Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest is one of the most brilliant comedies in the English language.
With dazzling wit, elegant paradoxes, and unforgettable dialogue, Wilde turns questions of love, identity, and social respectability into a sparkling comedy of manners.
As two young gentlemen invent false names, double lives, and elaborate excuses, courtship becomes a game of deception, performance, and verbal triumph.
Behind the lightness lies a sharp satire of Victorian conventions, exposing the absurdities of class, marriage, and moral seriousness with effortless grace.
First performed in 1895, this celebrated play remains a masterpiece of theatrical comedy — playful, stylish, and endlessly quotable.
This is the English-language paperback edition of the play.
Oscar Wilde.
The Importance of Being Earnest.
A Trivial Comedy for Serious People.
First performed at the St James's Theatre, London, on 14 February 1895.
First published: Leonard Smithers and Co., London, 1899.
Vollständige Neuausgabe, 1. Auflage, Göttingen 2026.
LIWI Literatur- und Wissenschaftsverlag
