Old is Gold
Irish playwright Oscar Wilde sparked uproar during Britain’s Victorian Era with witty literature that cemented his legacy as being one of the greatest playwrights in history. Wilde’s acclaimed ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ showcases the satirical craftsmanship of his epigram. Times have changed since this satirical play was written and with this opens up questions that is it still funny nowadays. The play explores the themes of marriage, death, and the pun on the word earnest by using written devices and satirical techniques on how the word simultaneously correlates to the title and play. Though having been written over a century, Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ preserves its comedic appeal to a contemporary audience.
The way Oscar Wilde depicts the word earnest is given in two different yet comedic shades of light that audiences appreciate. Earnest which is a synonym for the word serious contradicts the lead character’s behaviour in which Jack leads a double life. For instance, when Jack warns Algernon the dangers of leading a double life he replies “I love scrapes. They are the only things that are never serious.”(pg.316) This amusing phrase by the playwright showcases the reversal technique which gives off a satirical bite, also the word serious is a substitute word for earnest which is homonymy with Ernest, Jack’s imaginary twin brother. Another incidence is where Algernon bickers with Jack about how he should not be flirting with Gwendolen at the dinner table and be thoughtful about the situation. As Jack defends his ways with Gwendolen, Algernon replies “I hate people who are not serious about meals. It is so shallow of them.”(pg.303) Wilde cleverly ridicules this statement by using the satirical te...
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...oing to kill my brother; indeed I think I'll kill him in any case.”(pg.302) Another circumstance in which Wilde clearly demonstrates how characters think they have control of what death has to offer and not the other way around; proving the fact that its comedic appeal is still relevant to a contemporary audience.
All in all Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ preserves its comedic appeal to an ever changing contemporary audience despite the fact it was written in the Victorian era. The use of literacy devices and satirical techniques exhibits the themes of marriage, death and the use of the word earnest and how it correlates to the play showcase the satirical craftsmanship of his epigram and with this proves that this renowned piece of literature sparked uproar during 19th century Britain which preserved the Irish born playwright as one of the greatest.
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.
The Importance of Being Earnest Written, written in 1854, by Oscar Wilde, discusses many social matters occurring in the 19th century. Since The Importance of Being Earnest is a comedy, it “awakens thoughtful laughter” (George Meredith). This comedic play often awakens thoughtful laughter, or laughter that makes someone ponder more about important issues. One of many of the primary instances of this is created by the ideas of marriage and love is a social device during this era. The characters didn’t fall in love because there was a romantic spark or that they felt a love connection with one another, they fell in love because the people they loved had a specific name, history, physical characteristics or economic status.
In Oscar Wilde’s drama The Importance of Being Earnest, he uses light-hearted tones and humor to poke fun at British high society while handling the serious theme of truth and the true identity of who is really “Earnest.” Truth as theme is most significantly portrayed through the women characters, Gwendolen and Cecily but to present serious themes comically, Wilde portrays women to be the weaker sex of society, despite the seriousness of the subject—the identity of the men they want to marry.
Satire in Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. "The Importance of Being Earnest" is a play by Oscar Wilde, set in the late 1800's. His actors are playing upper class citizens who are very self-absorbed. The play is set amongst upper class, wealthy people. They appear not to work and are concerned with their own pleasure.
“I’ve now realized for the first time in my life, the vital importance of being Earnest. (713.521-523) Jack’s final line demonstrates his understanding of the secret meaning behind “The Importance of Being Earnest”, by Oscar Wilde. That human beings have the capacity to be both good and evil. This is shown through the character of Jack, other character’s relation to Jack, and even in the theatrical elements of the show.
Irony in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde The play The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde is full of irony. Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, the protagonists in the play, get themselves into a complicated situation called Bunburyism (as Algernon refers to it). They pretend to be someone that they are not to escape their daily lives. They lie to the women they admire, and eventually the truth is revealed.
