eight
bottles of champagne are entered as having been
consumed.
Lane: Yes, sir; eight bottles and a pint.
Algernon: Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment
the servants invariably drink the champagne? I ask
merely for information.
Lane: I attribute it to the superior quality of the wine,
sir. I have often observed that in married
households the champagne is rarely of a first-rate
brand.
Algernon: Good heavens! Is marriage so demoralising
as that?
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
44
Lane: I believe it is a very pleasant state, sir. I have had
very little experience of it myself up to the present.
I have only been married once. That was in
consequence of a misunderstanding between
myself and a young person.
Algernon: [Languidly.] I don't know that I am much
interested in your family life, Lane.
Lane: No, sir; it is not a very interesting subject. I never
think of it myself.
Algernon: Very natural, I am sure. That will do, Lane,
thank you.
[Lane goes out.]
Algernon: Lane's views on marriage seem somewhat
lax. Really, if the lower orders don't set us a good
example, what on earth is the use of them? They
seem, as a class, to have absolutely no sense of
moral responsibility.
[Enter Lane.]
Lane: Mr. Ernest Worthing.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
45
[Enter Jack.]
[Lane goes out.]
Algernon: How are you, my dear Ernest? What brings
you up to town?
Jack: Oh, pleasure, pleasure! What else should bring
one anywhere? Eating as usual, I see, Algy!
Algernon: [Stiffly.] I believe it is customary in good
society to take some slight refreshment at five
o'clock. Where have you been since last Thursday?
Jack: [Sitting down on the sofa.] In the country.
Algernon: What on earth do you do there?
Jack: [Pulling off his gloves.] When one is in town one
amuses oneself. When one is in the country one
amuses other people. It is excessively boring.
Algernon: And who are the people you amuse?
Jack: [Airily.] Oh, neighbours, neighbours.
Algernon: Got nice neighbours in your part of
Shropshire?
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
46
Jack: Perfectly horrid! Never speak to one of them.
Algernon: How immensely you must amuse them!
[Goes over and takes sandwich.] By the way,
Shropshire is your county, is it not?
Jack: Eh? Shropshire? Yes, of course. Hallo! Why all
these cups? Why cucumber sandwiches? Why
such reckless extravagance in one so young? Who
is coming to tea?
Algernon: Oh! merely Aunt Augusta and Gwendolen.
Jack: How perfectly delightful!
Algernon: Yes, that is all very well; but I am afraid
Aunt Augusta won't quite approve of your being
here.
Jack: May I ask why?
Algernon: My dear fellow, the way you flirt with
Gwendolen is perfectly disgraceful. It is almost as
bad as the way Gwendolen flirts with you.
Jack: I am in love with Gwendolen. I have come up to
town expressly to propose to her.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
47
Algernon: I thought you had come up for pleasure? ... I
call that business.
Jack: How utterly unromantic you are!
Algernon: I really don't see anything romantic in
proposing. It is very romantic to be in love. But
there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal.
Why, one may be accepted. One usually is, I
believe. Then the excitement is all over. The very
essence of romance is uncertainty. If ever I get
married, I'll certainly try to forget the fact.
Jack: I have no doubt about that, dear Algy. The
Divorce Court was specially invented for people
whose memories are so curiously constituted.
Algernon: Oh! there is no use speculating on that
subject. Divorces are made in heaven-- [Jack puts
out his hand to take a sandwich. Algernon at once
interferes.] Please don't touch the cucumber
sandwiches. They are ordered specially for Aunt
Augusta. [Takes one and eats it.]
Jack: Well, you have been eating them all the time.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
48
Algernon: That is quite a different matter. She is my
aunt. [Takes plate from below.] Have some bread
and butter. The bread and butter is for Gwendolen.
Gwendolen is devoted to bread and butter.
Jack: [Advancing to table and helping himself.] And
very good bread and butter it is too.
Algernon: Well, my dear fellow, you need not eat as if
you were going to eat it all. You behave as if you
were married to her already. You are not married to
her already, and I don't think you ever will be.
Jack: Why on earth do you say that?
Algernon: Well, in the first place girls never marry the
men they flirt with. Girls don't think it right.
Jack: Oh, that is nonsense!
Algernon: It isn't. It is a great truth. It accounts for the
extraordinary number of bachelors that one sees all
over the place. In the second place, I don't give my
consent.
Jack: Your consent!
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
49
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.]
Jack: Cecily! What on earth do you mean? What do
you mean, Algy, by Cecily! I don't know anyone of
the name of Cecily.
[Enter Lane.]
Algernon: Bring me that cigarette case Mr. Worthing
left in the smoking room the last time he dined
here.
Lane: Yes, sir. [Lane goes out.]
Jack: Do you mean to say you have had my cigarette
case all this time? I wish to goodness you had let
me know. I have been writing frantic letters to
Scotland Yard about it. I was very nearly offering a
large reward.
Algernon: Well, I wish you would offer one. I happen to
be more than usually hard up.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
50
Jack: There is no good offering a large reward now
that the thing is found.
[Enter Lane with the cigarette case on a salver.
Algernon takes it at once. Lane goes out.]
Algernon: I think that is rather mean of you, Ernest, I
must say. [Opens case and examines it.] However,
it makes no matter, for, now that I look at the
inscription inside, I find that the thing isn't yours
after all.
Jack: Of course it's mine. [Moving to him.] You have
seen me with it a hundred times, and you have no
right whatsoever to read what is written inside. It
is a very ungentlemanly thing to read a private
cigarette case.
Algernon: Oh! it is absurd to have a hard and fast rule
about what one should read and what one
shouldn't. More than half of modern culture
depends on what one shouldn't read.
Jack: I am quite aware of the fact, and I don't propose
to discuss modern culture. It isn't the sort of thing
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
51
one should talk of in private. I simply want my
cigarette case back.
Algernon: Yes; but this isn't your cigarette case. This
cigarette case is a present from someone of the
name of Cecily, and you said you didn't know
anyone of that name.
Jack: Well, if you want to know, Cecily happens to be
my aunt.
Algernon: Your aunt!
Jack: Yes. Charming old lady she is, too. Lives at
Tunbridge Wells. Just give it back to me, Algy.
Algernon: [Retreating to back of sofa.] But why does
she call herself little Cecily if she is your aunt and
lives at Tunbridge Wells? [Reading.] 'From little
Cecily with her fondest love.'
Jack: [Moving to sofa and kneeling upon it.] My dear
fellow, what on earth is there in that? Some aunts
are tall, some aunts are not tall. That is a matter
that surely an aunt may be allowed to decide for
herself. You seem to think that every aunt should
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
52
be exactly like your aunt! That is absurd! For
heaven's sake give me back my cigarette case.
[Follows Algernon around the room.]
Algernon: Yes. But why does your aunt call you her
uncle? 'From little Cecily, with her fondest love to
her dear Uncle Jack.' There is no objection, I
admit, to an aunt being a small aunt, but why an
aunt, no matter what her size may be, should call
her own nephew her uncle, I can't quite make out.
Besides, your name isn't Jack at all; it is Ernest.
Jack: It isn't Ernest; it's Jack.
Algernon: You have always told me it was Ernest. I
have introduced you to everyone as Ernest. You
answer to the name of Ernest. You look as if your
name was Ernest. You are the most earnestlooking person I ever saw in my life. It is perfectly
absurd your saying that your name isn't Ernest. It's
on your cards. Here is one of them. [Taking it from
case.] 'Mr. Ernest Worthing, B. 4, The Albany.' I'll
keep this as a proof that your name is Ernest if
ever you attempt to deny it to me, or to
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
53
Gwendolen, or to anyone else. [Puts the card in his
pocket.]
