The Importance of Being Earnest: Film and Text Comparison

“The Importance of Being Earnest”: Text and Film Comparison The most memorable and telling line of Oscar Wilde's play "The Importance of Being Earnest" is perhaps its last, as Jack Worthing gleefully announces, "I've now realized for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest" (Wilde 313). The "vital importance" of this line, and its significance, constitutes the core difference between the play and Oliver Parker's film adaptation. As with any film adaptation, there are various subtle differences, yet what is most significant are the different ways in which linguistic elements of the play are played out in the two works. In a way, these alterations help to prove one of the most compelling themes of the original play itself: the flexibility of language and its effects. The play's emphasis on language and insincerity within the phenomenon of language allows its last line to have a darker resonance, while the movie takes a more comedic and light-hearted approach, working against the power of Wilde's original satire. Perhaps one of the most obvious differences between the two works is visual; while the play primarily takes place in a handful of rooms, Parker takes the movie outside, attempting to offer a much fuller picture of English society. The characters are often talking about "modern culture” and "modern life", but what is at focus is an aspect of "modern culture" that is widely dependent on the use of language itself. The powerful images of the city and luscious countryside only distract from the language and dialogue. Here words are very valuable. Everything is flexible, adjustable, including names, family relations, principles, standards, social status, and love. All these can be altered through language. The reliance on language as a tool for alteration can be seen most obviously with the female characters' obsessions with the name Ernest. Gwendolen and Cecily cannot even adhere to their own principles upon learning of their fiancés'