Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest , written in 1894, is a Comedy of Manners that satirizes Victorian society in England. Wilde was considered the darling of his society, so he was allowed to write plays that depicted the upper class as somewhat unintelligent.

The Importance of Being Earnest follows the story of a Mr. Ernest Worthing who is desperately in love with Gwendolyn Fairfax. This play is an excellent example of situational comedy, because most of the humor comes from the outrageously complex, intertwined plot. In the scene, we meet Gwendolyn who comes to visit her fiance but is greeted by his young ward Cecily. They come to find that they are both in love with and engaged to be married to a Mr. Earnest Worthing. Being proper young ladies with good dispositions, they attempt to mask their newfound hatred for each other with good manners.

Sometimes actors must learn to adapt their contemporary techniques to older plays that require a different, more heightened style. The language of The Importance of Being Earnest is very elaborate, with long, formal sentence structure. As if this weren't enough, the actors also have to deal with restrictive costumes and elaborate headgear.