the importance of being earnest annotated

4 Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, version bilingue (traduction de Gérard Hardin), Pocke (.)ĤIn an article published this year in Études irlandaises, Pascal Aquien argues that 19th century French bourgeois drama exerted a powerful influence on Wilde’s dramatic works.

2 Pascal Aquien, “Sardoodledum Revisited, or a Few Trivial Remarks about Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husba (.).

In this paper I will examine the way in which Wilde’s text challenged and conformed at the same time. However, I would argue that more generally, despite very little room for manœuvre, he managed brilliantly to challenge the social norms, sexual stereotypes and gender representations of his time while pleasing aristocratic London socialites. Nevertheless, some critics have argued that the playwright dared include homosexual connotations in the text. Oscar Wilde was gay in a society stifled by social conventions and governed by very tough laws on homosexuality. However, the writing of the play relies on a creativity and richness that combine different styles.

When first performed, the play was considered as a light comedy and classified as entertainment for Victorian society. For example, the “Théâtre Antoine” in Paris produced it in October 2006 (on tour until March 2008) and a Versailles company performed it at “Le Lucernaire” in September and October 2008. The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) by Oscar Wilde is a popular play that is still widely performed in English-language theatres and also in many other languages.

The importance of being earnest annotated