The Importance of Being Earnest 英文读书报告.docVIP

A Brief Introduction of the Author Oscar Wilde is an Irish author, playwright and poet. He published his first book in 1881 and left a lot of valuable spiritual wealth for people. Known for his biting wit and glittering conversation, Wilde has many quotes spread in the world. He himself is also brave enough to struggle for his happiness and dared to be a maverick, just as what he wrote: “I dont want to earn my living; I want to live”, “To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance” and so on.A Brief Introduction of the Play The Importance of Being Earnest is it is a farcical comedy in which the main characters maintain fictitious person to escape burdensome social obligations. The squire, John Worthing, come to London to visit his best friend, Algernon Moncrieff, who thinks his name is Ernest. In fact, Jacks attention is to see his lover, Gwendolen, and propose to her. Algernon finds out Jacks real identity, then he goes to country with the pseudonym Ernest and falls in love with Cecily, Jacks ward. Both two ladies say they love the name Ernest. However, the fraud of the name “Ernest” is exposed and it seems the two couples cannot get married. Fortunately, they finally find out that Jack is actually the son of General Moncrieff and he could inherit his holyname, Ernest. In the end of the play, the happy couples embrace and Jack says, “Ive now realized for the first time in my life the Vital Importance of Being Earnest.”Different Views of Marriage in the Play Marriage is one of the most important themes in the Importance of Being Earnest, but marriage dose not mean the same thing to main characters. The question of the nature of marriage appears soon in the conversation between Jack and Algernon, they dispute whether marriage is a “pleasure” or “business” - Algernon says “A man who marries without knowing Bunbury has a very tedious time of it” while Jack mocks “How unromantic you are”. Indeed, marriage is only a loveless duty to Algernon, but to Jack, it is an expression of love and he says he would be loyal to Gwendolen forever. As for the ladies, Cecily and Gwendolen are all romantic about marriage, they think they are “destined” to love a man called Ernest. Cecily falls in love with the bad boy Ernest even she has never seen him and secretly engaged with him. However, Gwendolen is a little different from Cecily, she is also quite aware of her social status. And Lady Bracknell, Gwendolens mother, is the most snobbish person in the play, she thinks marriage is a way to gain wealth, reputation, and a higher social status. Only when she finds out that Jack is actually of good station, does she accept their marriage.