Oscar 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
Premium The Importance of Being Earnest
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
Premium The Importance of Being Earnest English-language films Victorian era
“The sole purpose of The Importance of Being Earnest is to amuse.” To what extent do you agree? The play The Importance of Being Earnest was written by Oscar Wilde in 1894. It is a farcical comedy in which the main protagonists maintain a fictional persona to escape from social obligations‚ and keep it up throughout the play. It has also been known as ‘A Trivial Comedy For Serious People’. The character of Jack Worthing has the persona of Ernest‚ who is his brother‚ whilst the character of
Premium The Importance of Being Earnest Victorian era Comedy
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
Premium
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 to her husband. Divorce led to shame only on females and loss of the right to see their children. In this patriarchal society‚ men were clearly dominant over
Premium Gender role The Importance of Being Earnest Marriage
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 of the upper and middle Victorian class values‚ references to the homosexual community and its culture‚ use of locales and
Premium Victorian era Victoria of the United Kingdom Marriage
Andre Joshua Perez Satire in the Importance of Being Earnest Essay The use of comedy helps bring books‚ movies and plays to life. In some cases‚ it is even written around the idea of comedy itself. The play Importance of Being Earnest written by Oscar Wilde criticizes the aspect of the aristocratic life in the Victorian era by making fun of them with a term called satire. In the play‚ Wilde creatively uses three different types of irony. These being: verbal‚ dramatic and situational forms of irony
Premium Irony The Importance of Being Earnest
the main comic creator in the play of ‘The Importance of being Earnest’? Comedy originated in the 6th century BC in ancient Greece at the Dionysian festival. Comedy was first designed to provoke laughter and to entertain the audience. The ancient Greeks used the word comedy to describe a play with a happy ending much the same as the play the ‘Importance of being Earnest’. The play uses elements of old comedy for example; it is a satire of the Victorian era that is most importantly applied through
Premium Gender role Man
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
Premium Love Marriage William Shakespeare
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
Premium Question Oscar Wilde Sentence