Jack: Well, my name is Ernest in town and Jack in the
country, and the cigarette case was given to me in
the country.
Algernon: Yes, but that does not account for the fact
that your small Aunt Cecily, who lives at Tunbridge
Wells, calls you her dear uncle. Come, old boy, you
had much better have the thing out at once.
Jack: My dear Algy, you talk exactly as if you were a
dentist. It is very vulgar to talk like a dentist when
one isn't a dentist. It produces a false impression.
Algernon: Well, that is exactly what dentists always
do. Now, go on! Tell me the whole thing. I may
mention that I have always suspected you of being
a confirmed and secret Bunburyist; and I am quite
sure of it now.
Jack: Bunburyist? What on earth do you mean by a
Bunburyist?
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
54
Algernon: I'll reveal to you the meaning of that
incomparable expression as soon as you are kind
enough to inform me why you are Ernest in town
and Jack in the country.
Jack: Well, produce my cigarette case first.
Algernon: Here it is. [Hands cigarette case.] Now
produce your explanation, and pray make it
improbable. [Sits on sofa.]
Jack: My dear fellow, there is nothing improbable about
my explanation at all. In fact it's perfectly ordinary.
Old Mr. Thomas Cardew, who adopted me when I
was a little boy, made me in his will guardian to his
granddaughter, Miss Cecily Cardew. Cecily, who
addresses me as her uncle from motives of respect
that you could not possibly appreciate, lives at my
place in the country under the charge of her
admirable governess, Miss Prism.
Algernon: Where is that place in the country, by the
way?
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
55
Jack: That is nothing to you, dear boy. You are not
going to be invited ... I may tell you candidly that
the place is not in Shropshire.
Algernon: I suspected that, my dear fellow! I have
Bunburyed all over Shropshire on two separate
occasions. Now, go on. Why are you Ernest in
town and Jack in the country?
Jack: My dear Algy, I don't know whether you will be
able to understand my real motives. You are hardly
serious enough. When one is placed in the position
of guardian, one has to adopt a very high moral
tone on all subjects. It's one's duty to do so. And
as a high moral tone can hardly be said to conduce
very much to either one's health or one's
happiness, in order to get up to town I have
always pretended to have a younger brother of the
name of Ernest, who lives in the Albany, and gets
into the most dreadful scrapes. That, my dear
Algy, is the whole truth pure and simple.
Algernon: The truth is rarely pure and never simple.
Modern life would be very tedious if it were either,
and modern literature a complete impossibility!
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
56
Jack: That wouldn't be at all a bad thing.
Algernon: Literary criticism is not your forte, my dear
fellow. Don't try it. You should leave that to people
who haven't been at a University. They do it so
well in the daily papers. What you really are is a
Bunburyist. I was quite right in saying you were a
Bunburyist. You are one of the most advanced
Bunburyists I know.
Jack: What on earth do you mean?
Algernon: You have invented a very useful younger
brother called Ernest, in order that you may be able
to come up to town as often as you like. I have
invented an invaluable permanent invalid called
Bunbury, in order that I may be able to go down
into the country whenever I choose. Bunbury is
perfectly invaluable. If it wasn't for Bunbury's
extraordinary bad health, for instance, I wouldn't
be able to dine with you at Willis's tonight, for I
have been really engaged to Aunt Augusta for
more than a week.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
57
Jack: I haven't asked you to dine with me anywhere
tonight.
Algernon: I know. You are absurdly careless about
sending out invitations. It is very foolish of you.
Nothing annoys people so much as not receiving
invitations.
Jack: You had much better dine with your Aunt
Augusta.
Algernon: I haven't the smallest intention of doing
anything of the kind. To begin with, I dined there
on Monday, and once a week is quite enough to
dine with one's own relations. In the second place,
whenever I do dine there I am always treated as a
member of the family, and sent down with either
no woman at all, or two. In the third place, I know
perfectly well whom she will place me next to,
tonight. She will place me next to Mary Farquhar,
who always flirts with her own husband across the
dinner table. That is not very pleasant. Indeed, it is
not even decent ... and that sort of thing is
enormously on the increase. The amount of women
in London who flirt with their own husbands is
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
58
perfectly scandalous. It looks so bad. It is simply
washing one's clean linen in public. Besides, now
that I know you to be a confirmed Bunburyist I
naturally want to talk to you about Bunburying. I
want to tell you the rules.
Jack: I'm not a Bunburyist at all. If Gwendolen accepts
me, I am going to kill my brother, indeed I think I'll
kill him in any case. Cecily is a little too much
interested in him. It is rather a bore. So I am going
to get rid of Ernest. And I strongly advise you to do
the same with Mr. ... with your invalid friend who
has the absurd name.
Algernon: Nothing will induce me to part with Bunbury,
and if you ever get married, which seems to me
extremely problematic, you will be very glad to
know Bunbury. A man who marries without
knowing Bunbury has a very tedious time of it.
Jack: That is nonsense. If I marry a charming girl like
Gwendolen, and she is the only girl I ever saw in
my life that I would marry, I certainly won't want
to know Bunbury.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
59
Algernon: Then your wife will. You don't seem to
realise that in married life three is company and
two is none.
Jack: [Sententiously.] That, my dear young friend, is
the theory that the corrupt French Drama has been
propounding for the last fifty years.
Algernon: Yes; and that the happy English home has
proved in half the time.
Jack: For heaven's sake, don't try to be cynical. It's
perfectly easy to be cynical.
Algernon: My dear fellow, it isn't easy to be anything
nowadays. There's such a lot of beastly
competition about. [The sound of an electric bell is
heard.] Ah! that must be Aunt Augusta. Only
relatives, or creditors, ever ring in that Wagnerian
manner. Now, if I get her out of the way for ten
minutes, so that you can have an opportunity for
proposing to Gwendolen, may I dine with you
tonight at Willis's?
Jack: I suppose so, if you want to.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
60
Algernon: Yes, but you must be serious about it. I hate
people who are not serious about meals. It is so
shallow of them.
[Enter Lane.]
Lane: Lady Bracknell and Miss Fairfax.
[Algernon goes forward to meet them. Enter Lady
Bracknell and Gwendolen.]
Lady Bracknell: Good afternoon, dear Algernon, I hope
you are behaving very well.
Algernon: I'm feeling very well, Aunt Augusta.
Lady Bracknell: That's not quite the same thing. In fact
the two things rarely go together. [Sees Jack and
bows to him with icy coldness.]
Algernon: [To Gwendolen.] Dear me, you are smart!
Gwendolen: I am always smart! Am I not, Mr.
Worthing?
Jack: You're quite perfect, Miss Fairfax.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
61
Gwendolen: Oh! I hope I am not that. It would leave no
room for developments, and I intend to develop in
many directions. [Gwendolen and Jack sit down
together in the corner.]
Lady Bracknell: I'm sorry if we are a little late,
Algernon, but I was obliged to call on dear Lady
Harbury. I hadn't been there since her poor
husband's death. I never saw a woman so altered;
she looks quite twenty years younger. And now I'll
have a cup of tea, and one of those nice cucumber
sandwiches you promised me.
Algernon: Certainly, Aunt Augusta. [Goes over to tea
table.]
