Umanschi Mihaela-Mary The 10-th Grade C Lyceum Prometeu-Prim Teacher: Mrs.

Galina Chira

The Importance Of Being Earnest

By Oscar Wilde

1.Biography:
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde, born on 16 October 1854, was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright, novelist, poet, and critic. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. Today he is remembered for his epigrams, plays and the circumstances of his imprisonment, followed by his early death. In his lifetime he wrote nine plays, one novel, and numerous poems, short stories, and essays. One of his most famous novels is The Picture of Dorian Gray, written in 1890. He also wrote The Happy Prince and Other Stories (1888, fairy stories), Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories (1891, stories), The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891, political essay), A Woman of No Importance (1893, play), An Ideal Husband (performed 1895, published 1898; play), The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898, poem). At the height of his fame and success was the play The Importance of Being Earnest that was performed in 1895 and published in 1898. Wilde was a proponent of the Aesthetic movement, which emphasized aesthetic values more than moral or social themes. This doctrine is most clearly summarized in the phrase 'art for art's sake'. Besides literary accomplishments, he is also famous, or perhaps infamous, for his wit, flamboyance, and affairs with men. He was tried and imprisoned for his homosexual relationship (then considered a crime) with the son of an aristocrat. Wilde died of cerebral meningitis on 30 November 1900.

2.Expressions and Statements:

time to pay your debt-e timpul pentru a-i plti datoria to play piano with wonderful expression = to play piano with wondrous expression- a cnta la pian cu o deosebit expresie terrible nuisance = an awful blight- o teribil pacoste how perfectly delightful- perfect de ncnttor I have come up to town expressly to propose to her- Eu am venit intenionat n ora pentru ca s o cer de soie

how utterly unromantic you are-eti totalmente neromantic his behavior is utterly disgraceful = his behavior is absolutely shameful- comportamentul su este absolut ruinos it is perfectly absurd in mod perfect e absurd he is so very serious-el este (att de) prea serios youre absurdly careless- eti absurd de neglijent you are quiet perfect- eti destul de perfect greatly distressed = too sad- foarte ntristat not even for ready money- nici mcar pentru bani gata a dreadful invalid- un invalid ngrozitor to have an irresistible fascination = to have an irresistible captivation- a avea o fascinaie irezistibil We live in an age of ideals, and my ideal has always been to love someone whose name is Earnest- Noi trim ntr-o perioad de idealuri, iar idealul meu a fost ntotdeauna de a iubi pe cineva a crui nume este Earnest inspires absolute confidence- inspir ncredere absolut it is clearly a metaphysical speculation-aceasta este n mod clar o speculaie metafizic this divine name has a music of its own that produces vibrations- acest nume divin are o muzic proprie care produce vibraii the subject has not even been touched on = the subject hasnt even been discussed- nu a mai fost atins aceast tem semi-recumbent posture = semi-prone position- postur semi-culcat it is most indecorous = it is most indecent- este cel mai necuviincios speak slightingly- a vorbi neglijabil to speak metaphorically- a vorbi metaforic Ignorance is like a delicate, exotic fruit, touch it and the bloom is gone- Ignorana este precum un fruct exotic, delicat, atinge-l i floarea dispare the utmost care- cea mai mare grij The story of your romantic origin, has naturally stirred the deeper fibers of my naturePovestea ta de origine romantic, a strnit n mod natural fibrele profunde ale naturii mele eternal devotion to you- venicul devotament pentru tine sniffing about = suspecting about- bnuind despre inexcusable manner- manier de neiertat quixostic for you- donquijoteti pentru mine this is indeed a surprise- este ntradevr o surpriz I myself am peculiarly susceptible to draft- eu nsumi sunt deosebit de sensibil de a concepe ( a recruta ) you look as you have toothache- ari de parc ai avea o durere de dini an entirely new man = a completely new man- un om cu totul nou Your vanity is ridiculous, your conduct an outrage,and your presence in my house is utterly absurd = Your vanity is terrible, your conduct an outrage, and your presence in my house is perfectly ludicrous- vanitatea dumneavoastr e ridicol, puterea voastr- o crim i prezena voastr n casa mea e totalmente absurd the feelings you have aroused within me are at once delightful and exquisitely painfulsentimentele pe care le-ai strnit n mine pentru o dat sunt ncnttoare i excelent de dureroase

the visible personification of absolute perfection- vizibila personificare a perfeciunii absolute speak fluently = to speak in an easy, fluent manner a vorbi fluent wondrous and incomparable beauty- frumusee minunat i incomparabil to love wildly, passionately, devotedly, hopelessly- a iubi slbatic, pasional, cu devotament, fr sperane it is gross effrontery- este o impertinen brut undivided attention- atenie indivizibil to have the ardous task of looking after = to have the difficult, responsible task of looking after- a avea sarcina dificil de a avea grij de charming name = magical name- nume fermector to be under some misconception- a fi n conformitate cu unele nenelegeri I beg your pardon- Ce a-i spus ? ( Iertai-m ) inspires absolute credulity- inspir credulitate absolut to cease immediately = to stop immediately- a nceta imediat to be nothing of the kind- a nu fi nimic to resign the position- a demisiona postul I beg to solicit the honor of your hand- Te implor s solicii onoarea de mn Bunburyist-a person who leads a double life

