Russell Jackson asserts that in The Importance of Being Earnest, "Wilde simultaneously engaged with and mocked forms and rules of society”. To what extent is Wilde's play critical of society?The Importance of Being Serious: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play written by author, poet and playwright Oscar Wilde in 1894 and premiered at the St James's Theater in London in 1895. The Importance of Being Earnest is Wilde's most prominent play. work and renowned for his many jokes and entertaining satirical views on Victorian values, marriage and love. He continually mocks the hypocritical and superficial views of the upper class throughout the play. The play on words in the title, is the initial point of mockery as the true meaning of "Earnest", is seriousness and sincerity, contrasting with the characters, as each individual continually tries to convince society that they are honest with strong morals and which he is able to respect by strict social rules. Nevertheless, Wilde cleverly presents the characters in a way that expresses their moral views as both absurd and trivial. Russell Jackson's assertion about the play is extremely accurate because through numerous devices, Wilde simultaneously engaged with and mocked the forms and rules of society. In the play, Wilde mirrors many characters, such as Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew who both have great intentions of marrying a man named Ernest. Gwendolen believes she is destined to love someone named Ernest because "there is something about that name that inspires absolute trust." While Cecily also admits "I always dreamed of loving a man named Ernest." In the third act, the selective women even declare in unison that "first names are still an insurmountable battle...... middle of paper...... it was allowed to follow." These points are essential in both literary works as they address forms of society and mock their values ​​in order to bring about notable changes in the attitudes of the time. In conclusion, Wilde's portrayal of Victorian society is deeply critical and although the play is light-hearted and has comedic qualities, Wilde's unmistakable critique of societal norms and values ​​is evident and is one of the first plays to deal with modern problems, inspiring many other artists to explore and scrutinize the system in place. Wilde was interested in the forms of society and the superficial nature of the people within it. Lady Bracknell summarizes Wilde's view of society: "we live, I regret to say, in an age of surfaces." She is echoed by her daughter Gwendolen “in matters of great importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing” Jesamine Harvey