Lady Bracknell: Won't you come and sit here,
Gwendolen?
Gwendolen: Thanks, Mamma, I'm quite comfortable
where I am.
Algernon: [Picking up empty plate in horror.] Good
heavens! Lane! Why are there no cucumber
sandwiches? I ordered them specially.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
62
Lane: [Gravely.] There were no cucumbers in the
market this morning, sir. I went down twice.
Algernon: No cucumbers!
Lane: No, sir. Not even for ready money.
Algernon: That will do, Lane, thank you.
Lane: Thank you, sir. [Goes out.]
Algernon: I am greatly distressed, Aunt Augusta, about
there being no cucumbers, not even for ready
money.
Lady Bracknell: It really makes no matter, Algernon. I
had some crumpets with Lady Harbury, who seems
to me to be living entirely for pleasure now.
Algernon: I hear her hair has turned quite gold from
grief.
Lady Bracknell: It certainly has changed its colour.
From what cause I, of course, cannot say.
[Algernon crosses and hands tea.] Thank you. I've
quite a treat for you tonight, Algernon. I am going
to send you down with Mary Farquhar. She is such
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
63
a nice woman, and so attentive to her husband.
It's delightful to watch them.
Algernon: I am afraid, Aunt Augusta, I shall have to
give up the pleasure of dining with you tonight
after all.
Lady Bracknell: [Frowning.] I hope not, Algernon. It
would put my table completely out. Your uncle
would have to dine upstairs. Fortunately he is
accustomed to that.
Algernon: It is a great bore, and, I need hardly say, a
terrible disappointment to me, but the fact is I have
just had a telegram to say that my poor friend
Bunbury is very ill again. [Exchanges glances with
Jack.] They seem to think I should be with him.
Lady Bracknell: It is very strange. This Mr. Bunbury
seems to suffer from curiously bad health.
Algernon: Yes; poor Bunbury is a dreadful invalid.
Lady Bracknell: Well, I must say, Algernon, that I think
it is high time that Mr. Bunbury made up his mind
whether he was going to live or to die. This shillyLesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
64
shallying with the question is absurd. Nor do I in
any way approve of the modern sympathy with
invalids. I consider it morbid. Illness of any kind is
hardly a thing to be encouraged in others. Health is
the primary duty of life. I am always telling that to
your poor uncle, but he never seems to take much
notice ... as far as any improvement in his ailment
goes. I should be much obliged if you would ask
Mr. Bunbury, from me, to be kind enough not to
have a relapse on Saturday, for I rely on you to
arrange my music for me. It is my last reception,
and one wants something that will encourage
conversation, particularly at the end of the season
when everyone has practically said whatever they
had to say, which, in most cases, was probably
not much.
Algernon: I'll speak to Bunbury, Aunt Augusta, if he is
still conscious, and I think I can promise you he'll
be all right by Saturday. Of course the music is a
great difficulty. You see, if one plays good music,
people don't listen, and if one plays bad music
people don't talk. But I'll run over the programme
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
65
I've drawn out, if you will kindly come into the
next room for a moment.
Lady Bracknell: Thank you, Algernon. It is very
thoughtful of you. [Rising, and following Algernon.]
I'm sure the programme will be delightful, after a
few expurgations. French songs I cannot possibly
allow. People always seem to think that they are
improper, and either look shocked, which is vulgar,
or laugh, which is worse. But German sounds a
thoroughly respectable language, and indeed, I
believe is so. Gwendolen, you will accompany me.
Gwendolen: Certainly, Mamma.
[Lady Bracknell and Algernon go into the music room,
Gwendolen remains behind.]
Jack: Charming day it has been, Miss Fairfax.
Gwendolen: Pray don't talk to me about the weather,
Mr. Worthing. Whenever people talk to me about
the weather, I always feel quite certain that they
mean something else. And that makes me so
nervous.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
66
Jack: I do mean something else.
Gwendolen: I thought so. In fact, I am never wrong.
Jack: And I would like to be allowed to take advantage
of Lady Bracknell's temporary absence ...
Gwendolen: I would certainly advise you to do so.
Mamma has a way of coming back suddenly into a
room that I have often had to speak to her about.
Jack: [Nervously.] Miss Fairfax, ever since I met you I
have admired you more than any girl ... I have ever
met since ... I met you.
Gwendolen: Yes, I am quite well aware of the fact.
And I often wish that in public, at any rate, you
had been more demonstrative. For me you have
always had an irresistible fascination. Even before I
met you I was far from indifferent to you. [Jack
looks at her in amazement.] We live, as I hope you
know, Mr. Worthing, in an age of ideals. The fact
is constantly mentioned in the more expensive
monthly magazines, and has reached the provincial
pulpits, I am told; and my ideal has always been to
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
67
love someone of the name of Ernest. There is
something in that name that inspires absolute
confidence. The moment Algernon first mentioned
to me that he had a friend called Ernest, I knew I
was destined to love you.
Jack: You really love me, Gwendolen?
Gwendolen: Passionately!
Jack: Darling! You don't know how happy you've made
me.
Gwendolen: My own Ernest!
Jack: But you don't really mean to say that you
couldn't love me if my name wasn't Ernest?
Gwendolen: But your name is Ernest.
Jack: Yes, I know it is. But supposing it was something
else? Do you mean to say you couldn't love me
then?
Gwendolen: [Glibly.] Ah! that is clearly a metaphysical
speculation, and like most metaphysical
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
68
speculations has very little reference at all to the
actual facts of real life, as we know them.
Jack: Personally, darling, to speak quite candidly, I
don't much care about the name of Ernest ... I
don't think the name suits me at all.
Gwendolen: It suits you perfectly. It is a divine name. It
has a music of its own. It produces vibrations.
Jack: Well, really, Gwendolen, I must say that I think
there are lots of other much nicer names. I think
Jack, for instance, a charming name.
Gwendolen: Jack? ... No, there is very little music in
the name Jack, if any at all, indeed. It does not
thrill. It produces absolutely no vibrations ... I have
known several Jacks, and they all, without
exception, were more than usually plain. Besides,
Jack is a notorious domesticity for John! And I pity
any woman who is married to a man called John.
She would probably never be allowed to know the
entrancing pleasure of a single moment's solitude.
The only really safe name is Ernest.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
69
Jack: Gwendolen, I must get christened at once--I
mean we must get married at once. There is no
time to be lost.
Gwendolen: Married, Mr. Worthing?
Jack: [Astounded.] Well ... surely. You know that I love
you, and you led me to believe, Miss Fairfax, that
you were not absolutely indifferent to me.
Gwendolen: I adore you. But you haven't proposed to
me yet. Nothing has been said at all about
marriage. The subject has not even been touched
on.
Jack: Well ... may I propose to you now?
Gwendolen: I think it would be an admirable
opportunity. And to spare you any possible
disappointment, Mr. Worthing, I think it only fair to
tell you quite frankly beforehand that I am fully
determined to accept you.
Jack: Gwendolen!
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
70
Gwendolen: Yes, Mr. Worthing, what have you got to
say to me?
Jack: You know what I have got to say to you.
Gwendolen: Yes, but you don't say it.
Jack: Gwendolen, will you marry me? [Goes on his
knees.]
Gwendolen: Of course I will, darling. How long you
have been about it! I am afraid you have had very
little experience in how to propose.
Jack: My own one, I have never loved anyone in the
world but you.
