How serious can we take The Importance of Being Earnest as being a play that criticizes social norms and values? There is nothing earnest about this play‚ at least on the surface. It’s a giant critism of the Victorian era‚ when middle class behavior governed everything from communication to sexuality. The most important rules applied to marriage and were always a popular topic in Victorian plays‚ and one that interested Wilde‚ who was married to a woman but sexually involved with men. During
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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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Hypocrisy of Being Earnest The Victorian era was a time of smugness and pomposity for the newly rich generation who quickly rose in class during and after the industrial revolution. Nothing was as it seemed in this day when earnestness was allegedly the most prized attribute a man could possess. In Oscar Wilde’s classical satire‚ “The Importance of Being Earnest‚” every character embodies the ideas and values of this “earnest” age. Oscar Wilde’s primary character in “The Importance of Being Earnest
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Oscar Wilde wrote a play called “The Importance of Being Earnest” and it was first performed in 1895. The play is about the characters that have different identities and do not always tell the truth. Since‚ the play has been released there have been many film remakes of Oscar Wilde’s play. The one that I decided to compare it to was the 2002 version that was directed by Oliver Parker. Parker keeps the meaning‚ tone‚ structure‚ text‚ and theme the same compared to the play. Parker expands‚ energizes
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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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In comparing the views on society’s classes‚ in the novel The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde‚ there is a connection to the classes in society in London England during the Victorian era. In the novel the character Lady Bracknell makes a comment about the classes‚ which included some fascinating points‚ such as; the meanings and origins of the aristocracy‚ the meanings and origins of the purple commerce and how those two interacted in London during the Victorian era. To start off‚ the
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What comedic conventions does Wilde use in ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’? ‘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. The incongruity theory is applied in this script throughout. At the beginning an
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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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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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What does The Importance of Being Earnest reveal about the upper classes Victorian society? The importance of being Earnest reveals numerous traits that the upper classes Victorian society embodies. However‚ this essay will only focus on and account for the exposure of certain traits. Namely‚ the moral laxity that is conveyed through the appalling ideas and views on love and marriage (Hozra‚2012:1)‚ the wilful obtuseness among the society and the immense hypocrisy and immorality that is evident
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