The Importance Of Being Earnest Irony

In Act 2 of The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde uses irony to comment on the, absurd nature of the Victorian morals and values, context as well as highlight the satire, that he implemented, and humour. In the scene, Cecily admonishes Algy, who is pretending to be Ernest by saying, "I hope you have not been leading a double life, pretending to be wicked and being really good all the time. That would be hypocrisy." This is a use of dramatic irony as usually the act of being a hypocrite is when one pretends to be good while really being wicked. Although, Algy actually is pretending to be Earnest, Cecily is not aware - however the audience have known all along. Another example of a hypocritical scenario is when Lady Bracknell criticizes