Gwendolen: Yes, but men often propose for practice. I
know my brother Gerald does. All my girlfriends tell
me so. What wonderfully blue eyes you have,
Ernest! They are quite, quite, blue. I hope you will
always look at me just like that, especially when
there are other people present. [Enter Lady
Bracknell.]
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
71
Lady Bracknell: Mr. Worthing! Rise, sir, from this
semirecumbent posture. It is most indecorous.
Gwendolen: Mamma! [He tries to rise; she restrains
him.] I must beg you to retire. This is no place for
you. Besides, Mr. Worthing has not quite finished
yet.
Lady Bracknell: Finished what, may I ask?
Gwendolen: I am engaged to Mr. Worthing, Mamma.
[They rise together.]
Lady Bracknell: Pardon me, you are not engaged to
anyone. When you do become engaged to
someone, I, or your father, should his health permit
him, will inform you of the fact. An engagement
should come on a young girl as a surprise, pleasant
or unpleasant, as the case may be. It is hardly a
matter that she could be allowed to arrange for
herself ... And now I have a few questions to put
to you, Mr. Worthing. While I am making these
inquiries, you, Gwendolen, will wait for me below
in the carriage.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
72
Gwendolen: [Reproachfully.] Mamma!
Lady Bracknell: In the carriage, Gwendolen!
[Gwendolen goes to the door. She and Jack blow
kisses to each other behind Lady Bracknell's back.
Lady Bracknell looks vaguely about as if she could
not understand what the noise was. Finally turns
round.] Gwendolen, the carriage!
Gwendolen: Yes, Mamma. [Goes out, looking back at
Jack.]
Lady Bracknell: [Sitting down.] You can take a seat,
Mr. Worthing.
[Looks in her pocket for notebook and pencil.]
Jack: Thank you, Lady Bracknell, I prefer standing.
Lady Bracknell: [Pencil and notebook in hand.] I feel
bound to tell you that you are not down on my list
of eligible young men, although I have the same list
as the dear Duchess of Bolton has. We work
together, in fact. However, I am quite ready to
enter your name, should your answers be what a
really affectionate mother requires. Do you smoke?
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
73
Jack: Well, yes, I must admit I smoke.
Lady Bracknell: I am glad to hear it. A man should
always have an occupation of some kind. There are
far too many idle men in London as it is. How old
are you?
Jack: Twenty-nine.
Lady Bracknell: A very good age to be married at. I
have always been of opinion that a man who
desires to get married should know either
everything or nothing. Which do you know?
Jack: [After some hesitation.] I know nothing, Lady
Bracknell.
Lady Bracknell: I am pleased to hear it. I do not
approve of anything that tampers with natural
ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit;
touch it and the bloom is gone. The whole theory
of modern education is radically unsound.
Fortunately in England, at any rate, education
produces no effect whatsoever. If it did, it would
prove a serious danger to the upper classes, and
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
74
probably lead to acts of violence in Grosvenor
Square. What is your income?
Jack: Between seven and eight thousand a year.
Lady Bracknell: [Makes a note in her book.] In land, or
in investments?
Jack: In investments, chiefly.
Lady Bracknell: That is satisfactory. What between the
duties expected of one during one's lifetime, and
the duties exacted from one after one's death, land
has ceased to be either a profit or a pleasure. It
gives one position, and prevents one from keeping
it up. That's all that can be said about land.
Jack: I have a country house with some land, of
course, attached to it, about fifteen hundred acres,
I believe; but I don't depend on that for my real
income. In fact, as far as I can make out, the
poachers are the only people who make anything
out of it.
Lady Bracknell: A country house! How many
bedrooms? Well, that point can be cleared up
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
75
afterwards. You have a town house, I hope? A girl
with a simple, unspoiled nature, like Gwendolen,
could hardly be expected to reside in the country.
Jack: Well, I own a house in Belgrave Square, but it is
let by the year to Lady Bloxham. Of course, I can
get it back whenever I like, at six months' notice.
Lady Bracknell: Lady Bloxham? I don't know her.
Jack: Oh, she goes about very little. She is a lady
considerably advanced in years.
Lady Bracknell: Ah, nowadays that is no guarantee of
respectability of character. What number in
Belgrave Square?
Jack: 149.
Lady Bracknell: [Shaking her head.] The unfashionable
side. I thought there was something. However,
that could easily be altered.
Jack: Do you mean the fashion, or the side?
Lady Bracknell: [Sternly.] Both, if necessary, I presume.
What are your politics?
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
76
Jack: Well, I am afraid I really have none. I am a Liberal
Unionist.
Lady Bracknell: Oh, they count as Tories. They dine
with us. Or come in the evening, at any rate. Now
to minor matters. Are your parents living?
Jack: I have lost both my parents.
Lady Bracknell: To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may
be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like
carelessness. Who was your father? He was
evidently a man of some wealth. Was he born in
what the Radical papers call the purple of
commerce, or did he rise from the ranks of the
aristocracy?
Jack: I am afraid I really don't know. The fact is, Lady
Bracknell, I said I had lost my parents. It would be
nearer the truth to say that my parents seem to
have lost me ... I don't actually know who I am by
birth. I was ... well, I was found.
Lady Bracknell: Found!
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
77
Jack: The late Mr. Thomas Cardew, an old gentleman
of a very charitable and kindly disposition, found
me, and gave me the name of Worthing, because
he happened to have a first-class ticket for
Worthing in his pocket at the time. Worthing is a
place in Sussex. It is a seaside resort.
Lady Bracknell: Where did the charitable gentleman
who had a first-class ticket for this seaside resort
find you?
Jack: [Gravely.] In a handbag.
Lady Bracknell: A handbag?
Jack: [Very seriously.] Yes, Lady Bracknell. I was in a
handbag--a somewhat large, black leather handbag,
with handles to it--an ordinary handbag in fact.
Lady Bracknell: In what locality did this Mr. James, or
Thomas, Cardew come across this ordinary
handbag?
Jack: In the cloakroom at Victoria Station. It was given
to him in mistake for his own.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
78
Lady Bracknell: The cloakroom at Victoria Station?
Jack: Yes. The Brighton line.
Lady Bracknell: The line is immaterial. Mr. Worthing, I
confess I feel somewhat bewildered by what you
have just told me. To be born, or at any rate bred,
in a handbag, whether it had handles or not, seems
to me to display a contempt for the ordinary
decencies of family life that reminds one of the
worst excesses of the French Revolution. And I
presume you know what that unfortunate
movement led to? As for the particular locality in
which the handbag was found, a cloakroom at a
railway station might serve to conceal a social
indiscretion--has probably, indeed, been used for
that purpose before now--but it could hardly be
regarded as an assured basis for a recognised
position in good society.
Jack: May I ask you then what you would advise me to
do? I need hardly say I would do anything in the
world to ensure Gwendolen's happiness.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
79
Lady Bracknell: I would strongly advise you, Mr.
Worthing, to try and acquire some relations as
soon as possible, and to make a definite effort to
produce at any rate one parent, of either sex,
before the season is quite over.
Jack: Well, I don't see how I could possibly manage to
do that. I can produce the handbag at any
moment. It is in my dressing room at home. I really
think that should satisfy you, Lady Bracknell.
Lady Bracknell: Me, sir! What has it to do with me?
You can hardly imagine that I and Lord Bracknell
would dream of allowing our only daughter--a girl
brought up with the utmost care--to marry into a
cloakroom, and form an alliance with a parcel?
