In Act II of The Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde creates humor in the scene where Algernon and Cecily talk about their relationship. Wilde not only personally makes fun of the characters themselves but also of the values that the Victorian Era upholds. Such values include cherishing looks over personality and the confusion between them. Wilde cleverly does this by also uses satire‚ characterization and irony to not only ensued laughter in the audience but also deliver an undertone message
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period (late-Victorian). Wilde was being satirical and paradoxical in his play to show the hypocrisy and entertain the viewers in a play that is still being repeated till today. It is a witty and amusing comedy which conveys real life everyday themes such as real love as opposed to selfish love‚ religion‚ marriage‚ being truthful and country life as opposed to city life. Richard Foster‚ author of “Wilde as Parodist: A Second Look at The Importance of Being Earnest”‚ published in October 1956‚ writes
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Victorian Conventions in “The Importance of Being Earnest” In Victorian society‚ the conventional norms of status‚ gender roles‚ and marriage were closely linked by an institution that men and women were placed with unrealistic demands and expectations from society. Women were brought up by their parents to become the perfect housewife‚ and men were forced into marriages based on status within the society. In Oscar Wilde’s play‚ “The Importance of Being Earnest‚” he mocks the typical Victorian
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Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest tells the story of two gentlemen who lead a double life under the name “Earnest” in order to win the hearts of their love interests.The play premiered in London’s St. James’ Theater in 1895 and is now performed in theaters throughout the world because of its timeless humor and whit. In his play The Importance of Being Earnest‚ Oscar Wilde employs the use of satire to convey his criticism towards Victorian society’s views on marriage‚ deceit and duality
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three-volume novels.” Chausable‚ a man of the church‚ uses persistent innuendos giving him an immoral reputation and his flirtatious desire for Miss Prism is presented through metaphoric language and the use of Freudian slips. During a conversation between Chausable and Miss Prism‚ he states that if he were “fortunate enough to be Miss Prism’s pupil he would hang upon her lips.” The misplaced assumption used by Wilde seemingly shows what Wilde’s opinions are towards religion in the Victorian times and
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THE IMPORTANCE OF B EING ERNEST Oscar Wilde’s satire‚ The Importance of Being Earnest‚ targets society from the Victorian era. Wilde uses his characters and Tragic Comedy to satirize Victorian society. Wilde’s Jack and Algernon reveal this idea in his play. Wilde uses tragic comedy in his satire. The main plot of the story is that Jack needs to find his parents in order to marry Gwendolyn. Jack however has been living another life in the country as Uncle Jack to his adopted father’s granddaughter
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Importancehe Importance of Being Earnest‚ A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James’s Theatre in London‚ it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personæ in order to escape burdensome social obligations. Working within the social conventions of late Victorian London‚ the play’s major themes are the triviality with which it treats institutions as serious as marriage‚ and the resulting satire of Victorian
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4) How Does Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest Challenge Constructions of Sexuality? Oscar Wilde; the renowned Irish writer is most commonly known for his famed social comedies‚ including: Lady Windermere’s Fan‚ A Women of No Importance and of course The Importance of Being Earnest. Regrettably this period of fame was followed by his fall into public disgrace and time spent in Reading Gaol after the critical libel suit from the father of his lover; Lord Alfred Douglas. While Wilde is now known
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’ Does the dramatic comedy in ‘Earnest’ seek only to amuse an audience or has the play more of a moral message than might‚ at first‚ be clear? The importance of being Earnest is a satirical comedy‚ which ridicules the social values of the Victorian Era. Despite the farce used within the play‚ the comedy is shown to have deeper meaning. As Freud said‚ “Every joke contains an element of seriousness; a joke is never just a joke.” Related to this quote‚ in ‘Earnest’‚ l think there is a moral message
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the male sex. In the text so far Oscar Wilde shows Earnest/Jacks eagerness as a sign he could trying to assert his masculinity because that is what Victorian society is so judgemental. Prescribing the notion that women were born to dream of marriage‚ Cecily and Gwendolyn‚ from The Importance of Being Earnest‚ are caught up in the fantasies of the perfect marriage to the perfect earnest husband. Cecily and Gwendolyn are fixated on the name Earnest‚ almost as if it were an obsession; it is the ideal
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