In Oscar Wilde’s play‚ “The Importance of Being Earnest‚” the traditionally esteemed values of duty‚ honesty‚ and hard work are tossed aside in favor of baser motivations. Pleasure‚ rather than morality‚ is the focus of every decision made by these less than admirable characters. As eloquently stated by Jack‚ “…pleasure‚ pleasure! What else should bring one anywhere?” (1735). The characters treat serious responsibilities such as marriage‚ family‚ and faithfulness as mere trivialities that can be
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The Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is a satire based on Victorian society in the late 1800’s. Everything about this play is a satire; from marriage to social class‚ and even the play’s name. Wilde criticizes these aspects of Victorian society with the use of witty puns and unusual‚ awkward situations. Wilde brings to light the fact that late Victorian society cared more about a person’s name and wealth than their personality. This debases the sanctity
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Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest follows Jack and Algernon‚ two young men living in Victorian England‚ whose attempts to court Gwendolen and Cecily are complicated by the fictitious identities they have created to escape social obligations. Over the course of the play‚ their various deceptions are exposed and things get further and further out of hand until a timely revelation brings the matter to a resolution. This play is primarily a satire that serves as a vehicle for Wilde to
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To what extent is gender the main comic creator in the play of ‘The Importance of being Earnest’? Comedy originated in the 6th century BC in ancient Greece at the Dionysian festival. Comedy was first designed to provoke laughter and to entertain the audience. The ancient Greeks used the word comedy to describe a play with a happy ending much the same as the play the ‘Importance of being Earnest’. The play uses elements of old comedy for example; it is a satire of the Victorian era that is most
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The Importance of Being Earnest‚ composed by Oscar Wilde is a comedic screenplay set in the nineteenth century. Although the theme of the screenplay is comedic‚ the script does discuss some of the common issues that occurred during that time. Oscar Wilde portrays the concept of marriage‚ earnestness and …. Throughout his script. Marriage is one of the main messages portrayed in the dialogue‚ being mentioned numerous times throughout The Importance of Being Earnest. The topic of marriage is used to
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“The sole purpose of The Importance of Being Earnest is to amuse.” To what extent do you agree? The play The Importance of Being Earnest was written by Oscar Wilde in 1894. It is a farcical comedy in which the main protagonists maintain a fictional persona to escape from social obligations‚ and keep it up throughout the play. It has also been known as ‘A Trivial Comedy For Serious People’. The character of Jack Worthing has the persona of Ernest‚ who is his brother‚ whilst the character of
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from genetic makeup to the way certain things are perceived. Men perceive matters in a different way than women do as shown in Wilde’s play‚ The Importance of Being Earnest. In The Importance of Being Earnest men have better relationships considering women are more likely to argue with each other‚ because men generally don’t see matters as being earnest like women do. Unlike Gwendolen and Cecily’s relationship‚ Algernon and Jack’s relationship remains positive throughout the play. In the beginning
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My topic of discussion is the humor and irony that is used in the play The Importance of Being Earnest written by Oscar Wilde. In the play the comedy and dramatic irony used made the plot and material engaging. By giving a description of comedy and dramatic irony‚ it is hopeful that you can see and understand why I felt his writing provided the characteristics of both in my analysis. The puns and paradox that were used created the comedic aspect within the play and the dramatic irony which was shown
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The Importance of Being Earnest is a well-known play‚ written by an Anglo-Irish playwright‚ novelist‚ poet‚ and critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest playwrights of the Victorian Era. He was born in Dublin on 16 October 1854. In his lifetime he wrote nine plays‚ one novel‚ and numerous poems‚ short stories‚ and essays. Among his work the most popular and well-known are “The Picture of Dorian Gray”‚ “The Importance of Being Earnest”‚ “The Ballad of Reading Gaol”. Wilde was a proponent of
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In the play ’The Importance of Being Earnest’ Wilde effecively uses wit to satirize the idea of earnestness. Victorians have been very fond of the idea of hard work‚ sincerity and an earnest lifestyle which was perfectly ideal for them. However‚ Wilde’s use of irony shows that none of the characters in the play prove to be any of those ideals. He therefore satrizies hypocrisy and false ideals which mock their authentic presence. Wilde mocks the high society with the high status characters which
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