Preview

oscar wilde

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
501 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
oscar wilde
To what extent is the humour in ‘The Importance of Being Earnest dependent upon ridiculing Victorian attitudes to marriage and respectability?
Oscar Wilde’s masterpiece ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ opened in the West End of London in February 1894 during an era when many of the religious, social, political, and economic structures were experiencing change — The Victorian Age. Wilde’s genre of choice was the Victorian melodrama, or “sentimental comedy” which expresses an important message; lying underneath the satire, mockery and humour. In ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ Oscar Wilde reveals the portrayal of marriage and respectability during the late Victorian era. In the words of Jen Ziegenfuss “In the Victorian era, marriage was not as romanticised…love actually played a very minor role in the majority of marriages that took place. An engagement was entered into as one would approach a business deal” As marriage is at the plot's core, it makes some sense that Wilde conveys the different attitudes through mockery and character’s arrogances.

To what extent is the humour in ‘The Importance of Being Earnest dependent upon ridiculing Victorian attitudes to marriage and respectability?
Oscar Wilde’s masterpiece ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ opened in the West End of London in February 1894 during an era when many of the religious, social, political, and economic structures were experiencing change — The Victorian Age. Wilde’s genre of choice was the Victorian melodrama, or “sentimental comedy” which expresses an important message; lying underneath the satire, mockery and humour. In ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ Oscar Wilde reveals the portrayal of marriage and respectability during the late Victorian era. In the words of Jen Ziegenfuss “In the Victorian era, marriage was not as romanticised…love actually played a very minor role in the majority of marriages that took place. An engagement was entered into as one would approach a business

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ is considered to be Oscar Wilde’s masterpiece written in 1895. His work here involves mistaken identity, satire (social/class rankings), incredible wit and much more. It is theorised that this script was written in slight reflection of Wilde’s own life; he himself led a double life due to his sexuality.…

    • 1034 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Small details are all too often overlooked, called either insignificant or irrelevant, they are rarely given the attention they deserve. In Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” we see cleverly hidden details within the drama that, while serve significant roles, people may see as inhibitors to understanding the play. Cigarette cases and tea parties are two of the many details within the story that have background meanings; their most prominent purpose being to emphasize the importance of propriety within their era, however they also play substitute roles in accentuating character themes and building dramatic irony. The link between these two particulars can be stated as turning points within the novel that increase both tension, and…

    • 150 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The homosexual suggestions of The Picture incite criticisms, mostly of righteous anger and criticism. Throughout the Victorian Era movements for strong moral values dominated opposed to greed, exploitation and cynicism. Wilde’s the novel developed during this time. The 1890 date of publishing of The Picture implies that any kind of homoerotic relationships were very much forbidden. Therefore, the only novel of Oscar Wilde caused a public outcry in a pious Victorian England. The typical idealistic image of behavior and modesty inherent to old-time Victorian England was discredited in the novel. The radical ideas the novel contained evoked a conflict between moral rules of the Victorian society and new controversial concepts raised in the book.…

    • 312 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    While reading Oscar Wilde’s story “The Importance of Being Earnest” I can see that the play is about a debate of pleasant and unpleasant marriage. Wilde explores sincerity in his play by really gearing the play around the word “earnest”. In the play both women wanted to marry a person named “earnest” because they thought that it actually meant to be sincere, responsible, and earnest. The play presents many scenes of sincerity versus hypocrisy. For example, when Lady Bracknell asks Jack about Cecily with the intention to judge her as a wife for Algernon, while Lady Bracknell notices Cecily after she found out about her money. But, also the men characters play having a double life or secret life. Both men Jack and Algernon make up a fake…

    • 187 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Both Jack and Algernon pretend to be a man named Ernest to satisfy their love interest's wish, reflecting the Victorian obsession of social appearance and standing. This obsession may have lead to this hypocritical nature of lying and cheating in order to look truthful and honest. There is also the way marriage is handled within the play that contrasts with Victorian society. Marriage in the play is treated as a simple process, with a simple proposal, then engagement, and then marriage. This view pokes fun at how Victorian parent plan in great detail about their children’s marriage, shown especially with Lady Bracknell, who questions Jack after his proposal to Gwendolen, and scrutinizing every aspect of his status. During the questioning, she is quick to judge the status of Jack’s finances, occupation, and housing, describing the concerns of many upper class Victorians of the time. Also, this play allows the couples wins their marriage, even with the disapproval with their guardians.. Likewise, despite the truth eventually coming out, all the main characters get their happy ending, which in essence illustrate that although Victorian society discourages dishonesty, the individuals of the Victorian time will allow it to pass if it is going to benefits them in some way, either now or later.…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    His characters learn their moral lessons—that selfishness and vanity are corruption, that Victorian morality is hypocritical and empty, and that only a balanced life can lead to true moral satisfaction—through the individual situations with which they are presented and through the different ways in which they deal with those situations. Ultimately, the genius of these works lies in the fact that though they are so different, it is only when considering them together that Wilde’s full criticism of Victorian society in his writing can be…

