Peter Raby said theseessentially Englishplays were well-pitched "Wilde,with one eye on the dramatic genius ofIbsen,and the other on the commercial competition in London's West End, targeted his audience with adroit precision".[98] The Importance of Being Earnest Wilde's final play again returns to the theme ofswitched identities:the play's two protagonistsengage in"bunburying"(the maintenance ofalternate personas in the town and country)which 10 allows them to escape Victoriansocial mores.[43]Earnest is even lighter in tonethan Wilde'searlier comedies.While their characters often rose to serious themes in moments ofcrisis, Earnest lacks the by-nowstock Wildean characters:there is no "woman witha past",the protagonists are neither villainous nor cunning,simply idle cultives,and the idealistic young women are not that innocent.Althoughmostly set in drawingrooms and almost completely lacking in action or violence,Earnestlacks the self-conscious decadence found in The Picture of Dorian Gray and Salome Selected works ·Poems(1881) Peter Raby said these essentially English plays were well-pitched, "Wilde, with one eye on the dramatic genius of Ibsen, and the other on the commercial competition in London's West End, targeted his audience with adroit precision".[98] The Importance of Being Earnest Wilde's final play again returns to the theme of switched identities: the play's two protagonists engage in "bunburying" (the maintenance of alternate personas in the town and country) which allows them to escape Victorian social mores.[43]Earnest is even lighter in tone than Wilde's earlier comedies. While their characters often rose to serious themes in moments of crisis, Earnest lacks the by-now stock Wildean characters: there is no "woman with a past", the protagonists are neither villainous nor cunning, simply idle cultivés, and the idealistic young women are not that innocent. Although mostly set in drawing rooms and almost completely lacking in action or violence, Earnest lacks the self-conscious decadence found in The Picture of Dorian Gray and Salome. Selected works • Poems (1881) 10’