Wilde does this in order to portray Lady Bracknell with very strong Victorian views that are illogical and humorous to the reader thus satirising the values which are prominent in Victorian standards. Consequently it can be seen that Lady Bracknell is corrupt beyond reason, sacrificing the happiness of her daughter for her Victorian values and ridiculing Jack for his less than exemplary past. Some critics believe Lady Bracknell to be a ‘living parody of upper class values’ which can be
Death is an unstoppable event that occurs in every individual’s life, and yet it is a very taboo topic as people rarely broach the subject because it causes incredible distress; it is certainly not a comical topic of conversation and one that is very seldom and rarely congratulated. Yet Oscar Wilde manages to deliver the ever present looming topic of death as if it held the same gravity as a bad hairdo in his comedic play, The Importance of Being Earnest. Instead of expressing support, sorrow and sympathy for the victims of Death and for the relatives, Wilde treats Death in comparison to a result of an impromptu action; no more serious than if a person was to walk into another, due to lack of observation in where they were going; The Importance of
The pun on the word "Earnest" suggests two things; it stands for the name but also refers to honesty and integrity. It is also known as a `one joke' or a play on words. Though the name is spelt as "Ernest" the reader still recognizes the double meaning of the title. Two of the main characters, Jack and Algernon, strive to be "Ernest" and "Earnest" in the play, yet they both deceive others to escape lives which they grow tired of. They both hope to marry the girls that they love, yet they are starting the relationships base on false pretence and lies. It is ironic that they both call themselves "Ernest," a name that suggests honesty and sincerity, yet they both create stories to escape something or the other. Jack creates a brother called "Ernest" in the city that he uses as a `scape goat' to leave his prim and proper, respectable country life, whereas Algernon creates a friend by the name of "Bunbury" to escape his aunt's high class society parties. He shows his lack of interest in such social events when he tells Jack,
The Importance of Being Earnest appears to be a conventional 19th century farce. False identities, prohibited engagements, domineering mothers, lost children are typical of almost every farce. However, this is only on the surface in Wilde's play. His parody works at two levels- on the one hand he ridicules the manners of the high society and on the other he satirises the human condition in general. The characters in The Importance of Being Earnest assume false identities in order to achieve their goals but do not interfere with the others' lives. The double life led by Algernon, Jack, and Cecily (through her diary) is simply another means by which they liberate themselves from the repressive norms of society. They have the freedom to create themselves and use their double identities to give themselves the opportunity to show opposite sides of their characters. They mock every custom of the society and challenge its values. This creates not only the comic effect of the play but also makes the audience think of the serious things of life.
Despite the comedy in the ways in which women in the play are presented, Oscar Wilde forces even a modern audience to attend deeply to serious matters. To what extent is this the case in “The Importance of Being Earnest”?
In The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde uses wit to undermine the societal expectations of women. Set in England during the late 19th century, the play shows the shallow and trivial attitude of the upper-class Victorian society. This status-driven society favors men, creating a dissatisfying life for women. The male characters, particularly Algernon Moncreiff, uses wit to show superiority over women. Yet, Cecily Cardew’s wit and cleverness best Algernon at his own game. Although often interpreted as a sign of farcical psychosis, Cecily’s diary actually reveals her true intelligence and dominance over Algernon.
Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest presents a satirical critique of Victorian society, in which women are not only presented as, but also expected to act like mindless objects who are dutiful to their hyper-masculine husband. The expectation of men in Victorian society, however, was to act as bachelors with the end goal of getting married. These marriages were often not for love but rather for societal advancement, marrying into well-established English families. Even the actual marriages themselves Wilde’s play serves primarily to playfully mock Victorian society, especially the relationships and gender expectations which he claims lack real substance.
Wilde’s didactic satire delves deep into the problems of society, highlighting to the audience all the flaws of human beings and their social obligations while keeping it light-hearted and enjoyable for audiences. The author’s mockery and satire of society, as seen in his play, is most likely stemmed from his lack of acceptance and frustration at the society he believes to be ‘proper’. Readers today laugh at the situations portrayed because they are satirical and humourous, but they also question the motives behind the character “Earnest” because they see that “earnest”, meaning seriousness or sincerity, is the one thing the characters most certainly do not portray. However, towards the end of the play, when all has come out, Jack states that “I’ve now realized for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest” (Wilde 2000, p.358), which may in fact be the most blatantly satirical line of the play, and a great summation of the lies the play relied on. This explores Wilde’s use of double entendre as Jack lives a double life, alongside the use of an elaborate p...
The Importance of Being Earnest is a play written by Oscar Wilde during the Victorian era. It is a farcical comedy in which the main characters live and maintain a fictional persona to escape their responsibilities. To which Oscar Wilde uses secondary characters within the play such as Lady Bracknell to humorously make her the tool of the conflict and much of the satire. She is the first and foremost a symbol of Victorian earnests and the unhappiness it brings as a result. Lady Bracknell was specially designed to represent Wilde’s opinion of the upper Victorian class repressiveness and traditional negativity. Hence minor characters such as Lady Bracknell play essential roles as they help both the plot and support the themes with assistance