    • 995 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Importance of Being Earnest, composed by Oscar Wilde is a comedic screenplay set in the nineteenth century. Although the theme of the screenplay is comedic, the script does discuss some of the common issues that occurred during that time. Oscar Wilde portrays the concept of marriage, earnestness and …. Throughout his script.…

    • 403 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.” These words of wisdom were said by Dorothy Parker, an American author. Dorothy is alluding to the same ideas of the upper class of the Victorian Age as Oscar Wilde does in The Importance of Being Earnest. Through Lady Bracknell, a prestigious member of the upper class in The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde displays his views on the morals and values of the Victorian society. Lady Bracknell is the epitome of the hypocritical, greedy, and insincere wealthy population in England from the time of 1832-1901. Oscar Wilde demonstrates these characteristics in instances such as Lady Bracknell’s reasoning for refusing the marriage of her daughter, Gwendolen, to Jack. Lady Bracknell’s attitude towards…

    • 959 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first opinion we get of Wilde view on marriage is when Miss Worsley and Lady Caroline are having a conversation where Lady Caroline explains to Miss Worsley that the English tradition does not allow unmarried young women should 'conceal their feelings till after they are married.' This suggests that Wilde is mocking the English upper class because even having a friendly comment of the opposite sex is thought of as immoral whereas, the opposite have every right to speak the way they feel about women married or unmarried. Oscar Wilde's view also comes across to us as readers when Lord Illingworth says a woman that is been married for too long is perceived as 'a public building' or an, this suggests that Oscar Wilde believes that a woman should not be kept a prisoner in her marriage.…

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is a relatively straightforward and philosophically uncomplicated novel, Austen still endeavors to portray the deep and inescapable influence of bad manners regardless of class. In order to fulfill this purpose, Austen needed to create characters and situations that were humorous, yet easy to identify with and this was accomplished by the use of satire. Satire is used in the novel Pride and Prejudice and is particularly manifest in the characters Lady Catherine, Mrs. Bennet, and Mr.Collins in order to impart the reader with a genuine understanding of the consequences that ignorance, piety, pride, and prejudice produce in any class. The resulting effect of this device is laugh out loud humor and a marked disdain by the reader for these and any characters who possess a significant amount of the said unwanted qualities.…

    • 788 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Topic #1: Oscar Wilde felt Victorian values were perpetuated through courtship and marriage, both of which had their own rules and rituals. Marriage was a careful selection process. It is presented as a legal contract between consenting families of similar fortunes; background, love, and happiness have little to do with it. How does Wilde treat the Victorian marriage values?…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The stereotypical view of the woman in late Victorian London was that they were to be married to who their parents decided they’d be married to, and not have an opinion on the matter that differed from their parent’s. This expected behaviour was not what was displayed by such female characters in Oscar Wilde’s, “The Importance of being Earnest”.…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “There is something in that name that seems to inspire absolute confidence.”(Act1part2/Act2part2,Wilde) The drama The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, is a satire on love, relationships and women. Wilde showcases two different types of women that hopelessly fall in love with “Earnest” the name, not the man. Gwendolen comes from a high society in which the look of honesty and integrity are highly sought after, which is exactly why she can’t marry anyone that doesn’t have the name Earnest. Cecily is the opposite; she is the depiction of honesty and integrity, which is why when she hears of someone who is wicked and a tad reckless she must marry him. In The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde satirizes how women are attracted to men through the characters Gwendolen and Cecily in order to show that women can be so drawn to one thing about a man that it blurs their judgment.…

    • 1166 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Social class and public reputation are two of the most common things that influence a person in their decision making. In “The Importance of Being Earnest”, Oscar Wilde mocks a society for their reasons of choosing who to marry. Oscar Wilde expresses an ironic and satiric perspective on a society that builds a marriage upon a foundation of money, power, and deceit.…

    • 785 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Thus, it can be argued that in The Importance of Being Earnest, the double life led by the protagonists [Jack and Algernon] corresponds to Wilde 's personal life of a fake marriage disguising his…

    • 2157 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics