The Importance of Being Earnest: Written vs. Performed play. The Importance of Being Earnest , written by Oscar Wilde in 1895, is a romantic comedy play written about the happenstance, coincidence, and revelation that occurs one London season between two friends, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, and their paramours Gwendolyn Bracknell and Cecily Cardew respectively. Minor characters include Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen’s mother and aunt to Algernon; Lane, Algernon’s butler; Miss Prism, Cecily’s governess; Merriman, Cecily’s butler; and Dr. Chasuble, a reverend. The performance of the play that will be discussed in this essay was performed by TCNJ All College Theatre in 2015 . The play uses “high comedy” to satirize the many aspects of
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The structure of the play remains largely unchanged from the written play to the performance. Act I will always end with Algernon planning to go “Bunburrying,” Act II with the exposure of the men’s ruses, and Act III with the revelation of Jack’s parentage and the “importance of being Earnest.” “Earnest” is also structured in such a way that nothing that happened or was said in Act I, is not without import by Act III. The first act is directly relatable to the end, just as the second act is related to the first and third acts. The story of Jack being found as a baby in a handbag from Act I, is directly related to Miss Prism’s confession in Act III and serves as a connection between beginning and end. Jack talks about killing his “brother” and then attempts to do so within Act II to great comedic effect when Cecily presents Algernon. The echoing of Jack’s line, “But you don’t really mean to say that you could not love me if my name weren’t Ernest,” by Algernon in Act II help to tie the two Acts together even though each one shows a different engagement coming into being. These things will always be the same from the written play to the performance, but the way in which they are portrayed can differ, bringing us to the next point of discussion, delivery of dialogue. Delivery of dialogue can completely change the way the characters are perceived from performance …show more content…
An enjoyable aspect of this performance is the entertaining way the change of set and scene was completed not by a blackout of lighting and a run crew, but by the cast itself in humorous fashion at times. This is an element that is not present in the written work at all as the scene changes instantly when read, as opposed to having to be physically changed when performed. This added another element of humor and grounding to the play that cannot be had upon a reading. The dramatic pause by Algernon in the performance after Jack reveals he is not “Ernest” echoes the shock of both audience and Algernon to the revelation and paints Jack’s previous responses to Algernon’s questions in a new light. The reaction of Jack to the flashback of the handbag Miss Prism left in the station and his following search is filled with emotion and expectation, and fills the audience with tension while waiting to know what is going to happen. The play captivates the audience with the turmoil and suspense raised by the questions of whether the men’s ruses will be found out, which they are, and if the lover’s engagements will come to fruition. The audience is taken from hopeful expectations, to apprehension, and finally left with fulfillment and closure by the end of the
The structure of the play remains largely unchanged from the written play to the performance. Act I will always end with Algernon planning to go “Bunburrying,” Act II with the exposure of the men’s ruses, and Act III with the revelation of Jack’s parentage and the “importance of being Earnest.” “Earnest” is also structured in such a way that nothing that happened or was said in Act I, is not without import by Act III. The first act is directly relatable to the end, just as the second act is related to the first and third acts. The story of Jack being found as a baby in a handbag from Act I, is directly related to Miss Prism’s confession in Act III and serves as a connection between beginning and end. Jack talks about killing his “brother” and then attempts to do so within Act II to great comedic effect when Cecily presents Algernon. The echoing of Jack’s line, “But you don’t really mean to say that you could not love me if my name weren’t Ernest,” by Algernon in Act II help to tie the two Acts together even though each one shows a different engagement coming into being. These things will always be the same from the written play to the performance, but the way in which they are portrayed can differ, bringing us to the next point of discussion, delivery of dialogue. Delivery of dialogue can completely change the way the characters are perceived from performance …show more content…
An enjoyable aspect of this performance is the entertaining way the change of set and scene was completed not by a blackout of lighting and a run crew, but by the cast itself in humorous fashion at times. This is an element that is not present in the written work at all as the scene changes instantly when read, as opposed to having to be physically changed when performed. This added another element of humor and grounding to the play that cannot be had upon a reading. The dramatic pause by Algernon in the performance after Jack reveals he is not “Ernest” echoes the shock of both audience and Algernon to the revelation and paints Jack’s previous responses to Algernon’s questions in a new light. The reaction of Jack to the flashback of the handbag Miss Prism left in the station and his following search is filled with emotion and expectation, and fills the audience with tension while waiting to know what is going to happen. The play captivates the audience with the turmoil and suspense raised by the questions of whether the men’s ruses will be found out, which they are, and if the lover’s engagements will come to fruition. The audience is taken from hopeful expectations, to apprehension, and finally left with fulfillment and closure by the end of the