Good morning, Mr. Worthing!
[Lady Bracknell sweeps out in majestic indignation.]
Jack: Good morning! [Algernon, from the other room,
strikes up the Wedding March. Jack looks perfectly
furious, and goes to the door.] For goodness' sake
don't play that ghastly tune, Algy. How idiotic you
are!
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
80
[The music stops and Algernon enters cheerily.]
Algernon: Didn't it go off all right, old boy? You don't
mean to say Gwendolen refused you? I know it is a
way she has. She is always refusing people. I think
it is most ill-natured of her.
Jack: Oh, Gwendolen is as right as a trivet. As far as
she is concerned, we are engaged. Her mother is
perfectly unbearable. Never met such a Gorgon ... I
don't really know what a Gorgon is like, but I am
quite sure that Lady Bracknell is one. In any case,
she is a monster, without being a myth, which is
rather unfair ... I beg your pardon, Algy, I suppose I
shouldn't talk about your own aunt in that way
before you.
Algernon: My dear boy, I love hearing my relations
abused. It is the only thing that makes me put up
with them at all. Relations are simply a tedious
pack of people, who haven't got the remotest
knowledge of how to live, nor the smallest instinct
about when to die.
Jack: Oh, that is nonsense!
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
81
Algernon: It isn't!
Jack: Well, I won't argue about the matter. You always
want to argue about things.
Algernon: That is exactly what things were originally
made for.
Jack: Upon my word, if I thought that, I'd shoot myself
... [A pause.] You don't think there is any chance
of Gwendolen becoming like her mother in about a
hundred and fifty years, do you, Algy?
Algernon: All women become like their mothers. That is
their tragedy. No man does. That's his.
Jack: Is that clever?
Algernon: It is perfectly phrased! and quite as true as
any observation in civilised life should be.
Jack: I am sick to death of cleverness. Everybody is
clever nowadays. You can't go anywhere without
meeting clever people. The thing has become an
absolute public nuisance. I wish to goodness we
had a few fools left.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
82
Algernon: We have.
Jack: I should extremely like to meet them. What do
they talk about?
Algernon: The fools? Oh! about the clever people, of
course.
Jack: What fools!
Algernon: By the way, did you tell Gwendolen the truth
about your being Ernest in town, and Jack in the
country?
Jack: [In a very patronising manner.] My dear fellow,
the truth isn't quite the sort of thing one tells to a
nice, sweet, refined girl. What extraordinary ideas
you have about the way to behave to a woman!
Algernon: The only way to behave to a woman is to
make love to her, if she is pretty, and to someone
else, if she is plain.
Jack: Oh, that is nonsense.
Algernon: What about your brother? What about the
profligate Ernest?
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
83
Jack: Oh, before the end of the week I shall have got
rid of him. I'll say he died in Paris of apoplexy. Lots
of people die of apoplexy, quite suddenly, don't
they?
Algernon: Yes, but it's hereditary, my dear fellow. It's a
sort of thing that runs in families. You had much
better say a severe chill.
Jack: You are sure a severe chill isn't hereditary, or
anything of that kind?
Algernon: Of course it isn't!
Jack: Very well, then. My poor brother Ernest to
carried off suddenly, in Paris, by a severe chill.
That gets rid of him.
Algernon: But I thought you said that ... Miss Cardew
was a little too much interested in your poor
brother Ernest? Won't she feel his loss a good
deal?
Jack: Oh, that is all right. Cecily is not a silly romantic
girl, I am glad to say. She has got a capital
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
84
appetite, goes long walks, and pays no attention at
all to her lessons.
Algernon: I would rather like to see Cecily.
Jack: I will take very good care you never do. She is
excessively pretty, and she is only just eighteen.
Algernon: Have you told Gwendolen yet that you have
an excessively pretty ward who is only just
eighteen?
Jack: Oh! one doesn't blurt these things out to people.
Cecily and Gwendolen are perfectly certain to be
extremely great friends. I'll bet you anything you
like that half an hour after they have met, they will
be calling each other sister.
Algernon: Women only do that when they have called
each other a lot of other things first. Now, my dear
boy, if we want to get a good table at Willis's, we
really must go and dress. Do you know it is nearly
seven?
Jack: [Irritably.] Oh! It always is nearly seven.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
85
Algernon: Well, I'm hungry.
Jack: I never knew you when you weren't ...
Algernon: What shall we do after dinner? Go to a
theatre?
Jack: Oh no! I loathe listening.
Algernon: Well, let us go to the Club?
Jack: Oh, no! I hate talking.
Algernon: Well, we might trot round to the Empire at
ten?
Jack: Oh, no! I can't bear looking at things. It is so
silly.
Algernon: Well, what shall we do?
Jack: Nothing!
Algernon: It is awfully hard work doing nothing.
However, I don't mind hard work where there is no
definite object of any kind.
[Enter Lane.]
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
86
Lane: Miss Fairfax.
[Enter Gwendolen. Lane goes out.]
Algernon: Gwendolen, upon my word!
Gwendolen: Algy, kindly turn your back. I have
something very particular to say to Mr. Worthing.
Algernon: Really, Gwendolen, I don't think I can allow
this at all.
Gwendolen: Algy, you always adopt a strictly immoral
attitude towards life. You are not quite old enough
to do that. [Algernon retires to the fireplace.]
Jack: My own darling!
Gwendolen: Ernest, we may never be married. From
the expression on Mamma's face I fear we never
shall. Few parents nowadays pay any regard to
what their children say to them. The old-fashioned
respect for the young is fast dying out. Whatever
influence I ever had over Mamma, I lost at the age
of three. But although she may prevent us from
becoming man and wife, and I may marry someone
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
87
else, and marry often, nothing that she can
possibly do can alter my eternal devotion to you.
Jack: Dear Gwendolen!
Gwendolen: The story of your romantic origin, as
related to me by Mamma, with unpleasing
comments, has naturally stirred the deeper fibres
of my nature. Your Christian name has an
irresistible fascination. The simplicity of your
character makes you exquisitely incomprehensible
to me. Your town address at the Albany I have.
What is your address in the country?
Jack: The Manor House, Woolton, Hertfordshire.
[Algernon, who has been carefully listening, smiles to
himself, and writes the address on his shirt cuff.
Then picks up the Railway Guide.]
Gwendolen: There is a good postal service, I suppose?
It may be necessary to do something desperate.
That of course will require serious consideration. I
will communicate with you daily.
Jack: My own one!
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
88
Gwendolen: How long do you remain in town?
Jack: Till Monday.
Gwendolen: Good! Algy, you may turn round now.
Algernon: Thanks, I've turned round already.
Gwendolen: You may also ring the bell.
Jack: You will let me see you to your carriage, my own
darling?
Gwendolen: Certainly.
Jack: [To Lane, who now enters.] I will see Miss
Fairfax out.
Lane: Yes, sir. [Jack and Gwendolen go off.]
[Lane presents several letters on a salver to Algernon.
It is to be surmised that they are bills, as Algernon,
after looking at the envelopes, tears them up.]
Algernon: A glass of sherry, Lane.
Lane: Yes, sir.
Algernon: Tomorrow, Lane, I'm going Bunburying.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
89
Lane: Yes, sir.
Algernon: I shall probably not be back till Monday. You
can put up my dress clothes, my smoking jacket,
and all the Bunbury suits ...
Lane: Yes, sir. [Handing sherry.]
Algernon: I hope tomorrow will be a fine day, Lane.
Lane: It never is, sir.
Algernon: Lane, you're a perfect pessimist.
Lane: I do my best to give satisfaction, sir.
[Enter Jack. Lane goes off.]
Jack: There's a sensible, intellectual girl! the only girl I
ever cared for in my life. [Algernon is laughing
immoderately.] What on earth are you so amused
at?
Algernon: Oh, I'm a little anxious about poor Bunbury,
that is all.
Jack: If you don't take care, your friend Bunbury will
get you into a serious scrape someday.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
90
Algernon: I love scrapes. They are the only things that
are never serious.
Jack: Oh, that's nonsense, Algy. You never talk
anything but nonsense.
Algernon: Nobody ever does.
[Jack looks indignantly at him, and leaves the room.
Algernon lights a cigarette, reads his shirt cuff, and
smiles.]
Section Review
Indicate whether the following statements are true or
false. If the statement is false, reword it to make it
true. A suggested response follows each item.
1. The setting is a humble house in the country.
False. The setting is a luxuriously furnished flat in
London.
2. Jack is the play's protagonist.
True
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3. Jack and Algernon have similar opinions about
marriage.
False. Jack believes that proposing to Gwendolen
is romantic, and Algernon says divorces are made
in heaven.
4. Jack's real name is John Worthing. But he calls
himself Ernest when he's in the town and Jack
when he's in the country.
True
5. Bunbury is a place in the country.
False. Bunbury is an imaginary sick friend whom
Algernon says he has to visit when he needs an
excuse to avoid other plans.
6. Gwendolen's ideal is to marry an earnest person.
False. Gwendolen's ideal is to marry someone
named Ernest.
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7. Lady Bracknell believes young girls should not
arrange their own marriages.
True
8. Lady Bracknell is concerned that England's
education system is not effective.
False. She is happy that the education system has
no effect on people. She believes a good education
would cause riots and endanger the upper classes.
9. Algernon never learns Jack's address in the
country.
False. He listens to Jack and Gwendolen's
conversation, and when Jack gives Gwendolen his
country address, Algernon writes it on his shirt
cuff.
10. The main conflict concerns Jack's desire to marry
Gwendolen.
True
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11. This play, because it pokes fun at the ways of the
upper class, is a melodrama.
False. This play is a comedy, and melodramas are
not comedies. Because it pokes fun at the ways of
the upper class, a particular group of people, The
Importance of Being Earnest is a comedy of
manners. Critics also consider it a romantic
comedy, farce, and satire.
This section presented Act 1 of The Importance of
Being Earnest. The next section considers the meaning
of this play excerpt.
Examining Meaning
Did you like this excerpt from The Importance of Being
Earnest? Why or why not? Would you recommend this
play to a friend? Would you like to see a performance?
It may heighten your appreciation to consider specific
questions related to the meaning of the play. Then read
a scenario that presents a fictional class discussion
about The Importance of Being Earnest.
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Points to Consider
Consider these specific questions about The
Importance of Being Earnest:
What is the main conflict?
How does the setting affect the characters and the
plot?
What have you found out about the characters? Do
any characters change during this act?
What is the theme of Act 1?
Critics disagree about whether The Importance of
Being Earnest is primarily a farce, comedy of
manners, satiric comedy, or romantic comedy.
What do you think?
As you think about these questions, you may wish to
reread all or parts of the play excerpt. As this play
involves characters who invent imaginary characters,
it's easy to get a little confused. Good readers often
reread literary works either to enjoy them again or to
better understand them.
Discussion
One value of studying literature is to discuss works
with other people. To imitate a classroom experience,
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
95
each lesson in this course presents a scenario featuring
four fictional students and a teacher. Brad, Darrell,
Juanita, and Zahirah are adults who are studying
literature for fun, guided by their teacher, Ms. Choi.
Read the following scenario, in which the students
discuss The Importance of Being Earnest with Ms.
Choi. Notice that these fictional students don't always
agree. You may find it helpful to consider their opinions
and decide whether or not you agree with them. As
you follow the discussion, ask yourself what you think
about the work.
Scenario
Ms. Choi: What did you think of this excerpt from The
Importance of Being Earnest? Did you like it?
Juanita: I didn't like the way Wilde mocked serious
subjects. He made fun of marriage and made light of
divorce. One character even said that divorces are
made in heaven!
Brad: But that's not what Wilde meant, Juanita. He
was really poking fun at people who made light of
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marriage. Do Algernon and Jack even seem like role
models?
Ms. Choi: Many critics of Wilde's time would have
agreed with Juanita. They disliked the play and said it
had no moral point of view whatsoever. Other critics,
however, believed Wilde was poking fun at hypocrisy.
Darrell: Weren't marriages back then more like business
propositions? Lady Bracknell didn't care what
Gwendolen felt. She only considered what was in
Jack's bank account and who his parents were. That
kind of marriage actually didn't seem to be made in
heaven.
Ms. Choi: You're right, Darrell. Today we think of
people marrying for love, but in Victorian times,
marriage was often a business deal between families.
The class system in Victorian England was rigid, and
you couldn't marry someone of another class.
Brad: Yeah, only after Lady Harbury's husband died did
she live for pleasure. That makes you think that the
Harbury marriage must not have been very pleasant.
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Darrell: Whenever anyone says anything, either the
speaker or Wilde usually means the opposite! You have
to keep that in mind while you're reading this, or you
won't "get" it!
Ms. Choi: That's an interesting viewpoint, Darrell. Critic
Richard Foster writes, "Nothing in this play is quite
what it seems."
Darrell: I think the opening lines set the tone. Algernon
says anybody can play piano accurately, but he can
play piano with sentiment. I'm imagining a lot of wrong
notes and mangled chords!
Ms. Choi: What is the main conflict?
Juanita: It's whether or not Jack will be allowed to
marry Gwendolen.
Brad: It was hilarious when Lady Bracknell said Jack
was careless because he "lost" his parents.
Juanita: I didn't find that funny at all. I thought she
was cruel and stupid.
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Darrell: But that's what makes it so funny. What she
said was so bizarre. Wilde is using verbal irony by
having Lady Bracknell say something that's obviously
untrue to make a point. He's mocking Lady Bracknell's
obsession with family background.
Zahirah: I thought it was funny but scary when Lady
Bracknell said that real education would hurt the upper
classes and lead to riots in Grosvenor Square.
Darrell: Her statement is very radical! Education is
powerful, and learning to think can change the world.
Do you remember when we studied nonfiction together
and read Frederick Douglass's autobiography? He was
born into slavery, and when he was a kid he heard his
master say that learning to read would make a slave
unfit for slavery. That's when Douglass knew he had to
learn to read!
Zahirah: Sometimes the characters say things that
people really think but don't say. Like when Gwendolen
asks Jack not to talk about the weather, because
people really mean something else when they talk
about the weather. That is so true. But people never
say that.
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Ms. Choi: Wilde liked to examine the reality of
everyday expressions people use in polite conversation.
Juanita: All the family structures were odd. Apparently
Lady Bracknell's husband often eats by himself. Jack
had been an abandoned baby himself, and now he's
the guardian of an orphan. The story about him being
found in a handbag is just too weird!
Ms. Choi: True. But critic Peter Raby notes that at the
time, unwanted babies often were abandoned at
railway stations.
Juanita: This play was confusing, too. In the list of
characters, there's no Jack, because Jack is a
nickname for John, and then Algernon calls Jack
Ernest. At least Algernon doesn't become Bunbury!
Brad: But that confusion makes this funny!
Ms. Choi: Some critics believe that this confusion
about names challenges the importance of upper-class
identity, which was based on family name and
ancestry.
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100
Zahirah: I wonder if Lady Bracknell represents the
upper classes.
Brad: Or Victorian society.
Darrell: Wilde makes Lady Bracknell appear ridiculous to
show that her values are absurd. When she says that
losing both parents sounds like carelessness, she's
ridiculous, and you can't take her values seriously.
Ms. Choi: What type of play is The Importance of Being
Earnest?
Darrell: It's obviously a comedy, and I think it's a
comedy of manners. It makes fun of the upper class in
particular and makes the characters look ridiculous.
Juanita: But wasn't Wilde a member of the upper class
himself?
Ms. Choi: Yes and no. He was from Ireland, which was
ruled by England, so he never really fit in with the
English upper classes, no matter how successful he
became.
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Brad: Didn't you say, Ms. Choi, that this could also be
considered a farce, a satire, and a romantic comedy?
Ms. Choi: Definitely! It shows exaggerated situations
like a farce, satirically challenges society's hypocrisy,
and is a funny love story.
Juanita: I know everyone else likes this play, but I
really don't see anything great about it. Sure, it's
funny, but I don't understand why it's a classic. Wasn't
Wilde a proponent of art for art's sake? He probably
didn't care about inserting any deep meaning; he just
wanted to entertain people and make something
beautiful. But to me, a play that doesn't say anything
about life isn't all that great.
Ms. Choi: Writer George Bernard Shaw said pretty
much the same thing, Juanita. He wrote, "I cannot say
that I greatly cared for The Importance of Being
Earnest. It amused me, of course; but unless comedy
touches me as well as amuses me, it leaves me with a
sense of having wasted an evening."
Juanita: Exactly! The characters seem to criticize deep
thoughts about life. Lady Bracknell thinks Bunbury
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
102
should just hurry up and die. And Algernon says
relatives don't have "the smallest instinct about when
to die."
Ms. Choi: Some critics note that the Victorians didn't
have much sympathy for people who were sick or
dying. These critics believe that Wilde is criticizing
people like Lady Bracknell who don't care about people
with real problems.
Zahirah: I read The Picture of Dorian Gray, and
although this play has a very different tone, the two
pieces are so similar in some ways. Dorian had a
special mirror that would show his age and faults,
while his own face remained young and innocent. He
split himself in two. Well, both Jack and Algernon split
themselves. Jack has the imaginary wild brother
Ernest, and Algernon frequently visits his imaginary
friend Bunbury.
Darrell: I just realized that Wilde is turning the saying
"Marriages are made in heaven" upside down when he
says, "Divorces are made in heaven."
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103
Ms. Choi: Yes, Wilde inverts many ideas in this play.
What else does he invert, or turn upside down?
Darrell: He turns Victorian society upside down. Lane,
the servant, seems smarter than Algernon, his boss. I
loved the way Lane is so quick to lie about the
cucumbers, saying none were available for "ready
money." Also, Gwendolen seems much stronger than
Jack. She gives Jack instructions on how to propose to
her.
Brad: Wasn't it the father's job in Victorian times to
interview the guy about his intentions? Here,
Gwendolen's mother takes that role.
Ms. Choi: Yes, the women in this play are the powerful
ones, children have more influence than young adults,
and servants are cleverer than their masters.
Brad: Algernon says the lower class is setting a bad
example, but didn't upper-class Victorians believe that
the lower classes should imitate their morals?
Juanita: I think Wilde makes fun of the whole idea of
having a moral code.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
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Brad: Juanita, I think he's making fun of the fact that
people have such a strict code, but nobody lives up to
it.
Zahirah: And he's mocking the Victorians' obsession
with appearances.
Juanita: Yeah, Gwendolen doesn't care who her
husband is as long as his name is Ernest. Labels and
appearances are everything.
Zahirah: The title suggests the importance of being
earnest. So maybe he is saying it's more important to
be earnest than to just have the name Ernest.
Ms. Choi: What do you think the title means?
Darrell: Well, the word earnest means serious and
sincere. But none of the characters are serious or
sincere!
Ms. Choi: Some critics say that Wilde believed that true
morality meant not being serious. Instead, Wilde
thought you should be irreverent and always question
things.
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
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Darrell: And that's the opposite of the Victorian way of
thinking, because if you're irreverent and questioning,
you care about reality, not appearances.
Zahirah: Maybe, too, he's criticizing his audience.
When he's saying this play is a trivial comedy for
serious people, maybe he really means that it's a
serious comedy for trivial people.
Ms. Choi: It's funny that you say that, Zahirah,
because that was the title of his first draft.
Juanita: The characters talk in such a silly way about
important things, and they talk in such a serious way
about silly things.
Ms. Choi: Can you give examples?
Juanita: Well, Jack goes on about how ungentlemanly
a thing it is to read someone's cigarette case. That's
silly. But when Algernon talks about his imaginary
friend Bunbury being ill, Lady Bracknell says that
Bunbury seems wishy-washy about dying. She's talking
in a trivial way about something very serious.
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Brad: That's how Wilde mocked Victorian society. He
wanted to point out that their values were all mixed up.
Darrell: Do you remember when we met to discuss
fiction? This play reminds me of The Strange Case of
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. That book was about a person
with two lives, too, and also was written during the
Victorian era.
Zahirah: I thought it was ironic that the imaginary
Ernest was supposed to be the wild one. Ernest wasn't
earnest!
Juanita: Nobody seems to work or have a job, except
Lane, the butler.
Ms. Choi: That's another thing that Wilde was
mocking, the idleness of the upper class. The upper
class of that time had inherited money, rather than
money they had earned, and they prided themselves in
leading opulent lifestyles. How is Jack different from
his friend Algernon?
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Juanita: Algernon admits that he has a double life and
is proud of it. Jack denies it and says he plans to "kill
off" Ernest.
Brad: Jack is a liar. When Algernon asks about Cecily,
Jack lies almost automatically, saying she's his aunt.
Juanita: They both lie. When Algernon says he is off to
take care of poor Bunbury, he is lying.
Darrell: But Algernon is proud of Bunburying, and Jack
wants to "kill" Ernest.
Zahirah: Jack plans to propose to Gwendolen, and
Algernon says divorces are made in heaven.
Ms. Choi: Some critics believe that Jack, of all the
characters, most represents Victorian ways of thinking
and Victorian hypocrisy.
Darrell: He's not just pretending to be better than he is
but is actually pretending to be someone else. He
actually becomes Ernest when he is in London.
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Juanita: Each character had a mask; I didn't know who
Jack, Algernon, and Gwendolen really were. What did
they really think about life or their own lives?
Ms. Choi: Critic Eric Bentley believed that the
characters wore masks to protect themselves from
their society. What do you think is the theme based on
this excerpt?
Zahirah: I think it's the importance of being your real
self. Jack's real self was probably this "Ernest" that he
created.
Brad: Maybe, or maybe his real self is half Jack and
half Ernest. Nobody is all respectable or all wild! I think
the theme is to be honest about who you are.
Darrell: I think the theme is to pay attention to what is
real, not just to appearances. That is, to care about
being earnest more than about having the name Ernest.
Ms. Choi: Critic Philip K. Cohen writes of the
characters never really growing up. What do you think?
