Setting

Physical setting

The physical setting of the play The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde is London and Woolton. The action takes place over the course of a couple of days in July. 

The first act takes place entirely in Algernon’s Moncrieff’s flat in Half Moon Street in London. The second and third act take place on Jack’s country estate in Woolton. The characters in the play are mostly static, and there is little change of scenery. 

The “town” and the “country” appear as two opposite settings in the play. The town is associated with frivolity, sophistication, and deceit. The country is associated with boredom, simplicity, and honesty. The conflicts and complications which begin in town in Act 1 are eventually resolved in Act 3 in the country.

Jack’s duality manifests in the play by him being “Ernest in town and Jack in the country” (Act 1). He assumes two different personas, depending on the setting. He is a serious man in the country to set a good example for his ward, while in town he acts like a dandy and amuses himself. 

Algernon has a similar duality, only he escapes from the social pressure of city life into the peace and quiet of the country: “I have Bunburyed all over Shropshire on two separate occasions” (Act 1). This suggests that the two men find their escapes in opposite place...