num_pages: 169
description: Wilde's most popular play is considered his wittiest and finest comedy. The play's subtitle, "A Trivial Comedy for Serious People" hints at its clever wordplay, ingenious epigrams, and sly British humor. It is a story of multiple mistaken identities—both deliberate and unintentional- and what ultimately becomes a hilarious exercise in keeping everyone's name and pseudonym straight.First performed in 1895, it has enduring appeal as dramatic literature and in live theatrical performance. This edition includes an appendix with Wilde's earlier versions of the play and deleted scenes that illustrate Wilde's creative process.
language: English
title: The Importance of Being Earnest
titlecomplete: The Importance of Being Earnest (New Mermaids)
characters: Rev. Canon Chasuble, Cecily Cardew, Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen Fairfax, John Worthing, Algernon Montcrieff, Lane, Miss Prism, Merriman
genres: Classics, Drama, Theatre, Comedy, Plays, Humor, School, Romance, Literature, Fiction
ratings_count: 358547
places: England, London, England, Woolton, Hertfordshire, England
publisher: Methuen Drama