the importance of being earnest annotated

He makes fun of all the Victorians hold sacred, but in a light-hearted, amusing wordfest. The many layers of meaning work together to entertain and to provoke thought. Wilde sets the tone for hilarious mischief in this first scene. After speculating on marriage and the need to have an excuse to get away, the two agree to dine together at the fashionable Willis', and Jack enlists Algernon's assistance in distracting Lady Bracknell so that Jack can propose to Gwendolen. Similarly, Algernon confesses that he has invented an imaginary invalid friend, named Bunbury, whom he visits in the country when he feels the need to leave the city. Thomas Cardew when he was a baby and that he is a guardian to Cardew's granddaughter, Cecily, who lives on his country estate with her governess, Miss Prism. Algernon calls his bluff, and Jack confesses that he was adopted by Mr.

At first he lies and says the cigarette case is from his Aunt Cecily. In the country, however, he is known as Jack Worthing, squire, with a troubled brother named Ernest. Jack claims that he has made up the character of Ernest because it gives him an excuse to visit the city. Jack announces that he plans to propose marriage to Gwendolen, but Algernon claims that he will not consent to their marriage until Jack explains why he is known as Ernest and why he has a cigarette case with a questionable inscription from a mysterious lady. Jack Worthing (a friend of Moncrieff's and known to him as Ernest) arrives first. While Algernon (Algy, for short) plays the piano, his servant (Lane) is arranging cucumber sandwiches for the impending arrival of Algernon's aunt (Lady Bracknell) and her daughter (Gwendolen). The curtain opens on the flat of wealthy Algernon Moncrieff in London's fashionable West End.

The importance of being earnest annotated