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Bibliography on the importance of being earnest
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Annotated bibliography on the importance of being earnest
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The Importance of Mockery
Mockery is usually perceived as a negative concept, but if one thinks about the purpose behind it ones impression can change. Mockery can be defined as an imitation, counterfeit, or fake (Dictionary.com). It is like a mirror image of how someone is acting. For example, if someone is complaining and another mocks them, it is to show how annoying and irritating they are being. The mocker is helping the complainer by indirectly telling them they need to change how they are acting. The complainer should accept the correction before they embarrass themselves, if they haven not already. Mockery should not always be scorned upon as a malevolent act, but as a way of help or correction.
In 1 Kings 18 the reader finds Elijah
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People were so concerned on the way they talked, their social order, their manners, and their style that they forgot about the things in life that really mattered. It seems as though Wilde became so agitated he had to make fun of it so people could see how foolish they were being. Parker believes the whole play is based on defining human identity and Lady Bracknell is a great example of this. She is so concerned with outer appearance that she forgets to check on character and personality. When Lady Bracknell meets Cecily for the first time she is not impressed, but once she finds out Cecily has a lot of money her feelings toward the young girl suddenly change. “The chin a little higher, dear. Style largely depends on the way the chin is worn. They are worn high, just at present” (Wilde 81). This is a farce of how overly concerned people were with their …show more content…
In “The Function of Decorum at the Present Time: Manners, Moral Language, and Modernity in ‘an Oscar Wilde Play,’” Mackie believes “In The Importance of Being Earnest the staging decorum accomplishes more than an ironic mockery of the conventional moral shibboleths that police conduct.” Mackie is stating that Wilde uses the behavior and speech relevant to the Victorian culture. It has nothing to do with mockery, but giving respect to the culture and the way the Victorians lived. The purpose for writing this play was to show how different people celebrate life in a different way. One facet Wilde wants to portray is language. He believes the characters converse in a stylized form of wit (Mackie 146). An example can be found on page 29 when Algernon asks Jack what he wants to do. Jack replies with “Nothing!” and Algernon says “It is awfully hard word doing nothing. However, I don’t mind hard work where there is no definite object of any
...Lady Bracknell was excited to hear that Cecily has wealth; she almost instantaneously consented to her marriage to Algernon. Wilde uncovers the frivolousness of their proclaimed love by displaying how Lady Bracknell would only consent for
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.
According to Everything’s an Argument by Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz, “Humor has always played an important role in argument…” (38). Humor itself is something that activates amusement or laughter. Moreover, in popular culture satire is a tool that is used to point out things in our society. Satire opens the minds of people to philosophies they might completely deny, using humor. There are many elements of satire that identify flaws within our society. A couple of satire elements that will be discussed are irony and exaggeration. In addition, a parody is used in popular culture as a way to mock or mimic situation or person.
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.
Oscar Wilde's, "The Importance of Being Earnest" revolves around the dichotomy of the true definition of honesty versus the Victorian definition of honesty. It is apparent that Wilde's opinion is that true honesty is expressed through being genuine to one's self as opposed to putting on a front as is important in Victorian ideals. In this work, Wilde uses humor to off-set the seriousness of the theme of the story. One who has studied this work can also clearly see that Wilde is using sarcasm to say things that would not have been accepted by society if they were said bluntly. For example, he exemplifies in a very sarcastic manner the hypocrisy that Victorian society represents by the very fact that they pretend to uphold honesty above all else, yet their only concern is the appearance of things, not their true nature.
The Princeton encyclopedia states “.. parody has been defined as the exaggerated imitation of work of art. Like a caricature it is based on distortion bringing into bolder relief the salient features of an artist's style or habit of mind. It belongs to genus satire and thus performs the double-edged task of reform and ridicule. Eccentricity, sentimentalism and pedantry are among its major targets, and at its best it is a critical instrument of telling force because it approaches the subject from within rather than from without..” In a nutshell parody can be put into simpler words as a criticism of the ideas and expression of another artist’s original work. The essence of a parody is its comic or satiric contrast to the serious work. What needs to be noted is that parody is considered as the oldest form of literary expression and hence has a variety of definitions that broaden its very meaning. To reason out the universal appeal of parodies, a twofold argument can be put forth; firstly what can...
What better way to deliver negative criticism than with a good laugh? That is exactly what satire does for writers, poets, and plays that include satire in their work in order to deliver their bittersweet message and give their audience and readers a great time. One of the main satires that were much criticized during its release in 1664 was Tartuffe by Jean-Baptiste Moliere, which still plays a role in our literature today. The play was not very welcomed by the church which found it offensive and controversial towards their religious beliefs. In Tartuffe, Moliere was not seeking to satire religion or the church itself but rather the hypocrites that would shield themselves with the misuse of religion for their own advantage and the lack of common sense that can lead to tragic events such as those Orgon had to suffer.
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.
Satire, by definition is the use of irony, sarcasm or ridicule to exploit issues. Satire often positions the responder to ironically laugh at themselves
Many aspects of the time period are made a mockery through puns and witty remarks from the
The Importance of Being Earnest is regarded as one of the most successful plays written by Oscar Wilde, a great 19th century playwright. Oscar Wilde deals with something unique about his contemporary age in this drama. It addresses Victorian social issues, French theatre, farce, social drama and melodrama. All these factors influenced the structure of the play in a large scale. This play is basically a Victorian satirical drama showcasing the social, political, economic and religious structural changes that affected 18th century England. It was the time when British Empire had captured most part of the world including Oscar Wilde’s homeland, Ireland. The aristocrats of England had become dominant over the middle and poor class people and Wilde wrote plays with the motivation to encourage people to think against the English aristocracy and artificiality.
In conclusion, The Importance of Being Earnest strongly focuses on those of the upper class society and the vanity of the aristocrats who place emphasis on trivial matters concerning marriage. Both Algernon and Jack assume the identity of "Ernest" yet ironically, they both are beginning their marital lives based on deception and lies. Lady Bracknell represents the archetypal aristocrat who forces the concept of a marriage based on wealth or status rather than love. Through farce and exaggeration, Wilde satirically reveals the foolish and trivial matters that the upper class society looks upon as being important. As said earlier, a satiric piece usually has a didactic side to it. In this case, Lady Bracknell learns that the same person she was criticising is actually her own flesh and blood.
Throughout the late nineteenth century, Oscar Wilde wrote plays such as Lady Windermere’s Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest- his most famous play. Earnest is a comedic work that focuses on a pair of wealthy men. They have been leading double lives so that they can go off for periods of time and enjoy living without responsibility while still maintaining their aristocratic reputation. Because of Wilde’s invlovement in the aesthetic movement, it is not uncommon (or unfair) to believe that his work, Earnest included, is nothing more than fluff. That being said, it is also fair to argue that this particular play does have meaning in it. Wilde wrote The Importance of Being Earnest as a commentary on the hypocrisy of the ideal Victorian character. Earnestness is sincerity- which most Victorians believed themselves to be- and so Wilde uses the word ironically. In his eyes, people who considered themselves sincere were actually smug, self-righteous, and pompous. He expresses these opinions clearly through the play’s over-the-top and frustrating characters.
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.
Satire is something of an outcast in the world of literature and art. Usually, humor is not taken as a serious form of communication. However, satire is highly respected, commonly studied, and long-lasting. What sets it apart from your everyday comic stip, sitcom or comedic novel is its driven purpose of bringing about change. It is designed to use the human art of humor to sway the minds of the people and make a tangible difference. From its distinguished scholarly attention to its appearance in the news and high TV ratings, good satire is not without good results; it continually affects our behavior and views and has throughout history.