![]() William Gladstone created a controversy in 1886 when he committed the British Liberal party to support Home Rule-self-governance for Ireland within the framework of the British Empire. One such subject was the issue of Home Rule for Ireland. However, some of the topics mentioned briefly in the play indicate larger political issues that were the subject of heated debate at the time that it was produced. ![]() In a contemporary review, the socialist playwright George Bernard Shaw reacted to The Importance of Being Earnest's seeming heartlessness-he would prefer to think that people are capable of speaking something other than nonsense. One of the primary critiques of Wilde's play is that it is form without content, and does not deal seriously with any social issues (this, of course, is consistent with Wilde's doctrine of Aestheticism). Nevertheless, the play does contain a few references to contemporary historical events, which suggest a troubled society underneath the glossiness of the characters that Wilde portrays. ![]() As a comedy, it is rooted much less in a specific history or place than many plays. The Importance of Being Earnest is first and foremost a farce, a comedy of manners whose main goal is to amuse the audience, rather than to make them think. ![]()
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