Wilde also critiqued the gender roles of the time period. His character‚ Lady Bracknell‚ has been played on many occasion by male actors because of her strong and brash behaviors. She is seen as an immovable obstacle for Jack to overcome. Jack at one point describes her as‚ “Never met such a Gorgon… In any case‚ she is a monster‚ without being a myth‚”(Wilde Earnest 1). The Lady is a monster‚ a repulsive creature. She is not the prim‚ delicate woman of Victorian England. During this time period
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Oscar Wilde’s Picture of Dorian Gray received immediate criticism when it was published in 1890‚ being described as contaminated‚ unclean‚ and nauseous. The criticism stemmed from the challenges that were made by Oscar Wilde regarding Victorian morality. The novel was written in the aesthetic era‚ an era where authors attempted to reverse the role of art‚ to have no purpose besides being beautiful. Critics of the novel did not like this idea‚ fearing that it would corrupt readers‚ specifically their
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A Dublin born Oscar Wilde was destined for greatness. Oscar Wilde was an ingenious play-writer and novelist of his time. One play that Oscar Wilde created though stood out amongst the rest of his work. This particular play would question a lot of morals and would also make a mockery out of the high prestigious people of the Victorian society‚ that play was entitled “The Importance of Being Earnest”. In Wilde’s play “The Importance of Being Earnest”‚ Wilde uses comical satire to describe the high
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on 14th February 1895 in London. The play was reduced from four to three acts (Raby 161-163). The Importance of Being Earnest contradicts banausic values in a utilitarian age (Varty 205). The comedy of manners and errors had a philosophy‚ which Wilde interpreted in an interview for the St James’s Gazette. It was “that we should treat all the trivial things of life seriously‚ and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality” (McKenna
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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 concept of a double life is the most significant element of the play as it allows Wilde to satire the Victorian hypocrisy through the characters of Jack‚ Miss Prism and Dr Chasuble. Firstly‚ the playwright introduces Jack Worthing as a seemingly respectable and responsible young man who lives in Hertfordshire and takes care of his young ward ‘I know no one who has a higher sense of duty and responsibility’ (Wilde‚2012). In the country‚ he is known as a serious‚ dependable man who rescues his younger
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Name English 103 AS14 February 25/ 2015 K.A. Woodward In the play The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde‚ the protagonist Jack Worthing has fallen in love with a young woman by the name of Gwendolen Fairfax. Gwendolen is meant to represent the typical upper class aristocratic woman in Victorian England. Wilde uses her to paint a fairly accurate image of the upper class; however there are certain inaccuracies that are meant to highlight the flaws of affluent Victorian England. Gwendolen’s
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offence which made the delinquent publicly disgraced. Even literature and art had its cannons which were to be respected" (Mathews‚ 2009). In Oscar Wilde ’s satirical comedy‚ The Importance of Being Earnest‚ Victorian hypocrisy is presented within the lines of the play as it unfolds a story about the courtship of two young women and men of that era. Wilde utilizes triviality as the guise to unwind his message about the most certain hypocrisy that occupied society during that time. Superficiality within
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fruit…” writes Oscar Wilde as he sets the literary table with a rich display of Victorian satire (Wilde). Born in Dublin to affluent parents‚ Wilde experienced a social advantage that gave him more than a taste of indulgent upper class life to ridicule. He attended Oxford on a scholarship and was considered a genius. Wilde was characterized as humorous‚ frank‚ and showy. Writing novels‚ poems‚ and essays as well‚ The Importance of Being Earnest was his most popular work. Oscar Wilde uses satire to ridicule
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and butter” (Wilde‚ 700). However‚ Jack begins to devour the bread and butter as if he were going to eat all of it (Wilde‚ 700). Algernon even informs him that he is behaving “as if you were married to her already” (Wilde‚ 700). From these quotes‚ it is evident that the action of eating stands as a symbol for sexual desires‚ which can also be interpreted by Algernon’s comments about marriage. This is demonstrated when there are no sandwiches left for Lady Bracknell when she arrives (Wilde‚ 703). Also
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