The Importance of Being Earnest

ThetextofthisNortonCriticalEditionofTheImportanceofBeingEarnestistheestablishedthree-actversion.Originallyinfouracts,WildeshortenedittothreeattheurgingofGeorgeAlexander,theowneroftheSt.JamesTheatreandfirstactortoplayJackWorthing.Theplayisaccompaniedbyexplanatoryannotationsandbyanappendixofexcisedportions."Backgrounds"includesessaysonWildeandthe1890sbyprominentculturalcriticsJosephDonohue,RegeniaGagnier,andKarlBeckson."ReviewsandReactions"collectscontemporaryresponsestoTheImportanceofBeingEarnest,amongthemGeorgeBernardShaw'sfamousdissentingviewandtheAmericanassessmentbyH.F."EssaysinCriticism"includessixdiverseassessmentsofWildeandtheplaybyE.H.Mikhail,CamillePaglia,ChristopherCraft,MichaelPatrickGillespie,PeterRaby,andRichardHaslam.AChronologyandSelectedBibliographyarealsoincluded.AbouttheSeries:NootherseriesofclassictextsequalsthecaliberoftheNortonCriticalEditions.Eachvolumecombinesthemostauthoritativetextavailablewiththecomprehensivepedagogicalapparatusnecessarytoappreciatetheworkfully.Carefulediting,first-ratetranslation,andthoroughexplanatoryannotationsalloweachtexttomeetthehighestliterarystandardswhileremainingaccessibletostudents.Eacheditionisprintedonacid-freepaperandeverytextintheseriesremainsinprint.NortonCriticalEditionsarethechoiceforexcellenceinscholarshipforstudentsatmorethan2,000universitiesworldwide.AbouttheAuthorMichaelPatrickGillespieisLouisEdnaGoedenProfessorofEnglishatMarquetteUniversity.HeistheauthorofOscarWildeandthePoeticsofAmbiguity,TheAestheticsofChaos:NonlinearThinkingandContemporaryLiteraryCriticism,InvertedVolumesImproperlyArranged:JamesJoyceandHisTriesteLibrary,ReadingtheBookHimself:NarrativeStrategiesintheWorksofJamesJoyce,andReadingWilliamKennedy,amongothers.HiseditedworksincludeJamesJoyceandtheFabricationofanIrishIdentityandJoycethroughtheAges:ANon-LinearView.