The Importance of Being Earnest

The Importance of Being Earnest is widely considered the wittiest play in the English language. Written by Oscar Wilde and first performed in London on Valentine's Day 1895, it follows two young men — Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff — who have both invented fictional alter egos called "Ernest" to escape their social obligations. When their deceptions collide and their love interests both turn out to be romantically attached to the name Ernest, the result is a cascade of comic misunderstandings, sharp epigrams, and one of the great scenes in dramatic literature involving a handbag. Every line is quotable. Lady Bracknell's interrogation of Jack remains one of the funniest things ever written. Wilde called it "a trivial comedy for serious people" — which understates it considerably.

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