The Importance of Being Earnest
Trivial Comedy for Serious People
THE PERSONS IN THE PLAY
John Worthing, J.P.[1]
Algernon Moncrieff
Rev. Canon Chasuble, D.D.
Merriman, Butler
Lane, Manservant
Lady[2] Bracknell
Hon[3]. Gwendolen Fairfax
Cecily Cardew
Miss Prism, Governess
THE SCENES OF THE PLAY
ACT I. Algernon Moncrieff’s Flat in Half-Moon Street, W.[4]
ACT II. The Garden at the Manor House, Woolton.
ACT III. Drawing-Room at the Manor House, Woolton.
TIME: The Present.
“The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde, from English Literature: Victorians and Moderns is in the Public Domain.
- Justice of the Peace, presumably as with Justice Shallow in 2 Henry IV, a local position based on land ownership and position in the community. Jack’s surname alludes to the seaside resort south of London where Wilde wrote the play in the summer of 1894. ↵
- All daughters of dukes, marquesses, and earls are styled Lady. ↵
- Honourable. Daughters of barons and viscounts such as Lord Bracknell, were allowed this designation, though never used in direct address. ↵
- A fashionable street in London’s Mayfair district. “W” is an abbreviation for “West,” designating postal district. ↵
