Discuss the use of duplicity and subterfuge for comic affect in The importance of being earnest. The importance of being Ernest written in 1899 by Oscar wild is a comedy of manners which was first shown to the Victorian society. Being a comedy of manners‚ the play includes many features of a Victorian melodrama including confusion‚ mistaken identity and a final happy ending. However subterfuge and duplicity is inherent in all characters and is the main source of comic value within the plot. We see
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Clever puns and witty dialectic. That is what you will encounter while reading Oscar Wilde’s play “The Importance of Being Earnest”. But what makes this play so great is not just the characters but the title itself. The title depicts the whole story and foreshadows the main characters’ journey of self-discovery. With a metaphor and some irony Wilde makes the best pun of all‚ the title itself. In the play‚ Ernest deceives Gwendolen‚ who is the love of his life‚ into thinking that he has a brother
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English Literature Coursework Louise Adams ‘In dramatic comedy women are typically presented in a less favourable way than men.’ To what extent do you agree with this view in relation to ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’? In Victorian society‚ the male role would be to rule‚ protect and provide for his family. Men were always making the political decisions and women had the job of wife‚ mother and domestic manager. When married‚ it was men who owned all properties of the women‚ and she must be faithful
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A Trivial Comedy for Serious People Oscar Wilde mocked his audience while he entertained them. Perhaps his most loved and well-known work‚ The Importance of Being Earnest‚ satirises the manners and affections of the upper-class Victorian society. Satire is a literary tone used to ridicule or make fun of human vice or weakness‚ usually with the intent of changing or correcting the subject of the satirical attack. The play focuses on the elite‚ while making fun of the ludicrousness and extremity
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identity. The play The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde is a clear example of when individuals find that their identities are being suppressed by society and‚ therefore‚ find ways to express who they want to be or who they are in different‚ more creative ways. Two factors that influence a person’s identity the most are circumstances and society. Circumstances influence a person’s values‚ morals‚ and ideals‚ while societies‚ specifically strict societies such as the Victorian era‚ suppress
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A Balancing Act: Innocence & Satanic Evil In a society where beauty trumps a moral conscience there is an unnerving balance of understanding right from wrong. In The Pictures of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde‚ the author writes of a story featuring a young man‚ Dorian‚ who finds himself selling his soul for eternal youth and beauty while getting painted by an upper-class artist‚ Basil. He sells his soul to a friend of Basil‚ Lord Henry. In the novel‚ Basil and Lord Henry emphasizes Dorian’s inner conflict
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People are constantly being exposed to societal “trends” and “expectations” around them in their cultures‚ therefore it is difficult for one to stay fully unique. One may choose to diminish societal influence and preserve their individualism by: Restricting standard social influences‚ creating a distinct identity‚ and keeping honesty as best policy. In The Importance of Being Earnest‚ Oscar Wilde‚ satirically illustrates the image of two men Jack and Algernon fighting for the most precious women
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State College of Florida The Importance of Being Earnest: A tale of Victorian mockery "Every word and every part of an individual was expected to be in accordance with the rigid moral and behavior rules‚ and each‚ even the slightest deviation from the rule was considered an offence which made the delinquent publicly disgraced. Even literature and art had its cannons which were to be respected" (Mathews‚ 2009). In Oscar Wilde ’s satirical comedy‚ The Importance of Being Earnest‚ Victorian hypocrisy
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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 Importance of Being Earnest‚ written by Oscar Wilde‚ is a play that was first performed and published in the late nineteenth century. This play was written during the decline of the Victorian era and portrays the lifestyle of the era’s upper class in the author’s amusing point of view. While this was the era of supreme manners‚ well-educated men‚ and the utmost marriageable women‚ Oscar Wilde depicts his characters in a more truthful manner by revealing their contradicting statements and dishonest
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