In The Importance of Being Earnest‚ author Oscar Wilde criticizes the Victorian society. His characters represent the Victorian era and have twisted views on issues regarding intense emotions such as love and marriage. They do not fully appreciate these concepts and either disregard them or confuse them with emotions that lack depth. Wilde depicts his Victorian society as superficial and incapable of love that is not shallow. In his comedy‚ both women‚ Gwendolyn and Cecily‚ believe to be head over
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The Importance of being earnest Themes Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. The Nature of Marriage Marriage is of paramount importance in The Importance of Being Earnest‚ both as a primary force motivating the plot and as a subject for philosophical speculation and debate. The question of the nature of marriage appears for the first time in the opening dialogue between Algernon and his butler‚ Lane‚ and from this point on the subject never disappears
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The Importance of Being Earnest’ is used to represent a contradictory and hypocritical society. Oscar Wilde uses the text to reflect his own experience with an ignorant society; Oliver Parker does not replicate this in the 2002 film version of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ as he does not have the emotional influences that Wilde had. Therefore Parker does not produce an accurate representation of Wilde’s play; he only provides a comical historical representation of the milieu for a modern audience
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Importance of Being Earnest Act 1 Characters immediately establish the tone and social context of the play. References to “Lady Bracknell”‚ “Mr Moncrieff’s manservant” and the “governess” indicate that play involves wealthy upper class. The characters are of course constructs – Wilde uses them merely as mouth pieces to express/parody value judgements about morality and Victorian ideals of duty and virtue. Premise of the play is creation of a paradox – explores inability/impossibility of being
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Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ is a satire of the stifling conventions of Victorian England‚ a time when a serpentine code of behaviour governed everything from communication to sexuality‚ and when class was the sole dictator of relationships. With a witty‚ humorous delivery‚ the play explores the central themes of materialism‚ gender roles‚ marriage and the ignorance of the upper class. Passage one opens with a series of hyperbolic questions posed with Jack‚ building in rhythm
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Literary Analysis Essay PICKERING: [rising and standing over him gravely] Come‚ Higgins! You know what I mean. If I’m to be in this business I shall feel responsible for that girl. I hope it’s understood that no advantage is to be taken of her position. HIGGINS. What! That thing! Sacred‚ I assure you. [Rising to explain] You see‚ she’ll be a pupil; and teaching would be impossible unless pupils were sacred. I’ve taught scores of American millionairesses how to speak English: the best looking
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Three Passage Analysis – The Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde used comedy as the primary means of communicating the key themes of his play. In particular he used satire to ridicule the hypocrisy of the strict code of behaviors that characterized the late Victorian era. His use of satire is intended to spotlight the shortcomings of the Victorian era and highlight social issues at play that he personally condemned. Of particular importance in the play are the strict rules of behaviour concerning
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The Importance of Being Earnest By Oscar Wilde In The Importance of Being Earnest‚ Oscar Wilde uses word play in reference to the word “earnest.” Throughout his play‚ Wilde focuses on the matter of who is the most sincere or “earnest” and who is actually the person whose name is Ernest. The two main characters‚ Algernon Moncrieff and Jack Worthing‚ both claim to be Ernest for deceptive reasons. Wilde develops his characters Algernon and Jack in order to portray them as hypocritical to the definition
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The Importance of Being Earnest Satire Essay “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
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“The Importance of Being Earnest”: Text and Film Comparison The most memorable and telling line of Oscar Wilde’s play "The Importance of Being Earnest" is perhaps its last‚ as Jack Worthing gleefully announces‚ "I’ve now realized for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest" (Wilde 313). The "vital importance" of this line‚ and its significance‚ constitutes the core difference between the play and Oliver Parker’s film adaptation. As with any film adaptation‚ there are various
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