me that throughout Oscar Wilde’s life there was a degree of personal uncertainty he bestowed upon himself. This was very much reflected in his social lifestyle‚ personality and dress sense; but above all through his many dramatic works that reflect his often contrasting attitudes toward himself in his extravagant and highly esteemed approach to his writing of classic English literature. This is true for drama: the playwrights who write plays often incorporate aspects of their own lives into the
Premium Poetry Edgar Allan Poe The Raven
The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is regarded by many as one of the wittiest plays in the English language. However‚ it is not simply a “trivial comedy‚” as its title proposes‚ but also a cutting satire appraising the conventions of Victorian society‚ chiefly the upper class. Much of Wilde’s social commentary is portrayed through the speech of the dictatorial Lady Bracknell‚ who embodies Victorian upper class conventions. Having ascended to her current high social
Premium The Importance of Being Earnest English-language films Victorian era
111 28 February 2014 Humor and Conflict in The Importance of Being Earnest Comedy often uses conflict to create a dull‚ everyday situation into something exciting and people find them funny because we often laugh at the mishaps of others. When the characters’ viewpoints are extreme and exaggerated‚ it makes the situation amusing to watch and follow since things are getting crazy. In The Importance of Being Earnest‚ by Oscar Wilde‚ successfully creates humorous outcomes from disagreements between
Premium The Importance of Being Earnest Marriage Comedy
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
Premium The Importance of Being Earnest English-language films Victorian era
ESSAY – THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Writers are often influenced by the ideologies upheld by society during the historical context in which they were writing in and texts can often challenge these ideologies‚ or uphold them‚ or even do both. Oscar Wilde’s‚ The Importance of Being Earnest‚ is a dramatic comedy of manners that takes place in polite wealthy Victorian society. Wilde successfully funnels the snobbery and superficiality of London’s elite during the 1890’s and has both challenged
Premium
The Importance of Being Earnest is a play that trivializes many things: the Victorian society‚ the nature of marriage and especially the concept of human identity. While identity is typically considered to be something concrete‚ the characters within the play are constantly in flux. This is especially evident in Jack‚ whose forms his identities as he goes through life. He transforms from a nameless baby in a handbag‚ to Jack the thriving member of the countryside bourgeois‚ then further on to become
Premium Victorian era The Importance of Being Earnest Question
it? ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’: 1. Cigarette case: The cigarette case introduced in Act 1 acts as a source for introducing the conflict. It leads the audience to discover John and Algernon’s double lives and introduces the notion of ‘Bunburying’ as named by Algernon. 2. Food: Food is used as a prop quite frequently throughout the play. In Act 1‚ we see Algernon preparing cucumber sandwiches for the arrival of Lady Bracknell and bread and butter for Gwendolen. Wilde uses the choice
Premium Diary The Crucible Wear
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 4 ANALYSIS OF HUMOR IN THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST The Importance of Being Earnest is replete with two elements: pun and paradox. These two are played up immensely to present a very humorous approach to cultural criticism. In essence‚ it is a satirical comedy on the aristocratic class during the Victorian Era. The text is full of epigrams that expose the characters’ views on lying‚ marriage‚ reputation‚ society‚ gender‚ romance and love. Additionally‚ the play keeps
Premium Social class Working class Sociology
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
Premium English-language films The Importance of Being Earnest Victorian era
Discuss Wilde’s use of comedy in The Importance of being Earnest. One technique that Wilde uses to comic effect is allowing bits of information to be revealed and withheld. In the scene where Algernon asks “why does she call herself little Cecily?” and then “But why does your aunt call you her uncle?” suggests that Algernon actually knows the truth‚ but he’s actually trying to get Jack to confess it himself. Not only does it suggests that Algernon knows the truth‚ it also suggests that he knows
Free Comedy