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The Importance of Being Earnest () - IMDb

We live, I regret to say, in an age of surfaces. But we can soon alter all that. A thoroughly experienced French maid produces a really marvellous result in a very brief space of time. When I married Lord Bracknell I had no fortune of any kind. But I never dreamed for a moment of allowing that to stand in my way.

An engagement should come on a young girl as a surprise, pleasant or unpleasant, as the case may be. They give people the opportunity of finding out each other's character before marriage, which I think is never advisable. It looks so bad. It is simply washing one's clean linen in public. This is no time for wearing the shallow mask of manners. When I see a spade I call it a spade. It is obvious that our social spheres have been widely different. And you do not seem to realise, dear Doctor, that by persistently remaining single, a man converts himself into a permanent public temptation.

Men should be more careful; this very celibacy leads weaker vessels astray. In Wilde's day, homosexuals were often called inverts, and many of his best lines are inversions. That would be hypocrisy. About everything, I should fancy. You have such an absolutely trivial nature. I feel rather frightened. I am so afraid he will look just like every one else. I could deny anything if I liked. I never saw a woman so altered; she looks quite twenty years younger. View all 45 comments. Apr 23, Brina rated it liked it Shelves: Educated at Oxford in the late 19th century, Wilde was a product of strict upper class British social mores.

He married and fathered two children and then came out as homosexual. Wilde's plays and novellas poked fun at the society which had renounced him and later put him on trial. Earnest received good marks in London prior to Wilde's social downfall and has made a comeback in classic re I read The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde as part of classics bingo to satisfy my satire square. Earnest received good marks in London prior to Wilde's social downfall and has made a comeback in classic reading circles. Although not usually a fan of comedy, I could not help but chuckle at the premise of this play.

Jack Worthing is a man of unknown origins. He had been found at a train station inside of a handbag by a Thomas Worthing, who gave Jack his name and adopted him as a nephew. Jack, perhaps Wilde's alter ego, grows to detest the society that he lives in, and gives himself the name Ernest while living in London, fooling all but his closest companions.

Among the upper crust that he usually loathes, Jack as Ernest falls for one Gwendolen Bracknell, who only desires to marry him because of Ernest's earnest personality. As a result, the charade continues. The play shifts to the countryside where Worthing owns an estate and is ward to his niece Cecily.

There he is only known as Uncle Jack and is head of the household. Hoping to one up Worthing with his trickery, his friend Algernon Montcrieff comes to call and poses as Jack's supposed brother Ernest. Cecily falls for Algernon as Ernest because of his name and earnest personality and the lies and charades continue to a third act. Eventually, Wilde ties up the deceitfulness neatly in three acts. I am not a fan of comedy and felt things carried on a bit far. Most of Wilde's work, Earnest included, was meant to mock the society who ridiculed him for being homosexual. Wilde ridiculed them back with the inclusion of the character Bunbury and noted that Algernon was a Bunburyist.

I imagine that the audience laughed at this dialogue, but to me it is more alarming that the upper class British society at the time was so rigid as to not allow for deviations from its mores. With Earnest, Wilde was able to poke fun at both society and himself. Oscar Wilde's plays have stood the test of time as satirical comedies.

I chose to read one of his plays because I read Dorian Gray years ago in school and did not enjoy it. Desiring to see if my perspective had changed, I selected one of Wilde's plays for my satire in bingo. At this point, I understood the comedy but still felt that the joking carried on a bit far, proving that I am more a fan of dramatic plays. Still, The Importance of Being Earnest was a worthy read in that it shed light on 19th century England and its customs. As a result, I rate this play 3 stars. View all 16 comments. Lady Bracknell, hands down, the MVP of this story.

All the best lines were from her ladyship. I was obliged to call on dear Lady Harbury. Come, dear, we have already missed five, if not six, trains. To miss any more might expose us to comment on the platform. I have always been of opinion that a man who desires to get married should know either everything or nothing A thoroughly experienced French maid produces a really marvelous result in a very brief space of time.

