What good does always being earnest do you if you are not "Ernest"? Oscar Wilde’s play‚ "The Importance of Being Earnest"‚ explores exactly this notion‚ following two men who readily abandon their namesakes in order to win the affections of their respective fair ladies. The play opens in London with a conversation held between these two men‚ Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff. However‚ at the play’s origin‚ Algernon only knows his friend as "Ernest". This rapidly changes with the aid of a cigarette
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Minor details are often considered insignificant or irrelevant and as a result 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 serving significant roles‚ people may view as inhibitors to understanding the play. Cigarette cases and tea parties are two of the many details within the drama that contain background meanings; their most prominent purpose being to emphasize the importance of
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The Influences of Oscar Wilde Throughout his life Oscar Wilde had many strong influences exerted upon him. During his early childhood his mother influenced him and into college some of his professors and certain philosophers left a substantial impression upon him. Into adulthood these influences leaked out in his writing. These influences gave him ample ideas for writing The Picture of Dorian Gray. Wilde’s study of the Hellenistic ideals of Epicurus‚ his coddled lifestyle as a child and his devotion
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In the play The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde‚ one can predict Algernon will go to Jack’s house and that Jack and Gwendolen will not get married. First‚ one can predict that Algernon will go to Jack’s place. At the beginning of the play‚ Algernon asked Jack questions about his house. Then‚ later in the play he writes down the address Jack gives Gwendolen. In the play it states‚ “Algernon‚ who has been carefully listening‚ smiles to himself‚ and writes the address on his shirtcuff. Then
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The Influence of Oscar Wilde ’s Sexuality | English Literature Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was a writer whose homoerotic texts pushed the social boundaries of the Victorian era. Born to a family of unabashed Irish agnostics‚ the self-proclaimed "dandy" valued art‚ fashion‚ and all things physically beautiful. After receiving a comprehensive education from Oxford‚ Wilde made a name for himself in London first as a novelist‚ penning the now famous The Picture of Dorian Gray. A string of successful plays
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The man’s attitude at the beginning of this story‚ was over-confident. “He was a newcomer in the land‚ a chechaquo‚ and this was his first winter‚” but all he did was‚ challenge the nature‚ thinking that he could handle it. He didn’t care about all the warnings that the nature did‚ he was too confident about himself. The nature started to torture him physically‚ with cold. It was his first time in the cold‚ but he never thought it was going to be like that. Now he is starting to appreciate the old-timer’s
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Story ending with the two main characters had a long happy life forever in the heaven with God. This is the arrangement of Oscar Wilde-a christian writer‚ which we to call a " happy ending". Form the deadlock that the story went as swallow’s death and the condiction of Happy prince’s status melted‚ the religious belief of the writer has been imposed for satisfying the christian readers especially the poor. That’s also the short way-solution for him to end his story and its easy to be agreed by christian
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After learning about the Victorian Era‚ we watched the film/play The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. The Importance of Being Earnest is a satire comedy where the main characters‚ John and Algernon‚ create fictitious people to escape from oppressive social obligations. Before watching the film‚ I had no clue what the play was about. I honestly had never really heard of the characteristics and social classes of the Victorian Era. After watching the play‚ I now have a better understanding
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laugh‚ History would have been different.” -Oscar Wilde‚ The Picture of Dorian Gray The following research delves into the life and literature of Irish-born author and playwright‚ Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde. Overview Oscar Wilde started his writing career in the late 1870s when he explored different forms of writing. His poetry gained popularity in the 1890s and he became an important literary figure of late Victorian England. Oscar Wilde is the genius behind the novel The Picture of
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The Conflict Between Aestheticism and Morality in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde prefaces his novel‚ The Picture of Dorian Gray‚ with a reflection on art‚ the artist‚ and the utility of both. After careful scrutiny‚ he concludes: “All art is quite useless” (Wilde 4). In this one sentence‚ Wilde encapsulates the complete principles of the Aesthetic Movement popular in Victorian England. That is to say‚ real art takes no part in molding the social or moral identities
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