The Importance of Being Earnest

E179856

The Importance of Being Earnest is a celebrated late-Victorian comedic play by Oscar Wilde that satirizes social conventions, identity, and marriage through witty dialogue and farcical situations.

All labels observed (8)

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Statements (52)

Predicate Object
instanceOf farce
play
satirical play
stage comedy
author Oscar Wilde
canonicalStatus frequently performed in English-speaking theatre
centralTheme duality and double lives
hypocrisy of the upper class
identity
marriage
social conventions
countryOfOrigin United Kingdom
dramaticForm dialogue-driven
firstPerformanceDate 1895-02-14
firstPerformancePlace St James's Theatre, London
linked to: St James's Theatre
firstPublisher Leonard Smithers
genre comedy of manners
farce
satire
hasAdaptation The Importance of Being Earnest (1952 film)
The Importance of Being Earnest (2002 film)
multiple radio adaptations
multiple television adaptations
includedIn Oscar Wilde's dramatic works canon
literaryPeriod Victorian literature
literarySignificance considered Oscar Wilde's masterpiece
major work of English-language comic drama
mainCharacter Algernon Moncrieff
Cecily Cardew
Gwendolen Fairfax
Jack Worthing
Lady Bracknell
Miss Prism
Rev. Canon Chasuble
notableFeature epigrams
use of mistaken identity
witty dialogue
originalLanguage English
plotDevice invention of fictitious person "Ernest"
protagonistAlias Ernest
publicationYear 1899
revisedStructure three acts reduced to two acts in some versions
setting Hertfordshire countryside
London
linked to: London, England
structure three-act play
targetOfSatire Victorian morality
aristocratic values
conventional views of marriage
obsession with respectability
timePeriod late Victorian era
tone ironic
light-hearted

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (53)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Oscar Wilde notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest
Oscar Wilde wrote The Importance of Being Earnest
Oscar Wilde wrote The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People
linked to: The Importance of Being Earnest
Ernest appearsInWork The Importance of Being Earnest
Alison Steadman notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest (stage)
linked to: The Importance of Being Earnest
Alison Steadman notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest (stage revival)
linked to: The Importance of Being Earnest
Jane Menelaus notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest
Maggie Smith notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest
Rupert Everett notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest
St James's Theatre notableProduction The Importance of Being Earnest
Patrick Godfrey notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest (2002 film)
linked to: The Importance of Being Earnest
Ralph Richardson notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest hasAdaptation The Importance of Being Earnest (1952 film)
linked to: The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest hasAdaptation The Importance of Being Earnest (2002 film)
linked to: The Importance of Being Earnest
A Woman of No Importance precedesInOeuvre The Importance of Being Earnest
Felix Aylmer notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest (1952 film)
linked to: The Importance of Being Earnest
James Dreyfus notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest (stage production)
linked to: The Importance of Being Earnest
Margaret Rutherford notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest
Santino Fontana notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest
Moira Lister notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest
Estelle Winwood notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest (stage)
linked to: The Importance of Being Earnest
Rachel Kempson notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest
Desmond Dickinson workedOn The Importance of Being Earnest (1952 film)
linked to: The Importance of Being Earnest
Desmond Dickinson workedOn The Importance of Being Earnest (stage-bound Technicolor adaptation)
linked to: The Importance of Being Earnest
Oliver Parker notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest (2002 film)
linked to: The Importance of Being Earnest
Oliver Parker directed The Importance of Being Earnest (2002 film)
linked to: The Importance of Being Earnest
Oliver Parker screenwriterOf The Importance of Being Earnest (2002 film)
linked to: The Importance of Being Earnest
Joan Greenwood notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest (1952 film)
linked to: The Importance of Being Earnest
Joan Greenwood appearedIn The Importance of Being Earnest (1952 film)
linked to: The Importance of Being Earnest
Joan Greenwood theatricalWork The Importance of Being Earnest (stage)
linked to: The Importance of Being Earnest
John Gielgud notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest
Jayne Wisener performedIn The Importance of Being Earnest
Edith Evans notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest
Edith Evans notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest (1952 film)
linked to: The Importance of Being Earnest
Michael Redgrave notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest
Athene Seyler notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest
Sybil Thorndike notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest
Steppenwolf Theatre Company hasProduction The Importance of Being Earnest
Vaudeville Theatre hasNotableProduction The Importance of Being Earnest
Roundabout Theatre Company notableProduction The Importance of Being Earnest
Travesties basedOn The Importance of Being Earnest
Travesties parodies The Importance of Being Earnest
Judi Dench notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest
subject linked to: Judi
Finty Williams notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest (2002 film)
linked to: The Importance of Being Earnest
Judith Olivia Dench notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest
subject linked to: Judith
Dana Ivey notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest
Fabia Drake notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest
Ann Firbank notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest (stage production)
linked to: The Importance of Being Earnest
Dorothy Tutin notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest
Romulus Films notableWork The Importance of Being Earnest