I remember recommending one to young Lady Lancing, and after three months her own husband did not know her. View all 12 comments. Algernon Algy Moncrieff, is being visited, by his enigmatic friend, Ernest Worthing, that is "Ernest" in town and Jack John , in the country. It's a long story, but we have time, Mr.

Worthing, likes to go to town! Get as far as possible, away from his stifling, depressing, responsibilities at home, change his name to Ernest and becomes his younger brother who doesn't exist.

Do the wrong things, everybody has secrets, still lies in fact, flow like maple syrup on pancakes, from his lips. That's the charm of this play, finding out the truth, strange but the facts, will eventually make it all right.

The constantly broke Algernon, also likes telling a few untruths, he has an imaginary friend, at his age! Bunbury, chiefly used, by Mr. Moncrieff, to get out of going, to see the intimidating Lady Bracknell, his aunt. Friend Bunbury, always becomes gravely ill, just as his presence is needed , at his relative's residence, the good man, goes to see the sick friend, what devotion!

There are not many like him, around anymore, but the sick man inevitably recovers, which greatly irritates his Aunt Augusta, wishing that Bunbury, makes up his mind, is he staying or going? Lady Bracknell is very, very, scary, she makes people uncomfortable, the sooner they get out of her sight, the more comfortable they become Her husband , Lord Bracknell, hides upstairs and is not seen very often, except by his family, most people in London don't know he exists.

His wife likes it that way Today Aunt Augusta, comes to see her nephew, bringing along her quiet daughter, Gwendolen. Ernest was found in a railroad station, in a handbag, at the tender age of one, nobody knew where he came from, fortunately for the baby, being adopted by his founder, a very rich, and kindly, old gentleman. Who, when he expired, left him, Ernest, a wealthy man, in his will, 28 years later, complications arise, Mr. Worthing, proposes to Algernon's cousin, she accepts, yet Lady Bracknell seems dubious.

He is not on her list, of worthy bachelors, starts asking questions, who are his parents? Tells the great lady , he doesn't have any, she replies, that seems like carelessness, which annoys the not quite earnest, Ernest. Now the unethical Mr. Moncrieff, is eavesdropping, writes down his friend's unknown address, the "shy" man, never told him, and after everyone leaves, he hops on a train and arrives at Worthing's home.

Pretends to be Ernest, Jack's never seen evil brother, another pretend surprise, at meeting with Cecily, his friend's beautiful year-old ward, granddaughter of his late benefactor. Love at first sight, she wants to reform the notorious man, he's very willing to become respectable , all is going well, but Jack this is the country , returns home, you guessed it , also the fearsome, Lady Bracknell and daughter.

Trouble, with a capital T, both girls are engaged to a man called Ernest! Which cause hurt feelings and a lot of turmoil, name calling and disagreeable scenes, before the resolution of our play A witty and amusing story, making fun of the foibles of the upper class , by Oscar Wilde May 30, Sanjay Gautam rated it really liked it.

Some times it makes me wonder that this play was written ages ago. This book seems to be a contemporary classic! It seems there are lots of movies based on the theme of this play. And one more thing I noticed that it has all the spices of an Indian comedy movie. It's full of witticism and humour, but sometimes so silly that you cannot stop laughing out loud. A fun read that will make you forget your troubles for a while!

View all 15 comments. Every line in The Importance of Being Earnest is an absolute gem. It looks so calculating.

The main characters are two young gentlemen, Algernon Moncrieff and his best friend John Worthing, whom he knows as Ernest. The two corresponding young ladies are Algernon's cousin, Gwendolen Fairfax, and John Worthing's young ward, the heiress Cecily Cardew. The action revolves around these four, with minor deceptions and false names. For instance, Algernon invents "Bunburying" , or pretending to have an invalid friend called "Bunbury". He can thus claim to need to visit this friend at any time, and this provides a most convenient way of getting out of any social activities he does not care for.

Much of the humour is provided by a formidable dragon of a character called "Lady Bracknell" , who is Gwendolen's mother. There is also an inordinately silly back story about a handbag left at Victoria station. The standing joke throughout is that the main characters never reveal their true feelings, always maintaining a witty persona so as to escape their social obligations. The norms of conventional Victorian Society are continually turned on their head.

