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
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The Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is a satire based on Victorian society in the late 1800’s. Everything about this play is a satire; from marriage to social class‚ and even the play’s name. Wilde criticizes these aspects of Victorian society with the use of witty puns and unusual‚ awkward situations. Wilde brings to light the fact that late Victorian society cared more about a person’s name and wealth than their personality. This debases the sanctity
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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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"The Importance of Being Earnest" is the drama written by Oscar Wilde. Wilde played it in the Victorian era. During this period‚ people had the very restricted lives. In addition‚ the petit bourgeoisie was appeared. They got a lot of money in this society‚ by the development of the science and the industry. The middle class didn’t have any leadership‚ but tried to pretend like the nobility and becoming as the snob. Furthermore‚ the dignity was the most important thing to them. It was the circumstance
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The Importance of Being Earnest is a well-known play‚ written by an Anglo-Irish playwright‚ novelist‚ poet‚ and critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest playwrights of the Victorian Era. He was born in Dublin on 16 October 1854. In his lifetime he wrote nine plays‚ one novel‚ and numerous poems‚ short stories‚ and essays. Among his work the most popular and well-known are “The Picture of Dorian Gray”‚ “The Importance of Being Earnest”‚ “The Ballad of Reading Gaol”. Wilde was a proponent of
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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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made a mockery of; it’s depicted as a useless feeling that only distracts people from 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
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Andre Joshua Perez Satire in the Importance of Being Earnest Essay The use of comedy helps bring books‚ movies and plays to life. In some cases‚ it is even written around the idea of comedy itself. The play Importance of Being Earnest written by Oscar Wilde criticizes the aspect of the aristocratic life in the Victorian era by making fun of them with a term called satire. In the play‚ Wilde creatively uses three different types of irony. These being: verbal‚ dramatic and situational forms of irony
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Oscar Wilde’s play “The Importance of Being Earnest” is a play that epitomizes the Victorian age. “The Importance of Being Earnest” a man named Jack who goes by the alias Earnest‚ and Algernon who goes by Bunbury. These men are living double lives‚ and by them doing so‚ they would not be considered an ideal Victorian man. Earnest and Algernon come up with these names so that they can get away from their daily lives to be along in the country. During the Victorian age‚ it was common for women to
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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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