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
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Marriage is often depicted as a sacred union of love‚ communication‚ loyalty and companionship. For some it is simply a legal contract or social institution that binds two people together for a “lifetime commitment”. Oscar’s Wilde’s “The importance of being earnest”‚ deconstructs the former interpretation of marriage‚ highlighting its trivialities and the comedic journey to finding a spouse. Likewise‚ Samuel Beckett’s “Happy Days” suggests that marriage is not all a bed of roses by highlighting
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A Marxist Criticism on "The Importance of Being Earnest" "Excuse me Geoffrey‚ could you get me some more water. I’m terribly thirsty‚ and the weather out here isn’t doing any good for my complexion." declares the man as he sighs in exhaustion. "Right away sir‚ anything else?" proclaims the servant. "No that will be all." says the man as he waves off the servant. So is this the scene of yesteryear’s society or one of today’s‚ well in actuality it can be either. In today’s world the rich
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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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creating comedy in the ‘Importance of Being Earnest’? Dramatic comedy originated in Ancient Greece in 5th century BC‚ centred around loose plot lines and exploiting certain situations through parody‚ farce and mockery. Comedy started developing in 4th Century BC where intricate plot lines were introduced‚ commonly based around love and romance and usually culminating in a satisfactory and happy resolution. This is much like the structure of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ as the play revolves
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The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde was first published by Leonard Smithers & Co. in London in 1899. It was later republished by Dover Thrift Editions in 1990. The story follows Mr. Jack “Earnest” Worthing as he stumbles through a rather laughable and humorous situation alongside his companion Algernon Moncrieff. Through different twists and turns‚ Algernon and Jack discover many things about honor‚ honesty‚ and above all‚ love. Many important characters aid them in their journey‚ and
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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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The Importance of Being Socially Acceptable. Often times we find ourselves living a double life at the very least and sometimes we even share multiple variations of ourselves with the world. In Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of being Earnest there is a strong central theme of living a dual life and then doing what is socially acceptable even when mocking the idea as the ridiculous concept that it is. From the beginning of the play Algernon Moncrieff is showcased as an irresponsible dandy who is not
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Introduction The Importance of Being Earnest was Oscar’s fourth comedy‚ and it was to be his last and most outstanding play. ‘The Trivial Comedy for Serious People‘ (in earlier drafts‚ ‘serious comedy for trivial people’) was first produced by George Alexander at the St James’s Theatre on 14th February 1895 in London. The play was reduced from four to three acts (Raby 161-163). The Importance of Being Earnest contradicts banausic values in a utilitarian age (Varty 205). The comedy of manners
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English 11-2 19 April 2013 The Importance of Being Earnest Pseudo-Relations Undertaking countless adventures‚ Shawn and Gus have built an unbreakable bond‚ symbolizing true friendship and the priceless benefits of companionship. The television show Psych‚ is the epitome of bonds built through time‚ as the main characters strive to save Santa Barbara‚ California from mayhem by causing havoc of their own. In the same way‚ Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest‚ introduces relationships
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