The Importance Of Being Earnest By Edgar Allan Poe

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Discuss the function and effect of one or more of the following literary devices – irony, simile, metaphor and/or symbol – in one or two of the texts we’ve studied in weeks 2 to 9.

Literary devices such as irony, simile, metaphor and symbol are just a few of the many literary characteristics in a narrative. Such texts as The Raven and The tell-tale heart by Edgar Allan Poe both use symbols to convey a reader’s expectation of what a particular item, creature or human may represent in a story. Some writers may also implore irony into their narratives as a way to influence readers to have specific emotions while reading as well as thinking about the topic being focused on; such as in ‘The Importance Of Being Earnest’ by Oscar Wilde. This essay …show more content…

Irony is a literary device that involves ‘“a contrast between what is said and what is meant” (Kennedy & Gioia 192). However, some writers that incorporate irony into their narratives rely heavily on the reader to comprehend what they are trying to critique. Wilde uses two forms of irony into ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’, situational and dramatic. Situational irony refers to “a contrast or incongruity between what we expect and what a character might hope to happen and what actually occurs” (Farner 223; Currie 148). Furthermore Wilde displays this form in the first act with Lady Bracknell refusing to let her daughter Gwendolen marry Ernest (Jack) due to being unsure about his family background, even though he is wealthy; … ‘to marry into a cloak-room, and form an alliance with a parcel. Good morning, Mr Worthing’ (Wilde, 311). However she accepts the engagement of Algernon and Cecily knowing that Cecily is wealthy and with full knowledge that she is Jack’s (Ernest’s) ward. ‘Dear child, of course you know Algernon has nothing but his debts to depend on… When I married Lord Bracknell I had no fortune of any kind’’ (Wilde, …show more content…

Wilde incorporates this form throughout the entire play with characters Jack and Algernon, both these men lead double lives into order to escape; Jack is known as Ernest in the city whilst Algernon is known as Bunbury. However both these men want the name Ernest to appease their love interests, Gwendolen and Cecily. The audience is aware of this deception when both these women are arguing over who is marrying a man of the name of Ernest; Cecily says “Ernest proposed to me exactly ten minutes ago” (335), whilst Gwendolen stats that she was proposed to the day before at 5:30 in the afternoon both showing evidence in their diaries (336). This scene in the play can also represent satire, satire being the literary art of “derogating a subject by making it ridiculous and evoking towards it attitudes of amusement…” (Abrams & Harpham 353). As stated before, Cecily and Gwendolen are both arguing about who is marrying the name Ernest and not wondering whether it is Jack or Algernon.
Both these texts display symbol and irony respectively, Poe and Wilde use these literary devices to convey to readers alternate perspectives through their narratives. Whether it be Poe who represents death and a man’s grief through use of symbol or Wilde’s use of irony to represent his critique of marriage throughout his

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