Introduction In the Victorian Era, being earnest was viewed as the pinnacle of human societal achievement. Earnestness, defined most basically as being very serious, was a behavior or at least affect that plagued the Victorian era to a fault. As Oscar Wilde displayed in his theatrical evisceration of the value,...

Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest may be the most pure example of a Victorian farce. To begin with, the chaos and the misunderstandings all are based on romantic pursuits and completely self-centered ambitions. From the opening, the absurd is the foundation; Jack leads a double life depending on...