Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest While some critics contend that The Importance of Being Earnest is completely fanciful and has no relation to the real world‚ others maintain that Oscar Wilde’s "trivial comedy for serious people" does make significant comments about social class and the institution of marriage. These observations include the prevalent utilization of deceit in everyday affairs. Indeed the characters and plot of the play appear to be entirely irreverent‚ thus
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‘It’s tone is that of satire‚ but of a satire which‚ for lack of a moral point of view‚ has lost its sting’ (Edouard Roditi) To what extent do you agree with this response to the play? By Molly Campbell With the definition of a satire being‚ ‘the use of humour‚ irony‚ exaggeration‚ or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity’‚ it is ludicrous to even propose that The Importance of Being Earnest is anything other than a satirical play‚ as the characters relishing in the upper
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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
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logic and rational thinking. In The Importance of Being Earnest‚ a play by Oscar Wilde set in Victorian England‚ love is mocked which is evident in Cecily’s lust for Ernest‚ Gwendolen’s love for the name Ernest and Algernon’s ideas of marriage. Wilde’s parodying of love is obvious when Cecily falls in love with Ernest‚ Jack’s fictitious younger brother. Jack uses Ernest as an excuse to leave his obligations in the town and enjoy himself in the city‚ saying that Ernest is in trouble that Jack is required
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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
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majority of the nineteenth century) upheld very specific ideals that shaped the culture of that time period. These specific social‚ cultural‚ and intellectual ideals of Victorian England can be explored in the famous play by Oscar Wilde‚ “The Importance of Being Earnest.” This play is set in the late 1890’s‚ and features two young couples who struggle to overcome the misgivings‚
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What good does always being earnest do you if you are not "Ernest"? Oscar Wilde’s play‚ "The Importance of Being Earnest"‚ explores exactly this notion‚ following two men who readily abandon their namesakes in order to win the affections of their respective fair ladies. The play opens in London with a conversation held between these two men‚ Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff. However‚ at the play’s origin‚ Algernon only knows his friend as "Ernest". This rapidly changes with the aid of a cigarette
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The importance of being on time with assignment A soldier is considered as the ’man of the moment’. It is because‚ the military organizations treat timeliness with extreme importance. It orients all courses of their activities and their success depends on the quality of that orientation. Therefore constant researches go on in every military organization to raise the understanding of timeliness among its members‚ many schemes are being formulated to improve the scope of doing more in little time
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Oscar Wilde’s satirical depiction of Victorian Society in The Important of Being Earnest comments on the absurdity of their inability to recognize the difference between the important and unimportant. Characters in the play often make trivial matters into serious matters and vice versa‚ although there are times where issues are treated appropriately. However‚ the whole idea of what is important is subjective‚ and in a Victorian Era context‚ matters such as social status and proper etiquette were
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The Importance of being Earnest Characters John “Jack” Worthing (Earnest): A responsible‚ respectable man leading a double life. In Hertfordshire he is jack and pretends to have a younger brother Earnest but in London he is earnest. He doesn’t feel at home in an aristocratic society. As a baby he was found in a handbag in a cloakroom of Victoria station by an old man who adopted him and made jack the guardian to his granddaughter Cecily cardew. He is in love with his friend Algernon’s Cousin Gwendolyn
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