the need to have an excuse to get away‚ the two agree to dine together at the fashionable Willis’‚ and Jack enlists Algernon’s assistance in distracting Lady Bracknell so that Jack can propose to Gwendolen. Analysis Wilde sets the tone for hilarious mischief in this first scene. The many layers of meaning work together to entertain and to provoke thought. He makes fun of all the Victorians hold sacred‚ but in a light-hearted‚ amusing wordfest. His humor has multiple layers of meaning: social criticism
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English Literature Coursework Louise Adams ‘In dramatic comedy women are typically presented in a less favourable way than men.’ To what extent do you agree with this view in relation to ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’? In Victorian society‚ the male role would be to rule‚ protect and provide for his family. Men were always making the political decisions and women had the job of wife‚ mother and domestic manager. When married‚ it was men who owned all properties of the women‚ and she must be faithful
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In the play ’The Importance of Being Earnest’ Wilde effecively uses wit to satirize the idea of earnestness. Victorians have been very fond of the idea of hard work‚ sincerity and an earnest lifestyle which was perfectly ideal for them. However‚ Wilde’s use of irony shows that none of the characters in the play prove to be any of those ideals. He therefore satrizies hypocrisy and false ideals which mock their authentic presence. Wilde mocks the high society with the high status characters which
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out loud comedy. In his play The Importance of Being Earnest‚ Oscar Wilde uses dramatic irony to create humor by creating problems for characters to solve‚ promoting reactions from characters‚ and tying these problem and reactions into the resolution. In The Importance of Being Earnest the audience is aware of future conflicts and secrets between the characters before the characters themselves are. One main secret‚ that Jack is pretending to be his nonexistent bother Earnest‚ drives the
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The Importance of Being Earnest is a well-known play‚ written by an Anglo-Irish playwright‚ novelist‚ poet‚ and critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest playwrights of the Victorian Era. He was born in Dublin on 16 October 1854. In his lifetime he wrote nine plays‚ one novel‚ and numerous poems‚ short stories‚ and essays. Among his work the most popular and well-known are “The Picture of Dorian Gray”‚ “The Importance of Being Earnest”‚ “The Ballad of Reading Gaol”. Wilde was a proponent of
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In Act 2 of The Importance of Being Earnest‚ Oscar Wilde uses irony to comment on the‚ absurd nature of the Victorian morals and values‚ context as well as highlight the satire‚ that he implemented‚ and humour. In the scene‚ Cecily admonishes Algy‚ who is pretending to be Ernest by saying‚ "I hope you have not been leading a double life‚ pretending to be wicked and being really good all the time. That would be hypocrisy." This is a use of dramatic irony as usually the act of being a hypocrite is
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Joanna Martinez Ms. Tobenkin AP Literature‚ Period 4 7 December 2015 The Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde is definitely an odd character and this is present in his play‚ The Importance of Being Earnest. Throughout the play‚ Wilde uses puns and unusual situations so that it could make the play humorous and enjoyable for audience. Each character finds themselves in peculiar situations which becomes unusually strange. Wilde uses comical dialogue to mock society and the higher class. Although it
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The Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is a satire based on Victorian society in the late 1800’s. Everything about this play is a satire; from marriage to social class‚ and even the play’s name. Wilde criticizes these aspects of Victorian society with the use of witty puns and unusual‚ awkward situations. Wilde brings to light the fact that late Victorian society cared more about a person’s name and wealth than their personality. This debases the sanctity
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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. Marriage is one of the main messages portrayed in the dialogue‚ being mentioned numerous times throughout The Importance of Being Earnest. The topic of marriage is used to
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Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest follows Jack and Algernon‚ two young men living in Victorian England‚ whose attempts to court Gwendolen and Cecily are complicated by the fictitious identities they have created to escape social obligations. Over the course of the play‚ their various deceptions are exposed and things get further and further out of hand until a timely revelation brings the matter to a resolution. This play is primarily a satire that serves as a vehicle for Wilde to mock what
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