The

Importance
of being
Earnest
Marc, Ivan,
Ashley, Adeline
Summary:
The story The Importance of Being Earnest all started where Jack was planning to
propose to Gwendolen since he loves her, however, Jack lives a double life. Algernon
encourages Jack to propose to Gwendolen, with knowing the fact that he is living a
double life (he was Earnest in the city and jack in the country) since he does not
believe in marriage. When Jack proposed , Gwendolen had to say no since her mom
Lady Bracknell also known as aunt Augusta does not approve, because of the amount
of inheritance and properties he has, however when Jack mentioned his house in the
country, Algernon was shocked on why he mentioned it, when Jack told aunt Augusta
the exact location, Algernon noted it down since he is always looking for trouble. In act
2 and act 3 it all took place in Jack’s country’s house. Algernon goes to Jack’s country
house since he loves trouble and he came up with a plan on how he is Jack’s long lost
brother Earnest. Jack is the guardian of Cecily, she does not go to school instead has
a tutor name Miss Prism, when Algernon saw Cecily he immediately falls in love with
Summary pt.2
her, Jack wasn’t there. When Cecily and Algernon were alone, Gwendolen and
Aunt Augusta came in and Aunt Augusta saw Algernon and told Cecily his name
was Algernon. When Jack came back truth spills. Ms. Prism revealed how Jack
actual name is Earnest and how Algernon and Earnest are actual brothers.
Purpose:
The play mainly concentrates on the questions of identity and reality. Often held in
an acclaimed position as a comedy of manner. Through The importance of Being
Earnest, we can see Wilde had showed social satire.

To all intent and purpose, it was used to improve the lost, miserable society. The
unique part of the play is that Wilde included a lot of innovative elements in the
play. The play inherited different kinds of elements from the melodrama, but his
treatment of the subject and his style has given it a unique touch to the sarcastic
dimension of the play. The real innovative elements are noticeable in Wilde's
handling of language in the context of character portrayal when Lady Bracknell
despise Earnest after knowing his past.
Target Audience
It is for teenagers and adults since the
themes are quite confusing and would be
very hard for young kids to understand,
they use complex terms and has complex
ideas. Furthermore, Wilde himself
mentioned how his play is a Trivia Comedy
and for serious people, making us believe
The Importance Of Being Earnest is for
people who are more mature.
Themes
There were three main themes discovered in the importance of being earnest. The first theme is the
nature of marriage. Nature of marriage is usually associated with happiness. This can be seen
especially in act I, when Algernon do not agree with this statement as he says, “Well, in the first
place, girls never marry the men they flirt with. Girls don’t think it right.” This shows his negative
mindset on marriage. Through this quote, we can see that Algernon disagrees with the positive
nature of marriage and instead thinks that it is about girls flirting.

Another theme that was discovered in the play is the class system. In the play, Wilde focused on the
upper class instead of the lower class. In act one, Algernon stated that “I am afraid Aunt Augusta
won’t quite approve of your being here. ... The way you flirt with Gwendolen is perfectly disgraceful.
It’s almost as bad as the way Gwendolen flirts with you”. Through this, you may notice that Aunt
Augusta (from the upper class) is “biased” because she viewed the lower classes as “disgraceful”
and “bad”. This showed how disrespectful and insolent she was towards the lower classes.
(“Marriage in The Importance of Being Earnest: Theme & Quotes ”)
 - Set in the late 1800s in London

- Used to contrast the differences in the

characters

- Further develop the Plot Line

Setting
- Act 1 → Algernon’s Mansion

- Act 2 → Countryside
Literary devices
The Literary devices used in this play are dramatic irony and epigrams. The
dramatic irony happens when Jack and Algernon were biological brothers.. One
of Wilde's satirical targets is romantic, which he shows by having the women fell
in love with a man because of his name rather than more his personality or
attitude. The dramatic irony is obvious to the audience who identifies the
deficient morals that he holds through the use of exaggeration of the word “all”.
Structure
The structure of The Importance of Being Earnest, is written in a comedy play
form. In the play, Wilde arranges the events of the dramatic action in a way that he
keeps the audience confused about whether the young men is going to marry the
girls or not. Conflict was also featured when Wilde created an improbable situation
in which each of the girls says they can only fall in love with a man called Earnest.

Conflict also arises in the form of Lady Bracknell, mother of the one girl and
prospective mother-in-law of the other; as is appropriate to a social comedy, Lady
Bracknell has a habit of getting in the way or acting as a blocking figure at the
least convenient times.
Tone
➔ Portrays a humour and satire tone

➔ Seeks to mock the upper class society of London

➔ Characterized by wit but in a lighthearted way

(“ The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde”)

Register/mood
The mood of the importance of being earnest is romantic and humorous. In the
book, Gwendolen falls in love with Earnest from his name, and how Earnest is
planning to propose to Gwendolen. There is also a lot of funny quotes. Wilde is
also writing from an aesthetic perspective. This movement in literature saw that
this is celebrated for art’s sake, and not concerning itself with the political issues of
the outside world.
Conclusion
Throughout this presentation, we have learned the main plot of the story which is
to show the relationship between the main characters along with the struggle of
not being earnest. The purpose, theme, target audience, tone, structure, register,
and multiple literary devices are also discovered in this play. In conclusion, we
have all agreed with the statement where it is important to be honest. This is
because the whole complication could have been avoided if everyone were being
honest. At the same time, the higher class values were also shown throughout the
play.
Works Cited
https://www.bachelorandmaster.com/globaldrama/the-importance-of-being-
earnest-summary.html#.XHaRmM8zZp8

https://study.com/academy/lesson/marriage-in-the-importance-of-being-earnest-
theme-quotes.html

http://thebestnotes.com/booknotes/Importance_Of_Being_Earnest_Wilde/Importa
nce_Of_Being_Earnest_Study_Guide04.html
End of Presentation