Letters from Our Readers

"But, in regard to the subversiveness of Wilde's play, there is an additional piece of information that's worth mentioning. Some historians suggest that, in late-Victorian queer circles, "earnest" could have been used as slang for "homosexual." This idea gained traction because of John Gambril Nicholson's 1892 poetry collection, "Love in Earnest," which celebrated male love. As such, Wilde's title may have been a double-entendre, as "The Importance of Being Earnest" could also mean "The Importance of Being Gay.""

"I enjoyed Rebecca Mead's Profile of Stephen Fry, with its descriptions of his current romp as Lady Bracknell in a new production of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" ("Wilde at Heart," November 24th). Wilde himself was deeply aware of coded language, as homosexuality was criminalized in Britain at the time. How fitting that in lieu of a traditional curtain call, Fry's show, as Mead explains, honors Wilde's often sly employment of a green carnation in his lapel by having the actors dance as extravagantly costumed flowers."

Some historians posit that late-Victorian queer circles used "earnest" as slang for "homosexual," supported by John Gambril Nicholson's 1892 poetry collection Love in Earnest, which celebrated male love. Wilde's title The Importance of Being Earnest may therefore function as a double entendre implying the importance of being gay. Homosexuality was criminalized in Britain, and Wilde employed coded language and symbols such as the green carnation. Stephen Fry's production of The Importance of Being Earnest honors that symbolism by featuring actors who dance as extravagantly costumed flowers instead of a traditional curtain call. Clyde Fitch, an American contemporary and occasional lover of Wilde, wrote nearly sixty plays and enjoyed greater commercial success in his lifetime but is now largely forgotten; Amherst College preserves his library and furnishings as a Clyde Fitch Memorial Room.

Read at The New Yorker