In Oscar Wilde's 'The Importance Of Being Earnest'

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Oscar Wilde’s most famous Comedy of Manners, The Importance of Being Earnest, is farcical whilst also being critical of Victorian society. Wilde invites us to find meaning in the play even in the title with the word “importance”; in this nonsensical world Wilde has created, what really is important? Is our reality really so far from the version Wilde has devised dramatic physicalities Wilde gives many characters provide lighthearted humour but is it fair to say Wilde’s “masterpiece” has no substance or moral point? Wilde uses Lady Bracknell to introduce his satire of Victorian attitudes towards marriage in the first act by making Lady Bracknell treat Jack’s proposal to her daughter Gwendolen Fairfax like a well thought out business proposition combining social status, lineage and wealth. Much like in the reality of Victorian society, Wilde portrays marriage as an ordeal that doesn’t involve love, or the bride-to-be’s opinion, in any way but instead is a decision made entirely by the father of bride. However, rather than Gwendolen’s father having the power, Wilde casts Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen’s mother, as the domineering figure to create blithesome humour through incongruity and gender role reversal. After a nearly clinical and cold cross-examination of Jack that removes any empathy the audience felt towards Lady Bracknell and therefore causes us to like the other characters even more, she decides Jack can’t marry Gwendolen until he tries to “acquire some relations as soon as possible” (1.2.215). This shows even Lady Bracknell, a member of the rich upperclass, realises heritage isn’t really important but fashionable and is perhaps only there for show, not that she cares, she simply follows the trend. Here, Wilde undermines the... ... middle of paper ... ...o demonstrate the lengths to which Victorians had to go to break free of suffocating moral repression brought about by a society that was obsessed with conforming to upper class ideals. Algernon symbolises the wild, unrestricted, side of Victorian society. In final analysis, it is unfair to suggest that The Importance of Being Earnest is a shallow farce which has no ties to the historical context in which it was created; however, Wilde's references to the crucial issues of his time are usually overshadowed by his characters' own petty concerns, leaving the criticism an anticlimax that is easily ignored. The overwhelming evidence points to the play being an intricate and undeniably clever evaluation of Victorian life which leads me to be unable to agree with Archer in that The Importance of Being Earnest has no substance or moral point in nearly any way whatsoever.

An Analysis Of Earnest Essay
1788 Words | 4 Pages
Everyone has a poker face. Everyone has a bunbury. Everyone keeps secrets, and everyone lies. The question is, how does one tell if another is truthful about their intentions? There are many different cases in which one will lie about who they really are, but there is no telling when it is okay and if they can be forgiven. In many different stories that were read in Late British Literature this semester, we have characters that keep secrets from friends and loved ones. The simple truth is, people’s words are often different from the truth.
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Unit 1 TEst
667 Words | 2 Pages
The idea of absurdity in Victorian times was embraced by some writers and looked down upon by others. Oscar Wilde embraced the absurd whole-heartedly. This is obvious, if not even the theme, of The Importance of Being Earnest. Not only is the word "absurd" used many times in the story, but the ridiculousness of the characters and their roles conveys the ideas of absurdity in the Victorian Era.
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In Oscar Wilde's 'The Importance Of Being Earnest'
1514 Words | 4 Pages
In Oscar Wilde’s play, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” is an early Victorian melodramatic play. This play is very honest and frank. It is a satire, comedy of errors, and an intellectual farce. There are two main characters, Algernon and Jack. Jack Worthing, is known by Jack when he is living at his own country estate, but when he goes into city, London; he creates a fictional character called ‘Earnest.’ Algernon has created a fictional character named ‘Bunbury.’ Algernon uses Bunbury to get him out of prior engagements. This helps him get out of the house and clear his head whenever he wants. Although their both the characters situations are different, both created an “alter-ego” to help them get away from their own lives and also to live another life. They are best friends; both have the same social background, class and taste. Between Jack and Algernon, Jack is more serious about his life; he creates a fictional character to help him keep his image of being humble and respectable intact but in truth is vain. On the other hand, Algernon is truthful about himself and he goes against the Victorian values. But society loves him anyway as he accepts that he is not formal or conservative, or proper and he is rough around the edges but he’s funny, witty and smart. Although Wilde creates two characters in Jack and Algernon who are similar in social class, age, tastes, etc., he also carefully creates subtle character differences between them that create conflict and humor in the play.
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1272 Words | 3 Pages
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Satire In Oscar Wilde's The Importance Of Being Earnest
881 Words | 2 Pages
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1833 Words | 4 Pages
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618 Words | 2 Pages
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1829 Words | 4 Pages
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Satire in Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest
857 Words | 2 Pages
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Theme Of Death In The Importance Of Being Earnest
1354 Words | 3 Pages
Throughout The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde plays around with the standard expectations along with the absence of compassion of a Victorian society in the 1890’s, he demonstrates this through several genres of comedy such as Melodrama, Comedy of Manners, Farce, dark humour and Irony, as well as portraying the themes, death and illness, in this play in a brilliance of unusual amount of references.
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The Double Life in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
1331 Words | 3 Pages
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Satire in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest
1998 Words | 4 Pages
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1092 Words | 3 Pages
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1535 Words | 4 Pages
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The Importance Of Being Earnest Marriage Theme Analysis
1070 Words | 3 Pages
Lady Bracknell represents the typical aristocrat who focuses the idea of marriage on social and economic status. She believes that if the men trying to marry these girls are not of proper background, there is no engagement. Through this major exaggeration, Wilde satirically reveals the irrational and insignificant matters that the upper class society uses to view marriage.
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In Oscar Wilde's 'The Importance Of Being Earnest'

An Analysis Of Earnest Essay

Unit 1 TEst