The Importance of Being Earnest

Oscar Wilde's famously witty play follows two Victorian gentlemen, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, who create false identities (specifically, a brother named "Ernest") to avoid tiresome societal duties. Their roguish duplicity leads to romantic complications when they woo two charming ladies, Gwendolen and Cecily. After Jack discovers his real name is in fact "Ernest," the play's farcical resolution untangles their web of identities and satirizes Victorian hypocrisy.