The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People — Page 12
A man who marries without knowing Bunbury has a very tedious time of it.
Un uomo che si sposa senza conoscere Bunbury si annoia moltissimo.
JACK.
JACK.
That is nonsense. If I marry a charming girl like Gwendolen, and she is the only girl I ever saw in my life that I would marry, I certainly won't want to know Bunbury.
Sono sciocchezze. Se sposo una ragazza affascinante come Gwendolen, e lei è l'unica ragazza che abbia mai visto in vita mia che vorrei sposare, di certo non vorrò conoscere Bunbury.
ALGERNON.
ALGERNON.
Then your wife will. You don't seem to realise, that in married life three is company and two is none.
Allora lo vorrà tua moglie. Non sembri renderti conto che nella vita coniugale tre è compagnia e due è nessuno.
JACK.
JACK.
[Sententiously.] That, my dear young friend, is the theory that the corrupt French Drama has been propounding for the last fifty years.
[Sentenziosamente.] Questa, mio caro giovane amico, è la teoria che il corrotto dramma francese ha sostenuto negli ultimi cinquant'anni.
ALGERNON.
ALGERNON.
Yes; and that the happy English home has proved in half the time.
Sì; e che la felice casa inglese ha dimostrato in metà del tempo.
JACK.
JACK.
For heaven's sake, don't try to be cynical. It's perfectly easy to be cynical.
Per amor del cielo, non cercare di essere cinico. È perfettamente facile essere cinici.
ALGERNON.
ALGERNON.
My dear fellow, it isn't easy to be anything nowadays. There's such a lot of beastly competition about. [The sound of an electric bell is heard.] Ah! that must be Aunt Augusta. Only relatives, or creditors, ever ring in that Wagnerian manner. Now, if I get her out of the way for ten minutes, so that you can have an opportunity for proposing to Gwendolen, may I dine with you to-night at Willis's?
Mio caro amico, non è facile essere niente di questi tempi. C'è una tale quantità di orribile concorrenza in giro. [Si sente il suono di un campanello elettrico.] Ah! deve essere la zia Augusta. Solo i parenti, o i creditori, suonano mai in quel modo wagneriano. Ora, se la tolgo di mezzo per dieci minuti, in modo che tu possa avere l'opportunità di fare la proposta a Gwendolen, posso cenare con te stasera da Willis?
JACK.
JACK.
I suppose so, if you want to.
Suppongo di sì, se vuoi.
ALGERNON.
ALGERNON.
Yes, but you must be serious about it. I hate people who are not serious about meals. It is so shallow of them.
Sì, ma devi prenderla sul serio. Odio le persone che non prendono i pasti sul serio. È così superficiale da parte loro.
[Enter Lane.]
[Entra Lane.]
LANE.
LANE.
Lady Bracknell and Miss Fairfax.
Lady Bracknell e Miss Fairfax.
[Algernon goes forward to meet them. Enter Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen.
[Algernon si fa avanti per incontrarle. Entrano Lady Bracknell e Gwendolen.
Vocabulary
- uomo
- A male adult human being; man
- sposa
- To marry someone; third-person singular present of 'sposare'
- senza
- Preposition meaning 'without' indicating absence or lack
- conoscere
- To know or be acquainted with a person or thing
- annoia
- To bore or tire someone; third-person singular of 'annoiare'
- moltissimo
- Superlative of 'molto'; meaning 'very much' or 'a great deal'
- sciocchezze
- Nonsense, foolish things, or silly remarks; plural noun
- sposo
- First-person singular of 'sposare': 'I marry'; also groom
- ragazza
- A young female person; girl or young woman
- affascinante
- Charming, fascinating, or captivating in appearance or personality
- unica
- The only one; feminine adjective meaning 'unique' or 'sole'
- abbia
- Subjunctive form of 'avere': 'that I/he/she may have'
- mai
- Adverb meaning 'ever' in questions or 'never' in negatives
- visto
- Past participle of 'vedere': 'seen'
- vita
- Life; the state of being alive or one's lifetime
- vorrei
- Conditional of 'volere': 'I would like' or 'I would want'
- sposare
- To marry; infinitive verb referring to the act of marrying
- certo
- Certain, sure; adjective or adverb expressing certainty
- vorrò
- Future of 'volere': 'I will want'
- Allora
- Adverb meaning 'then,' 'so,' or 'at that time'
- vorrà
- Future of 'volere,' third person singular: 'she/he will want'
- moglie
- A woman who is married; wife
- sembri
- Subjunctive or informal second-person of 'sembrare': 'you seem'
- renderti
- Reflexive infinitive meaning 'to make yourself' or 'to realize'
- conto
- Account, bill; 'rendersi conto' means 'to realize' something
- coniugale
- Related to marriage or the conjugal bond; marital
- compagnia
- Company; a group of people or the state of being with others
- nessuno
- Nobody, no one; indefinite pronoun indicating absence of persons
