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The Importance of Being Earnest

The Importance of Being Earnest

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The Importance of Being Earnest, a comedic play by Oscar Wilde, premiered in 1895 in London and is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of Victorian satire. Subtitled "A Trivial Comedy for Serious People," the play is a sharp-witted farce that explores themes of identity, social hypocrisy, and the absurdities of Victorian society through a plot centered on mistaken identities and secret engagements. Set in the fashionable world of late 19th-century England, it follows two young men, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, who adopt fictitious personas—both named Ernest—to escape societal constraints and woo their romantic interests, Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew. Wilde’s razor-sharp dialogue, filled with epigrams and paradoxes, critiques the superficiality of the upper class while delivering a timeless comedy that remains celebrated for its wit and enduring social commentary.

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