Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is a comedy that used the figure of the upper class dandy to critique the narrow-mindedness of the middle class in the 1890s. What makes this play so funny is that the upper class is illustrated as silly when they try to mock the earnest middle class. Proud characters who were bred in high society‚ such as Lady Bracknell and her daughter Gwendolen‚ may think that they are making particularly nasty snubs‚ but they do not seem to realize that Wilde cleverly
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Chiderah Onyeukwu Professor Daniel Galvin English 213 18 April 2013 Role of Marriage in Importance of Being Earnest The Importance of Being Earnest‚ Oscar Wilde’s last and most famous play‚ debuted in London on February 14‚ 1895. Throughout the play‚ one major theme seems to override the others. That theme is the role of marriage; the question of whether marriage as an institution is “pleasant” or “unpleasant” comes up repeatedly. It seems as if every character has a strong stance on the role of
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The Importance of Being Victorian: Oscar Wilde “The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Modern life would be very tedious if it were either‚ and modern literature a complete impossibility” (Wilde 14). As a brilliant writer of the 1800’s‚ Oscar Wilde devoted the majority of his works towards unveiling the harsh truths of the Victorian society. Leading a life of deception himself‚ he chose to showcase his distastes for the social injustice he saw around him with unrestrained humor. Being the first
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The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is regarded by many as one of the wittiest plays in the English language. However‚ it is not simply a “trivial comedy‚” as its title proposes‚ but also a cutting satire appraising the conventions of Victorian society‚ chiefly the upper class. Much of Wilde’s social commentary is portrayed through the speech of the dictatorial Lady Bracknell‚ who embodies Victorian upper class conventions. Having ascended to her current high social
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Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest While some critics contend that The Importance of Being Earnest is completely fanciful and has no relation to the real world‚ others maintain that Oscar Wilde’s "trivial comedy for serious people" does make significant comments about social class and the institution of marriage. These observations include the prevalent utilization of deceit in everyday affairs. Indeed the characters and plot of the play appear to be entirely irreverent‚ thus
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Oscar Wilde in many ways was far ahead of the Victorian society that he found himself in. Wilde’s homosexual lifestyle and focus on sensuality were so frowned upon in the Victorian society that they were actually illegal‚ which led to his eventual imprisonment and downfall (Bastiat 2). It is almost as if Oscar Wilde’s life itself was a satire‚ because these aspects of himself that were illegal and frowned upon were what made his play The Importance of Being Earnest so successful. Wilde’s play was
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Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest provides a satirical view of the Victorian era‚ primarily focusing on Victorian standards of marriage and social expectations. Wilde builds his critique of Victorian morality through his humor and wit between the character’s banter‚ the hypocritical Victorian view of honesty. Wilde view of Victorian society is illustrated through his wit and humor embedded in the characters’ dialogues. For example‚ Jack and Algernon live double lives as lowlifes
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Oscar Wilde was an Irish playwright and writer known primarily for his comedies and satires. His play‚ “The Importance of Being Earnest‚” is one of his most famous satires about Victorian society. There are two different types of satire. Horatian satire is lighthearted and mocks human flaws‚ and Juvenalian satire which is bitter and negative and attacks an institution. In this piece Wilde uses Horatian satire to mock the values and morals of the upper-class in Victorian society. The first piece
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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 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
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