The play repeatedly mocks Victorian traditions and social customs, marriage and the pursuit of love. It had originated in religious attempts to reform the lower classes, but quickly spread as a desirable attribute to the upper ones. So the very title, The Importance of Being Earnest mocks this convention. The extremely serious social institution of marriage is repeatedly treated as a trivial event, and witty satirical comments abound. Here are three more: It marks the climax of Oscar Wilde's career - yet it also indirectly led to his downfall.

The story of his imprisonment for what was then a crime, is famously poignant, and modern readers must only ponder what other potential future classics have been lost with the virtual destruction of this talented writer. In brief, the Marquess of Queensbury, who was the father of Wilde's homosexual partner, had planned to present him with a bouquet of rotten vegetables and disrupt the play.

In the event Wilde was tipped off, so this never happened. However, the story got out, there was a famous trial leading to Wilde's imprisonment for "gross indecency" and the rest, as they say, is history; just another case which seems appalling to modern eyes. What seems incredible to modern readers, is that because of this notoriety, The Importance of Being Earnest had to be closed after only 86 performances, and that afterwards Oscar Wilde wrote no more comedy - and no more drama.

Although it was highly popular with audiences of the time, who appreciated its clever humour, many critics disapproved of it precisely because it was so light. It does not attempt to tackle serious social and political issues. One critic complained that it "is nothing but an absolutely wilful expression of an irrepressibly witty personality. So why only 4 stars? It is after all, a perfect masterpiece of its type. But a play needs to be performed.

And this one, rib-tickling as it is to read on the page, lacks a lot when not viewed as a performance. One excellent film of it dates from by Anthony Asquith, who adapted the screenplay and directed it. All were very memorable and perfect in their parts. But Dame Edith Evans as Lady Bracknell was outstanding and her interpretation will live in the public's memory for a long time. There have been many adaptations in recent years, but that one is exceptional.

View that, or even better go to a good live performance, and the play will easily merit 5 stars. View all 25 comments. Jan 03, Amanda rated it really liked it Shelves: I have come to a basic conclusion: Oscar Wilde was the man. And this play proves it. Full of zingers, witty banter, the well-crafted insult, and all things that make Wilde, well, Wilde, the play had me laughing out loud at lines like "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" or, as a resigned Jack realizes none of them may be married, "Then a passionate celibacy is all that any of us can look forward to.

With a sharp eye, Wilde cleverly satirizes all aspects of aristocratic life. For all their cleverness, these are despicable people. They are petty, vain, arrogant, and vapid. Cross posted at This Insignificant Cinder View all 6 comments. Oscar Wildre was pretty darn quotable, wasn't he: 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.

To lose one parent, Mr Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness. All women become like their mothers. In married life, three is company, and two is none. I have always been of opinion that a man who desires to get married should know either everything o Oscar Wildre was pretty darn quotable, wasn't he: I have always been of opinion that a man who desires to get married should know either everything or nothing.

If I am occasionally a little over-dressed, I make up for it by being immensely over-educated. My favorite memories of this book is the movie we had to do for our 12th grade English Lit class with this dialogue in which my friend Matt began his role by looking through a telescope.

I remember there being more laughter in the movie than there was actual dialogue. Ah this was delightful, says I while I sip my tea and take delicate bites of my crumpet. That is code for chugging Sunny-D and shoveling pizza bites into my mouth. This rom-comedy of errors is fantastic. Oscar Wilde elevated throwing shade to everything to such an elegant artform. The banter is clever, the pacing smooth and the twist surprisingly unexpected. Oscar Wilde A must read and see. View all 10 comments. Worrell, and I approve this message. Now, there's been an awful lotta discussion goin' on 'round these parts, lotsa blow-hards and no-brains spoutin' off their own uninformed, silly-ass opinions on the matter, but me I'm fixin' to put an end to all this nonsense, right here right now.