- Sentenziosamente
- In a pompous, sententious manner; stage direction adverb
- caro
- Dear, beloved; adjective used in affectionate address
- giovane
- Young in age; adjective or noun referring to a young person
- amico
- A person with whom one has a bond of friendship; friend
- teoria
- A system of ideas intended to explain something; theory
- corrotto
- Corrupted, morally depraved, or tainted; past participle of 'corrompere'
- dramma
- A play or theatrical work; dramatic literature or genre
- francese
- Relating to France or its language; French
- sostenuto
- Past participle of 'sostenere': 'maintained,' 'supported,' or 'upheld'
- ultimi
- Last or most recent; masculine plural of 'ultimo'
- cinquant'
- Elided form of 'cinquanta': the cardinal number fifty
- anni
- Years; plural of 'anno,' a period of twelve months
- felice
- Feeling or showing joy and contentment; happy
- casa
- A building used as a home; house or home
- inglese
- Relating to England or its people; English
- dimostrato
- Past participle of 'dimostrare': 'demonstrated' or 'proven'
- metà
- One of two equal parts of something; half
- tempo
- Time in general or a period of time; also weather
- amor
- Love; used in exclamation 'per amor di cielo': 'for heaven's sake'
- cielo
- The sky or heaven; used in exclamations of surprise
- cercare
- To look for or try; infinitive of 'cercare'
- cinico
- Distrustful of human sincerity; cynical person or attitude
- perfettamente
- In a perfect or complete manner; perfectly or absolutely
- facile
- Not difficult; easy or simple to do or understand
- cinici
- Plural of 'cinico': cynical people or cynics
- niente
- Nothing; pronoun or adverb indicating absence of anything
- tempi
- Plural of 'tempo': times, periods, or eras
- tale
- Such a; adjective indicating a degree or quality of something
- quantità
- An amount or number of something; quantity
- orribile
- Causing horror or disgust; horrible or dreadful
- concorrenza
- The activity of competing against others; competition
- giro
- A circuit or tour; 'in giro' means 'around' or 'about'
- sente
- Third-person singular of 'sentire': 'hears,' 'feels,' or 'senses'
- suono
- A vibration perceived as sound; sound or noise
- campanello
- A small bell or doorbell used to signal or alert someone
- elettrico
- Relating to or powered by electricity; electric
- deve
- Third-person singular of 'dovere': 'must,' 'has to,' or 'should'
- zia
- A parent's sister; aunt
- Solo
- Adverb meaning 'only' or adjective meaning 'alone'
- parenti
- People related by blood or marriage; relatives
- creditori
- People to whom money is owed; creditors
- suonano
- Third-person plural of 'suonare': 'they ring' or 'they play'
- modo
- A way or manner of doing something; mode or style
- wagneriano
- In the style of Wagner; excessively dramatic or operatic
- Ora
- Now; adverb indicating the present moment
- tolgo
- First-person singular of 'togliere': 'I remove' or 'I take away'
- mezzo
- Half; also means middle or means/medium
- dieci
- The cardinal number ten
- minuti
- Plural of 'minuto': units of time equal to sixty seconds
- possa
- Subjunctive of 'potere': 'that one may be able to'
- opportunità
- A favorable time or circumstance; opportunity or chance
- fare
- To do or to make; fundamental infinitive verb
- proposta
- A proposal or suggestion, often a marriage proposal
- posso
- First-person singular of 'potere': 'I can' or 'I am able'
- cenare
- To have dinner or eat the evening meal; to dine
- stasera
- This evening; adverb referring to the current evening
- Suppongo
- First-person singular of 'supporre': 'I suppose' or 'I assume'
- vuoi
- Second-person singular of 'volere': 'you want'
- devi
- Second-person singular of 'dovere': 'you must' or 'you have to'
- prenderla
- Infinitive 'prendere' plus 'la': 'to take it'
- serio
- Grave, earnest, or solemn in character; serious
- Odio
- First-person singular of 'odiare': 'I hate'; strong dislike
- persone
- Individual human beings; people or persons
- prendono
- Third-person plural of 'prendere': 'they take'
- pasti
- Plural of 'pasto': meals or the act of eating at set times
- così
- Adverb meaning 'so,' 'thus,' or 'in this way'
- superficiale
- Lacking depth or seriousness; shallow or superficial
- parte
- A portion or role; 'da parte loro' means 'on their part'
- Entra
- Third-person singular of 'entrare': 'he/she enters'; stage direction
- avanti
- Forward; adverb meaning 'ahead' or 'come forward'
- incontrarle
- Infinitive 'incontrare' plus 'le': 'to meet them (feminine)'
- Entrano
- Third-person plural of 'entrare': 'they enter'; stage direction
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