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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Summary The curtain opens on the flat of wealthy Algernon Moncrieff in London’s fashionable West End. While Algernon (Algy‚ for short) plays the piano‚ his servant (Lane) is arranging cucumber sandwiches for the impending arrival of Algernon’s aunt (Lady Bracknell) and her daughter (Gwendolen). Mr. Jack Worthing (a friend of Moncrieff’s and known to him as Ernest) arrives first. Jack announces that he plans to propose marriage to Gwendolen‚ but Algernon claims that he will not consent to their
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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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Joanna Martinez Ms. Tobenkin AP Literature‚ Period 4 7 December 2015 The Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde is definitely an odd character and this is present in his play‚ The Importance of Being Earnest. Throughout the play‚ Wilde uses puns and unusual situations so that it could make the play humorous and enjoyable for audience. Each character finds themselves in peculiar situations which becomes unusually strange. Wilde uses comical dialogue to mock society and the higher class. Although
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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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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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The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is regarded by many as one of the wittiest plays in the English language. However‚ it is not simply a “trivial comedy‚” as its title proposes‚ but also a cutting satire appraising the conventions of Victorian society‚ chiefly the upper class. Much of Wilde’s social commentary is portrayed through the speech of the dictatorial Lady Bracknell‚ who embodies Victorian upper class conventions. Having ascended to her current high social
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view‚ has lost its sting’ (Edouard Roditi) To what extent do you agree with this response to the play? By Molly Campbell With the definition of a satire being‚ ‘the use of humour‚ irony‚ exaggeration‚ or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity’‚ it is ludicrous to even propose that The Importance of Being Earnest is anything other than a satirical play‚ as the characters relishing in the upper class of the Victorian period unknowingly mock their own habits acquired to them due
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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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In The importance of Being Earnest the author uses the stereotype of gender and Queer theory to describe the attitude of men and women. Three important points reveal the use of gender stereotype and Queer theory. The first is the discrimination and marginalization based on social classes. In addition‚ the role played by women in The Importance of Being Earnest show the gender stereotype. The last element is the definition of personal capacity based on the gender of each person. In “The importance
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