Lemme ask you somethin' -- Have you ever survived the Kikakee warrior initiation rite? And do you wanna know why? Because they didn't understand the goshderned importance of being Ernest, that's why! Honestly, anyone dumb enough to stand still while knives, axes, arrows, and bullets come flyin' at 'em is either not that important to the plot of Ernest Goes to Camp , or they're me, Ernest. Oh, so you have too? You wanna take a sec to think that one through, dummy? Mull it over in that mound of mush you call a brain? In fact, if you can show me someone else you know who's gone ridin' in Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve night, I'll show you one lyin'-ass bitch who ain't gettin' nuthin' but coal in their stocking this year!

Go watch Ernest Saves Christmas if you don't believe me. If that don't make Ernest important, I don't know what does.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST by OSCAR WILDE - FULL AudioBook - Greatest Audio Books

And while you're at it, you might wanna check out Ernest Scared Stupid. I'll admit that this one was probably the beginning of the end for me, but that don't change the fact that it's still an important entry in the classic Ernest canon. But what happens when someone else shows up claimin' to be Ernest? I'll tell you what happens -- I get sent to prison, carve a gun out of soap, and they make a goshderned lilly-fartin', sissy-ass play out of my far superior motion picture film, Ernest Goes to Jail!

I swear, it's like this Oscar Mayer Wilde guy has no respect for his source material, and it really shows through in this play. I mean what a wiener, knowhutImean? I'm still givin' it four stars though, because at least he got the endin' right. Dedicated to Jim Varney, View all 4 comments. Wilde certainly has a way with words. I love the complexity and multi layered plot for this. Everything from the title is a play on words, satirical and funny. Although it's relatively short, it's well developed and the characters are fully formed and fleshed out well.

Algernon is a firm favourite. He seems to get all the best lines, and his wit is as sharp as a sword. His decision to turn up at Jack's country house as his brother Ernest is this driving force behind the conclusion of the play to Wilde certainly has a way with words. His decision to turn up at Jack's country house as his brother Ernest is this driving force behind the conclusion of the play too. I'll be looking for more Oscar Wilde plays.

Divertida, inteligente, liviana, ingeniosa, trivial Una comedia deliciosa, en suma, del gran Oscar Wilde, que nunca me defrauda. Mar 23, Khush rated it it was amazing. What a play it is! Such amazing pace and terrific use of humor to speak the 'unspeakable. In the opening scene, we meet Lane and his master — Algernon. The very tenor of their talk reveals their homosexuality. Lane married once, but he considers it a big mistake; now he lives with his master.

Their relationship demands a certain propriety, but we see how Lane reveals aspects of his persona What a play it is! Their relationship demands a certain propriety, but we see how Lane reveals aspects of his personal life to his master as if they were close friends. Their talk reveals homo-social aspects of the household. One can assume even more considering the fact that the master is a confirmed 'Bunburyist'— he practices it everywhere.

However, the play does not spell out what the word means. The master, when meeting his friend Jack, claims that Jack, too, is a Bunburyist Algernon insistence on calling Jack a Bunburyist puts him on the defensive. The clever reader even in Wilde's own time would immediately recognize what Wilde was hinting at. The modern reader, on the other hand, is charmed by Wilde's ingenuity in dealing with 'homosexuality.

The word runs throughout the play. Another fascinating aspect of the book is food. Right in the opening scene, we see Lane preparing cucumber sandwiches for the lady guests — Algernon's aunt and her daughter. It is not any other sandwich, but a cucumber sandwich. Finally, when the ladies arrive, the cucumber sandwiches are already consumed by Jack. Lane is sent out to buy readymade cucumber sandwiches, with Jack still around, one does not feel too convinced as to the fate of those cucumber sandwiches still not brought by Lane. All this constant fuss about cucumber sandwiches distinctly allude to the homoerotic aspect of the play women are bereft of them, only men ravish them in the play.

The play is layered when seen from the perspective of sexuality. On the other hand, it gives immense pleasure even if one ignores the hidden meanings, and reads only what meets the eye. The words brilliance, economy, style, craftsmanship, which are so often ab used in book reviews, seem absolutely justified in describing this remarkable play. Humor is used as a weapon. Wilde goes on and on in exposing the sexual hypocrisies of his times.

