The Importance of Being Earnest

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (1895)

"A Trivial Comedy for Serious People" — Oscar Wilde's wittiest and most perfect play. A farce about two men who each create fictitious alter egos to escape social obligations, only to discover that truth is stranger than fiction.

Historical Significance:
The play premiered at the St James's Theatre in London on February 14, 1895, and was an immediate triumph. The audience erupted in laughter throughout, and the reviews were ecstatic. It was the pinnacle of Wilde's career — and the last moment of happiness in his life.

Just days after the premiere, the Marquess of Queensberry left a card at Wilde's club accusing him of homosexuality. Wilde disastrously sued for libel, lost, and was subsequently tried, convicted of "gross indecency," and sentenced to two years of hard labor. The play was pulled from theaters, Wilde's name removed from the playbills. He emerged from prison broken and impoverished, dying in Paris in 1900 at age 46.

The play itself is a masterpiece of comic construction, with every line polished to gleaming perfection. "I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train." "To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness."

Cultural Impact:
The Importance of Being Earnest is the most performed of all Wilde's plays and is considered the greatest comedy in the English language. It has been adapted into films, musicals, and performed continuously in theaters worldwide since its revival in 1902. Wilde's epigrammatic wit — sharp, paradoxical, and devastatingly funny — has influenced every comedy writer since.

This public domain classic was originally written in 1895. Free to read and share.