Samantha Soto Gilchrist AP English IV 28 October 2012 The Importance of Being Earnest The Importance of Being Earnest is a play by Oscar Wilde that can be viewed as a satire on the moral compass of people living in the Victorian era. The moral standards of the time held the ideas of sincerity and honesty on a high pedestal. To be Earnest would most likely fall between the two ideals; the first definition of the word earnest is “Serious in intention‚ purpose‚ or effort” and this can be a trait
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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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The Importance of Being Earnest Social class and public reputation are two of the most common things that influence a person in their decision making. In “The Importance of Being Earnest”‚ Oscar Wilde mocks a society for their reasons of choosing who to marry. Oscar Wilde expresses an ironic and satiric perspective on a society that builds a marriage upon a foundation of money‚ power‚ and deceit. The play “The Importance of Being Earnest‚” is one of the most perfect examples of satire in our
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Sonia Kaur Professor McLaughlin ENG 102 TH 7 C Topic: Research Paper on The Importance of Being Earnest Essay 4 How does Oscar Wilde satirize Victorian society in his play The Importance of Being Earnest? What is the genre of the play? Sure‚ it is a comedy‚ but where does Wilde put the emphasis on? Social satire. Social satire is a weapon using comedy in order to take a subject‚ in this case the Victorian Era‚ and ridicule it. In this sense‚ comedy is not only to entertain but also educate. Thus
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Sidney Katz’s summary of “The Importance of being Beautiful”‚ she suggests that more attractive people can advance faster and easier in life than their less appealing peers. Katz explains her theory with different examples. One example is person perception‚ which is a branch of psychology that examines many ways in which physical attractiveness‚ or lack of it‚ affects all aspects of life. This helps explain the halo and horns effect. The halo effect is perceived as being beautiful‚ more generous‚ trustworthy
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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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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 Questions Themes (Feel free to see the questions related to the themes at http://www.shmoop.com/importance-of-being-earnest/) Lies and Deceit Marriage Respect and Reputation Society and Class Gender Versions of Reality: Romance Love Foolishness and Folly Epigrams Define an epigram. What do the following epigrams say? Keep track of epigrams in the play. “Education is an admirable thing‚ but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing
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least. His biting humour and keen wit produced many popular plays and quotes of the time‚ and are still well known today. A satire is a play engaging the use of humor‚ irony‚ exaggeration‚ or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices. ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ is one of his better-known satires‚ effectively ridiculing many of the Victorian values that were of the greatest importance at the time. Wildes cutting and playful dialogue show his utter contempt for these values‚ most
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In Oscar Wilde’s play‚ The Importance of Being Earnest‚ the conversations between characters reveal a lot about their relationships and create a language. The relationship of Earnest and Gwendolen is primarily based on a surface characteristic; his name. Gwendolyn is only attracted to Earnest because of his name‚ because she is so consumed by what others will think. Cecily is portrayed as the wholesome girl in this play who is attracted to the devious and mysterious Algernon. However‚ their relationship
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