A world in which everyone is straight; all men at all times chase women. They get married, and then life stops, nothing happens after this point, the play ends too. In this world, many men hardly meet their wives, they go 'Bunburying', they just have to keep the facade. Women, on the other hand, play roles too in such sham by keeping it up, no matter how taxing that all could be.

For instance, at one point in the play, we hear about a widow whose hair has turned gold from grief, and she had never looked so healthy before she became a widow. Towards the end, again we see food emerging with full force While in the opening scene cucumber sandwiches give pleasure; Jack wants to eat them with delight and relish, there is no conflict of any sort, three men are seen inhabiting the space freely. Jack and Algernon's true identities are about to be revealed. The conflict with women sets in because their their lies are exposed in front of the women, they panic.

So in confusion Algernon turns to muffins no cucumber sandwiches, no homo-social setting of the opening scene to soothe himself, he does not relish them, he just devours muffins to calm and soften his agitation. Wilde depicts a society that curtails certain sexualities so well that its members themselves censure and regulate what is native to their bodies and souls. If one just looks at these characters both men and women, and see how they approach one another, how quickly they fall in love without meeting each other.

They 'love' the idea of love more than the actual person. When sexuality is repressed, men and women become alienated with their own selves in a profound way. No wonder that they begin to fall in love with the names first and only then with the actual persons. View all 5 comments. Mar 18, Sarah rated it really liked it Shelves: There's nothing earnest about this play.

View all 3 comments. Jan 23, Piyangie rated it really liked it Shelves: Most of Oscar Wild works are filled with satire, and here is no exception. This story represents a section of the upper class society and it features mistaken identity of two men who represent themselves as "Ernest" to their respective love interests. This follows much confusion till the final truth is revealed.

And finally when the truth comes out it is interesting to find that both are neither "Ernest" nor "e The Importance of Being Earnest is yet another witty and humorous read of Oscar Wild! And finally when the truth comes out it is interesting to find that both are neither "Ernest" nor "earnest"! I really do like Wild as a playwright. I think he is at his best when he writes plays. That suits his thinking and the style of writing.

In his plays, there is animation, wit and humour; and it is such fun to read him. Lovely drama by Great writer and poet. Excellent writing and Candidly flew by all characters. It comprises of comedy in well defined fashion throughout all Acts. Glad to read, Awaited for prolong. Jul 24, Vimal Thiagarajan rated it it was amazing. One of those timeless plays that still retains its original charm after innumerable conscious and unconcious repititions of varying degrees in Indian movies.

A splendid critique on not just Victorian society but almost any modern society, cooked up in the most palatable form with plenty of wit and irony. Best thing about it is that none of the characters seem to be aware of their hypocrisies, which creates an amplifying mirror of the real world.

Will have to read more of Wilde. Oct 30, Vanessa J. Oscar Wilde is simply a genius. I could end this review with that statement, but I won't so I can convince you if you haven't read anything by this man. Honestly, what makes this play so good? Simply put, it's actually nothing. It's just plain ridiculous and foolish, but it made me laugh like nothing had done for a while. Because that's what Wilde pretended. This is not a play with a seri Oscar Wilde is simply a genius. This is not a play with a serious tone - it's just a satire.

The plot is really simple to prove that. What is this about, anyway? It's about a man called Ernest It's a play of mistaken identities in the best Shakespearean sense , of love I cannot praise this highly enough. Oscar Wilde is along with Hermann Hesse probably my 1 absolute favourite author.

The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Modern life would be very tedious if it were either, and modern literature a complete impossibility! Tell me you don't agree with that. Literary criticism is not your forte, my dear fellow. Having acquired such respectable relations, he is acceptable as a suitor for Gwendolen after all. Gwendolen, however, insists she can love only a man named Ernest. Lady Bracknell informs Jack that, as the first-born, he would have been named after his father, General Moncrieff.

Jack examines the army lists and discovers that his father's name—and hence his own real name—was in fact Ernest. Pretence was reality all along. Chasuble and Miss Prism—Lady Bracknell complains to her newfound relative: Arthur Ransome described The Importance It "refuses to play the game" of other dramatists of the period, for instance Bernard Shaw, who used their characters to draw audiences to grander ideals.

