The Importance Of Being Earnest Comedy Of Manners

The Importance of Being Earnest is a Comedy of Manners written by Oscar Wilde in the late nineteenth century. Britannica defines The Comedy of Manners as a “Witty, cerebral form of dramatic comedy that depicts and often satirizes the manners and affectations of a contemporary society. A comedy of manners is concerned with social usage and the question of whether or not characters meet certain social standards.” The Importance of Being Earnest contains all of these elements as it is a witty, satirical story about the upper class Victorian society.

Plot: The story takes place in Hertfordshire and revolves around a scandalous man named Jack Worthing who lives a double life. In London, he goes by the name of Ernest, but everyone else believes that Ernest is Jack’s scandalous brother who is the reason why Jack is constantly going out of town. Jack’s best friend, Algernon, knows him as Ernest, and Jack wishes to marry Algernon 's cousin named Gwendolen. When Algernon suspects that Jack is leading a double life after finding an inscription titled “Uncle Jack” from his adoptive father’s daughter Celia, Jack confesses and explains that he has considered killing his fake brother off because Celia has started to show interest in the so called Ernest. Gwendolen and her mother arrive and Jack takes the opportunity to propose to Gwendolen, but when Gwendolen accepts the proposal, she claims that she would never marry a man who was not named Ernest. On the other hand, Algernon, who is in