’ 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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Throughout act 1‚ Wilde tells the audience of his intentions by subtly dropping hints at his views on both his past and Victorian society. Wilde’s social background indicates many thing concerning his social beliefs and values. These values and attitude to society can be found throughout the play. One of the first things Wilde makes clear is his distaste for the views the upper classes hold on education. Lady Bracknell states when discussing education for the lower classes‚ “It would prove a serious
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The Importance of Being Earnest‚ to be “Earnest” is to be “honest‚ and “truthful”. Which was what the protagonist and main character Jack Worthing used to slip away from responsibilities he had to face. Oscar Wilde used the name earnest but the characters act completely different from it. It’s a pun on the word earnest‚ when the title is the importance of being earnest but
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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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Earnest The tone says that life is fun. The undertone suggests that life is a catastrophe. (How far do you agree with this model of comedy in relation to The Importance of Being Earnest?) With every light hearted joke that Wilde puts across to the audience there is a serious undertone to it‚ which relates to Victorian Society‚ and issues which were seen as taboo. Wilde’s play can be seen as quite a satirical play as it continuously mocks the upper classes and their values. Different characters in
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Re-read from Act 2‚ line 691 ‘GWENDOLEN: You have filled my tea…’ to page 291‚ line 745 ‘GWENDOLEN: You will call me sister‚ will you not?’ How does Wilde create comedy in this scene? The Importance of Being Earnest is considered by many to be a comedy of manners‚ focusing on the love lives of aristocratic young people‚ and relying on the use of verbal wit‚ stock characters and humour over developing a deep plot and sense of character. In this scene‚ Gwendolen and Cecily have just gotten into
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How far is it appropriate to consider The Importance of Being Earnest as a Satire on the hypocrisy of ‘polite’ British society? It can be argued that Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays (2000) explores in depth the idea of satire on the hypocrisy of ‘polite’ British society. Wilde uses dramatic language to amplify the satirical nature of the play; by using irony and satire he is able to mock the polite Victorian etiquette. The play is set in middle class Victorian London
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Dramatic Textual Analysis The Importance of being Earnest Act 3 Cecily and Gwendolen have just found out that Jack and Algernon had lied to them. They go into the house and make a vow not to be the first to take to them as they enter the house. Jack and Algernon enter the house and they end up begging for forgiveness. The women forgive them and the two couples fall into each other’s arm‚ then enters lady Bracknell. She is opposed to the idea of Gwendolen and Jack being engaged‚ but when she hears
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Irony has always been of vital importance to Shakespeare .He uses it as his aid in his plays because it builds up the anticipation of the consequences of the character‘s actions‚ reveals character and has also been used to comment on topical issues such as the gun powder plot and witchcraft‚ which king James I for whom the play Macbeth had been written and debuted for was deeply interested in. Shakespeare uses irony as a tool by which he combines treason and witchcraft to render a powerful play
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that will lead to their survival. Piggy’s actions and the reactions from his fellow survivors foreshadow his eventual death. Lord of the Flies is overflowing with creative symbolism‚ surrounding every event and character; Piggy is no exception. From being the representation of scholars to the comparison with Prometheus‚ Golding ensures Piggy’s short life is well remembered. Piggy’s literal function in this novel is to be the intellectual and logical thinker to counteract the emotional thinking
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