The play repeatedly mocks Victorian traditions and social customs, marriage and the pursuit of love in particular. I hate people who are not serious about meals. It is so shallow of them," says Algernon in Act 1; allusions are quick and from multiple angles. Wilde managed both to engage with and to mock the genre, while providing social commentary and offering reform.

Gwendolen, it is a terrible thing for a man to find out suddenly that all his life he has been speaking nothing but the truth.

Can you forgive me? In turn, both Gwendolen and Cecily have the ideal of marrying a man named Ernest, a popular and respected name at the time. Gwendolen, quite unlike her mother's methodical analysis of John Worthing's suitability as a husband, places her entire faith in a Christian name, declaring in Act I, "The only really safe name is Ernest". Wilde embodied society's rules and rituals artfully into Lady Bracknell: He defends himself against her "A handbag?

At the time, Victoria Station consisted of two separate but adjacent terminal stations sharing the same name. It has been argued that the play's themes of duplicity and ambivalence are inextricably bound up with Wilde's homosexuality, and that the play exhibits a "flickering presence-absence of… homosexual desire". How I used to toy with that Tiger Life. The use of the name Earnest may have been a homosexual in-joke. In , three years before Wilde wrote the play, John Gambril Nicholson had published the book of pederastic poetry Love in Earnest.

The sonnet Of Boys' Names included the verse: Sir Donald Sinden , an actor who had met two of the play's original cast Irene Vanbrugh and Allan Aynesworth , and Lord Alfred Douglas, wrote to The Times to dispute suggestions that "Earnest" held any sexual connotations: Although they had ample opportunity, at no time did any of them even hint that "Earnest" was a synonym for homosexual, or that "bunburying" may have implied homosexual sex. The first time I heard it mentioned was in the s and I immediately consulted Sir John Gielgud whose own performance of Jack Worthing in the same play was legendary and whose knowledge of theatrical lore was encyclopaedic.

He replied in his ringing tones: I would have known". A number of theories have also been put forward to explain the derivation of Bunbury, and Bunburying, which are used in the play to imply a secretive double life.

The Importance of Being Earnest

It may have derived from Henry Shirley Bunbury, a hypochondriacal acquaintance of Wilde's youth. Bunburying is a stratagem used by people who need an excuse for avoiding social obligations in their daily life. The word "bunburying" first appears in Act I when Algernon explains that he invented a fictional friend, a chronic invalid named "Bunbury", to have an excuse for getting out of events he does not wish to attend, particularly with his Aunt Augusta Lady Bracknell.

Algernon and Jack both use this method to secretly visit their lovers, Cecily and Gwendolen. While his earlier comedies suffer from an unevenness resulting from the thematic clash between the trivial and the serious, Earnest achieves a pitch-perfect style that allows these to dissolve. The dandyish insouciance of Jack and Algernon—established early with Algernon's exchange with his manservant—betrays an underlying unity despite their differing attitudes. The formidable pronouncements of Lady Bracknell are as startling for her use of hyperbole and rhetorical extravagance as for her disconcerting opinions.

In contrast, the speech of Dr. Chasuble and Miss Prism is distinguished by "pedantic precept" and "idiosyncratic diversion". Max Beerbohm described it as littered with "chiselled apophthegms—witticisms unrelated to action or character", of which he found half a dozen to be of the highest order. Lady Bracknell's line, "A handbag? Edith Evans, both on stage and in the film , delivered the line loudly in a mixture of horror, incredulity and condescension.

An understated take, to be sure, but with such a well-known play, packed full of witticisms and aphorisms with a life of their own, it's the little things that make a difference. Though Wilde deployed characters that were by now familiar—the dandy lord, the overbearing matriarch, the woman with a past, the puritan young lady—his treatment is subtler than in his earlier comedies.

