Let's Discuss: The Importance of Being Earnest
And VOTE for December's WRW
“It is a terrible thing for a man to find out suddenly that all his life he has been speaking nothing but the truth.”
In this issue:
- Discussion Prep
- Discussion Prompts
- Stand-out Quotes
- Further Reading
- Vote for December’s WRW
Prepare for the Discussion
If you haven’t already, be sure to read last week’s post, “An Earnest Satire,” in which I give a brief explanation of literary satire and farce.
Once you’ve got a grasp of the concepts, join in on the discussion!
Discussion Prompts
Below are a few prompts to inspire discussion in the comments. Feel free to use these as a starting point, if you need, and expand from there.
What aspects of society did you notice Wilde satirizing in the play?
How does the play display female friendships compared to male friendships?
How is humor used to support the satirical themes?
What does the play say about publishing at the time? (Yes, publishing!)
Get in the comments and let’s discuss!
Quotes
Below are a few stand-out quotes. This list is not exhaustive, of course, as there were so many prize-worthy lines in The Importance of Being Earnest!
On nonsense and farce:
JACK: If you don’t take care, your friend Bunbury will get you into a serious scrape some day.
ALGERNON: I love scrapes. They are the only things that are never serious.
JACK: Oh, that’s nonsense, Algy. You never talk anything but nonsense.
ALGERNON: Nobody ever does.
On male friendships and speaking to women:
JACK: My dear fellow, the truth isn’t quite the sort of thing one tells to a nice, sweet, refined girl. What extraordinary ideas you have about the way to behave to a woman!
On Victorian-era publishing:
MISS PRISM: Memory, my dear Cecily, is the diary that we all carry about with us.
CECILY: Yes, but it usually chronicles the things that have never happened, and couldn’t possibly have happened. I believe that Memory is responsible for nearly all the three-volume novels that Mudie sends us.
MISS PRISM: Do not speak slightingly of the three-volume novel, Cecily. I wrote one myself in earlier days.
On matrimony, love, and lust:
CHASUBLE: Believe me, I do not deserve so neologistic a phrase. The precept as well as the practice of the Primitive Church was distinctly against matrimony.
MISS PRISM: That is obviously the reason why the Primitive Church has not lasted up to the present day. And you do not seem to realise, dear Doctor, that by persistently remaining single, a man converts himself into a permanent public temptation. Men should be more careful; this very celibacy leads weaker vessels astray.
On female friendship:
GWENDOLEN: My poor wounded Cecily!
CECILY: My sweet wronged Gwendolen!
GWENDOLEN: You will call me sister, will you not?
On society:
LADY BRACKNELL: Never speak disrespectfully of Society, Algernon. Only people who can’t get into it do that.
Further Reading
If you enjoyed The Importance of Being Earnest, you may also enjoy…
Another comedic play by Oscar Wilde: Lady Windermere’s Fan
William Shakespeare’s A Comedy of Errors
William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Vote on December’s Well-Read Weekend
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(One of these is set at Christmas time and the other New Year’s Eve. Can you guess which is which?)