Who wrote the comedic play "The Importance of Being Earnest"?

Oscar Wilde wrote the comedic play "The Importance of Being Earnest." The play premiered in London at St James's Theatre on 14 February 1895 and was subtitled "A Trivial Comedy for Serious People."

Its plot follows Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, two men who invent alternative identities to escape social duties and pursue romance. Both become entangled with women who believe they are named Ernest, turning the name itself into the play's central joke. Wilde uses this farcical setup to mock Victorian expectations about marriage, respectability, family background, and proper conduct.

The work was the last of Wilde's four drawing-room comedies, following "Lady Windermere's Fan," "A Woman of No Importance," and "An Ideal Husband." Its famous characters include Lady Bracknell, whose interrogation about Jack's origins produces the celebrated handbag revelation.

A common mix-up is confusing Wilde with George Bernard Shaw, another major Irish-born playwright of the period. Shaw wrote plays such as "Pygmalion" and "Arms and the Man," but not "The Importance of Being Earnest." Wilde's play remains one of the most frequently revived comedies in English.