Lady Bracknell, for instance, embodies respectable, upper-class society, but Eltis notes how her development "from the familiar overbearing duchess into a quirkier and more disturbing character" can be traced through Wilde's revisions of the play. Freed from "living up to any drama more serious than conversation" Wilde could now amuse himself to a fuller extent with quips, bons-mots , epigrams and repartee that really had little to do with the business at hand.

The genre of the Importance of Being Earnest has been deeply debated by scholars and critics alike who have placed the play within a wide variety of genres ranging from parody to satire. In his critique of Wilde, Foster argues that the play creates a world where "real values are inverted [and], reason and unreason are interchanged".

Wilde's two final comedies, An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest , were still on stage in London at the time of his prosecution, and they were soon closed as the details of his case became public. After two years in prison with hard labour, Wilde went into exile in Paris, sick and depressed, his reputation destroyed in England.

The Importance of Being Earnest () - IMDb

In , when no-one else would, Leonard Smithers agreed with Wilde to publish the two final plays. Wilde proved to be a diligent reviser, sending detailed instructions on stage directions, character listings and the presentation of the book, and insisting that a playbill from the first performance be reproduced inside. Ellmann argues that the proofs show a man "very much in command of himself and of the play".

On 19 October , a first edition number of 1, was discovered inside a handbag in an Oxfam shop in Nantwich , Cheshire. Staff were unable to trace the donor. The Importance of Being Earnest ' s popularity has meant it has been translated into many languages, though the homophonous pun in the title " Ernest ", a masculine proper name, and " earnest ", the virtue of steadfastness and seriousness poses a special problem for translators.

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The easiest case of a suitable translation of the pun, perpetuating its sense and meaning, may have been its translation into German. Since English and German are closely related languages , German provides an equivalent adjective "ernst" and also a matching masculine proper name "Ernst". The meaning and tenor of the wordplay are exactly the same.

Yet there are many different possible titles in German, mostly concerning sentence structure. Since wordplay is often unique to the language in question, translators are faced with a choice of either staying faithful to the original—in this case the English adjective and virtue earnest —or creating a similar pun in their own language. Four main strategies have been used by translators. The first leaves all characters' names unchanged and in their original spelling: Lastly, one translation gave the name an Italianate touch by rendering it as Ernesto ; this work liberally mixed proper nouns from both languages.

Apart from several "made-for-television" versions, The Importance of Being Earnest has been adapted for the English-language cinema at least three times, first in by Anthony Asquith who adapted the screenplay and directed it. Gribsby who pursues "Ernest" to Hertfordshire present in Wilde's original draft, but cut at the behest of the play's first producer. In , Ernest in Love was staged Off-Broadway. The Japanese all-female musical theatre troupe Takarazuka Revue staged this musical in in two productions, one by Moon Troupe and the other one by Flower Troupe.

In , Erik Chisholm composed an opera from the play, using Wilde's text as the libretto. According to a study by Robert Tanitch, by there had been least eight adaptations of the play as a musical, though "never with conspicuous success". The journalist Mark Bostridge comments, "The libretto of a musical adaptation, Half in Earnest , deposited in the British Library , is scarcely more encouraging. The curtain rises on Algy strumming away at the piano, singing 'I can play Chopsticks , Lane'. It was premiered in Los Angeles in There have been many radio versions of the play.

The production was later released on CD.

The production was later issued on audio cassette. The production was released on audio cassette. It was adapted for Australian TV in From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For other uses, see The Importance of Being Earnest disambiguation. Music based on the works of Oscar Wilde. Bruce Lockhart —an inside joke that came about after Wilde boarded a train at Banbury on which he met a schoolboy. They got into conversation and subsequently arranged to meet again at Sunbury. A command performance of the play was given by Boucicault's company in the presence of the Governor of Victoria.

Robert Flemyng played Algy. Max Beerbohm recounted in a letter to Reggie Turner Wilde's difficulty in obtaining a satisfactory offering: This he ate with assumed disgust but evident relish and when he paid the waiter, he said: Retrieved 14 February Racy interpretation shows anarchy beneath Wilde's witticisms" , Evening Standard , 3 August, Manages to be subversive and conformist at the same time" , The Independent , 3 August, Gay History and Literature.

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