Explore how Wilde brings to life the two different characters in this passage and what does the passage reveal about their relationship with each other? This is an extract taken from the First Act of the play The Importance of Being Earnest which is written by the English writer‚ Oscar Wilde in the 19th century. This play is a comedy of manners‚ which satirizes the values during the Victorian Era. In this extract‚ the setting is only in the city - specifically in Algernon’s flat in Half-Moon
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Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ A Trivial Comedy For Serious People is a play about two friends Jack Worthing and Algernon (Algy) Moncrieff. In order to get away from their lives the two men invent fictitious characters to explain their absence (Jack invents Earnest while Algy invents Bunbury) from the country in Jack’s case and town in Algy’s. To complicate matters the two men then fall in love Jack with Gwendolen‚ Algy’s cousin and Algy with Jacks ward Cecily. Both women believe
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The Importance of Being Earnest is a serious comedy about trivial matters The Importance of being Earnest is a play that satirizes the Victorian upper classes. In the play‚ Oscar Wide makes fun of the upper class in many ways. Most commonly‚ Wilde does this by using comic irony‚ humor‚ and witty statements. However‚ if we look deeper into the text‚ a lot of the trivial matters characters discuss have a serious side to them. Wilde uses these matters to satirize the Victorian upper even more. The
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In his play‚ The Importance of Being Earnest‚ Oscar Wilde portrays his beliefs by satirizing the beliefs and values of his society. Within Act I‚ Algernon states that “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” Wilde’s witty epigram projects a major theme within the play. It attacks the perception of fixed truth. The major target of Wilde’s scathing social criticism is the hypocrisy that society creates. Often in Victorian society‚ its participants acted in overly sincere‚ polite ways while
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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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Victorian values. BUNBARING AS A CENTRAL THEME :- Marriage:- It is of principle importance in the story both as a chief plot and also a topic of debate. The issue of marriage came for the first time when Algernon asks Lane” Is marriage so demoralizing as that ? “(Pg 7). They discuss the attributes of marriage and discuss whether marriage is a substance of “business” or “pleasure”. The Lady Bracknell talks about engagement and marriage . According to her engagement should come as a
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and Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest satirize conformity through the fetishization of products of Empire‚ status‚ and traditional sexuality in order to characterize society
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In Act 2 of The Importance of Being Earnest‚ Oscar Wilde uses irony to comment on the‚ absurd nature of the Victorian morals and values‚ context as well as highlight the satire‚ that he implemented‚ and humour. In the scene‚ Cecily admonishes Algy‚ who is pretending to be Ernest by saying‚ "I hope you have not been leading a double life‚ pretending to be wicked and being really good all the time. That would be hypocrisy." This is a use of dramatic irony as usually the act of being a hypocrite is
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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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“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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