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Brad: Yes, they're all a bunch of Peter Pans! When you
grow up, you can't evade your responsibilities by
inventing an imaginary brother or friend.
Darrell: Even that one character we never meet grows
younger after her husband dies.
Ms. Choi: Was the setting integral or backdrop?
Darrell: Integral. Wilde critiqued Victorian society for its
snobbishness and shallowness.
Juanita: I don't know, Darrell. People can still be
snobbish and shallow today.
Zahirah: Isn't this play still performed a lot? Another
movie came out in 2002, and it's still a popular play for
high schools to perform.
Brad: People still relate to it, and it's still considered a
classic.
Zahirah: People don't go to the play to learn about
Victorian life. They go to see and laugh at themselves.
Darrell: I'm curious: Do Jack and Gwendolen ever
marry? And what's with Algernon writing down the
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address of Jack's niece? He's planning some mischief, I
think!
Ms. Choi: Well, why don't you read the rest of the play
and find out?
Section Review
Answer the following essay question. Use the standard
essay format that includes an introduction, body, and
conclusion. Make sure you support your opinions with
evidence. Although this question has more than one
correct answer, a sample answer is given.
Essay
Some critics say that Wilde wanted people to be
themselves. Do you think Act 1 of this play supports
this idea? Why or why not?
Sample Answer
By making fun of those who value
appearances over substance, Act 1 of the play
The Importance of Being Earnest suggests
people should just be themselves. The
protagonist, Jack, splits himself in two,
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111
inventing an imaginary brother so he can
escape Victorian restrictions. This deception
proves to be disastrous. Other characters also
appear ridiculous in how they treat reality.
Jack feels compelled to wear a respectable
mask. As the guardian of a minor in the
country, Jack believes he must "adopt a very
high moral tone on all subjects." But he also
feels that doing so does not contribute to his
"health" or "happiness." So in town, Jack
pretends to have and be a younger brother,
Ernest. Gwendolen, however, literally loves
"Ernest" because of his name, not for any
actual qualities he has. This situation mocks
the Victorian emphasis on family name.
Before learning that Gwendolen loves the
name "Ernest" but dislikes the name "Jack,"
Jack thinks he can simply "kill" Ernest, even
though the imaginary Ernest is part of who
Jack is. But when Algernon asks Jack if he
will confess to Gwendolen about the imaginary
Ernest, Jack replies that "the truth isn't quite
Lesson 1: Elements of the Play and ...
112
the sort of thing one tells to a nice, sweet,
refined girl." In this world, truth is not valued,
only the appearance of virtue. Thus, dividing
oneself in two leads to disaster: Gwendolen
loves Jack for a name that isn't his; Jack's
love for Gwendolen leads him to plan to kill a
part of himself.
This reliance on appearances and labels is
made to appear ridiculous throughout Act 1 of
the play. Lane cites etiquette about
eavesdropping to excuse himself from
commenting truthfully on Algernon's piano
playing. Algernon then dismisses the need to
play piano accurately, saying it was more
important to play expressively. Lady Bracknell
questions Jack's background, wanting to
know surface information rather than who he
really is. This leads to a ridiculous answer:
Jack's origins are a handbag found at a train
station.
By making fun of characters who try to be
other than themselves, Wilde says people
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might as well just be themselves. An imaginary
brother may help Jack escape his
responsibilities, but at a cost. Gwendolen,
likewise, seems ridiculous for valuing a name
more than a person. It is important to be
earnest, not merely to have the label Ernest.
Notice that this essay answer gives an opinion and
supports it with examples. That doesn't mean that this
is the only correct answer; you may find a totally
different theme in The Importance of Being Earnest.
The goal is an answer that is supported with evidence.
This section presented specific questions that address
the meaning of the play The Importance of Being
Earnest. It then offered a scenario where fictional
characters discussed the work.
Summary
This lesson defined drama and its elements and types.
It then presented Act 1 of The Importance of Being
Earnest. Finally, a fictional scenario helped you examine
the meaning of this work.
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Assignment 1
For general information on completing assignments,
refer to the Getting Started instructions. Then start this
assignment by giving your full name, address, and
phone number. Also list the name of this course,
Assignment 1, your instructor's name, and the date. Be
sure to include the question number along with each
answer.
If you are an ACE student, complete the multiplechoice and short-answer questions in Part A. If you are
a high school student, you must complete both Parts A
and B of the assignment.
Note that this assignment is worth 100 points for high
school students and 50 points for ACE students.
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Part A (ACE and HS Students)
Multiple Choice
Select the best item to answer each of the following
questions. (20 points total, 2 points each)
1. In the beginning of Act 1, why has Jack come to
London?
a. He wants to dine with Algernon at Willis's.
b. He wants to propose to Gwendolen.
c. He wants to find his relatives.
2. How does Algernon feel about marriage?
a. Marriages are made in heaven.
b. Divorces are made in heaven.
c. He admires married people who flirt with each
other.
3. Who is Cecily?
a. Jack's aunt
b. Jack's niece
c. Jack's ward
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116
4. What does Jack plan to do if Gwendolen says
she'll marry him?
a. "kill" Ernest
b. "kill" Bunbury
c. tell her about Ernest
5. Why are there no cucumber sandwiches for Aunt
Augusta?
a. Algernon ate all the sandwiches.
b. Lane couldn't buy cucumbers.
c. Lane ate all the sandwiches.
6. What does Lady Bracknell say about education?
a. Education helps the upper classes.
b. Education hurts the lower classes.
c. Ignorance is preferable.
7. What does Lady Bracknell say is a minor matter?
a. Jack's politics
b. Jack's income
c. whether or not Jack's parents are living
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8. How does Lady Bracknell describe the situation of
being an orphan?
a. a tragic situation
b. a misfortune
c. a matter of carelessness
9. Where did Jack's guardian find him?
a. in a train
b. in an orphanage
c. in a handbag
10. What does Gwendolen tell Jack at the end of the
act?
a. If she can't marry him, she will marry no one.
b. She will always be devoted to him.
c. She will never communicate with him again.
Short Answer
Answer the following questions in a brief paragraph or
list. (30 points total)
11. Describe the setting in Act 1 of The Importance of
Being Earnest. List two ways the setting affects
the characters. (9 points)
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12. Name one character from Act 1 of The Importance
of Being Earnest, and list three details about him or
her. (10 points)
13. What is the major conflict revealed in Act 1 of The
Importance of Being Earnest? (5 points)
14. What type of play is The Importance of Being
Earnest? Why? (6 points)
If you are a high school student, answer the following
essay question. This question is optional for other
students.
Part B (HS Students)
Essay
Answer the following question in an essay that
includes an introduction, body, and conclusion. Make
sure you support your opinions with evidence from the
play. Limit your essay to 250 words or less. (50 points
total)
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119
15. Wilde wrote of his play's philosophy: "That we
should treat all the trivial things of life very
seriously, and all the serious things of life with
sincere and studied triviality." Discuss this
philosophy by answering the following questions:
a. What does Wilde consider to be serious, and
what does he consider to be trivial?
b. What is aestheticism? How do Wilde's
aesthetic beliefs affect Act 1 of this play?
c. What is a theme of this play? Why?
d. How does the theme relate to the philosophy of
treating serious things in a trivial way and
trivial things in a serious way?
When you have completed this assignment, proceed to
Lesson 2: Conflict, Setting, and Romeo and Juliet.
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