Vocabulary:
sake- dragul, constiraie to dine- a luia masa to alter- a modifica a relapse- o recidiv thoughtful = heedful, attentive, paying attention, giving close attention- grijuliu eligible = qualified for or allowed or worthy of being chosen- acceptabil, eligibil stroll = a leisurely walk (usually in some public place- plimbare, tur misfortune = unnecessary and unforeseen trouble resulting from an unfortunate event, bad luck- nenorocire carelessness = failure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances, negligence - neglijen bewildered = cause to be confused emotionally, bemuse, discombobulate- dezorientat blurt = utter impulsively, blunder out- a spune fr judecat reckless = heedless -nepstor, nechibzuit scoundrel = someone who does evil deliberately - canalie, ticlos praiseworthy = applaudable, commendable - ludabil trespass = enter unlawfully on someone's property a intra frdelege n proprietatea cuiva ward = person who is under the protection or in the custody of another- veghe, minor pus sub tutel exquisitely = finely, delicately-excelent, splendid effrontery = audacious (even arrogant) behavior that you have no right to- impertinen peculiarly = especially, specially- deosebit

The characters.The cast:

Earnest Jack Worthing- Colin Firth Cecily Gardew- Reese Witherspoon Gwendolen Fairfax- Frances O'Connor Algernon Moncrief-Rupert Everett Lady Bracknell- Judi Dench Dr. Chasuble-Tom Wilkinson Miss Prism- Anna Massey Merriman- Patrick Godfrey

3.The summary of the film:

The Importance of being Earnest is a farcical comedy play by Oscar Wilde that was first performed on 14 February 1895 at St. Jamess Theatre in London. It also has been adapted for cinema on three occasions. One of them is the Oliver Parkers The Importance of being Earnest production that was produced in 2002. This film is about two young gentlement living in 1890s England that use the same pseudonymEarnest secretly, which is fine until they fall in love with women using that name. The main character, Jack Worthing , who plays Colin Firth is a pillar of the community in Hertfordshire, where he is guardian to Cecily Cardew, which plays Reese Witherspoon. So, he comes to London, as being Earnest to meet his friend Algernon Moncrieff, who plays Rupert Everett and to propose to Gwendolen Fairfax( Frances OConnor ), the cousin of his friend. Lady Augusta Bracknell, which plays Judi Dench, prohibits their marriage because of the Earnests, who essential is Jacks miserable origin of being found in a handbag by Mr. Thomas Gardew in the cloakroom at Victoria Station. Once, when Jack tells his friend what happened, Algernon says him that he expresses interest in meeting Cecily, but Jack does not want this to happen, as she is too young .Then, when the lovers meet one another, Gwendolen decides to come at Jacks house in the Hertfordshire and she asks Jack his address in the country. At the same moment, Algernon slyly writes this down. When Jack comes back to Hertfordshire, he announces everybody about the death of his imaginary brother Earnest , but at the same time Algy meets Jacks ward as being her uncle, Earnest. So, when Jack finds out that Algy is in his garden, being presented as Earnest , he becomes very angry. Then, Jack tells Algernon he must leave, while Algernon expresses an interest in Cecily. Jack orders Merriman to get the dogcart, as Ernest has been called back to town. Until he goes,Earnest asks Cecily to marry him and finds out that they have been engaged for the last three months. She also admits that she loves him because his name is Ernest. During this time, Gwendolen, as she promise, arrives in the Hertfordshire and meets Cecily. So, there appear some misunderstandings between women about the marriage, both being sured that they marry Earnest, but finally they find out the truth. The men become completely confused and they both arrange for Chasuble, who plays Tom Wilkinson, to christen them "Earnest". Then, they try to ask for forgiveness to ladies by singing to them. When the situation comes down, Lady Bracknell appears. Worthing tries to make a compromise with lady Bracknell so as to allow the engagement of Algy with Cecily, who is only eighteen years old, but inherits for about J130.000 in the funds, only with the condition that he and Gwendolen will get married. The old woman refuses that. Chasuble enters and announces that he is prepared for the christenings. Lady Bracknell refuses to allow Algernon to do that. Chasuble says he will leave, but when Lady Bracknell hears the name Miss Prism between some of the servants, she orders to show

her where is she. Miss Prism, which plays Anna Massey were waiting for dr. Chasuble in the vestry, but suddenly she sees Lady Bracknell and she loses consciousness. After a few time, when she get normal, she tells everyone the truth about the baby of Lady Bracknells sister that a long time ago she placed in a handbag in a moment of mental abstraction. When she mentioned the place where she placed the handbag, Jack understands that he was that baby.So, he is the son of Lady Bracknells brother and the younger brother of Algy. Then he tries to find out his real name in the books, and he says everyone that he is Earnest. Lady Bracknell finds out in the book that his real name is not Earnest, but Jack. Jacks tells Lady Bracknell that he realized, for the first time in his life, the vital importance of being Earnest.

Impressions:
I was very impressed of this film and I think that the book would be also interesting. By watching the film, I was impressed of the actorss manner of acting and reproducing the characterss hypostasis. The Oscar Wildes book expresses the image of England society in the nineth century with fascionable costumes for men and elegant dresses for women, intelligent manner of talking, etc. Colin Firth, who played the role of Jack Worthing and Rupert Everett who played the role of Algy Moncrieff impressed me most of all, because they reproduced the hypostasis of the characters very humorous in some of the parts of the film like : when Jack describes the form of the handbag to Lady Bracknell, when Algy and Jack eat muphins because of being nervous, the happiness of Jack finding out that he is the brother of Moncrieff and others. The Importance Of Being Earnest became one of my favourite films.