...text: ``The Importance of Being Earnest´´. ``The Importance of Being Earnest´´ is a comedy written by Oscar Wilde in the year 1894. In the text, Oscar Wilde makes fun of the upper class in the Victorian Age society. The reason why he had written ``The importance of Being Earnest´´ was to irritate the Victorian society. He focused on the term bunburing, which means creating a false person or identity. The creation of a false person and the creation of a false identity take place in the text to masquerade the true intentions of the main characters, Jack and Algernon. There are five characters in this text; Algernon, Lady Braknell, Gwendolyn, Jack and Lane. Algernon, which is the owner of the house the story takes place in, is a bachelor who sometimes leaves London to help a sick friend of his. However, he is bunburying, since he has invented a fictive person, so he could get out off unpleasant situations, especially when it involves his Aunt, Lady Braknell. In this case, Algernon had invented a sick friend by the name of Bunbury, which is funny since the name suggests bunburing. Lady Braknell is the mother of Gwendelyn Fairfax and a perfect example of typical Victorian classism. She doesn’t want her daughter to marry Earnest, because she found out that he was an orphan. Her daughter, Gwendolyn, is in love with Earnest, who also loves her. Although she returns her affection towards Earnest, she is self-centered, since she desires only to marry a man named Earnest: ``Jack!... No...
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...English 202 8 June 2014 Final Paper In “The Importance of Being Earnest,” Oscar Wilde unmasks the societal contradictions of modern Victorian society. In a way this story is a Comedy of Manners because it makes fun of the idea of the upper class and how the people in it went about getting married. I think Wilde was trying to accomplish something when writing this story and that was to show how ridiculous the process of marriage was in the upper class in particular. His main point of this story is to show how shallow and hypocritical Victorian society is. The main two characters in the story are Jack and Algernon. They both have alter ego’s in order to escape the restraints that Victorian society impresses upon them. Jack is expected to take care of the young Cecily but he cannot resist the urge to party and have fun. As a result, he comes up with an alter ego named Ernest. He tells Cecily that Ernest is his younger brother and that he gets in trouble all the time. Being that he is the older brother he expresses that he has to get his Ernest out of trouble all the time when really he is just partying and escaping the life he really doesn’t want to live. Algernon also has an alter ego named Bunbury whose grave health conditions provide him with the excuse to escape to the country as and when he pleases. The fact that the two main characters have created alter egos to escape the life they are currently living shows that Wilde wanted to portray how people would do certain...
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...The playwright Oscar Wilde uses humor to delineate the gravity of the society of the era when the play was written down. Underneath all the facade and the drama,their lies a very crude, rigid society which even deters a person to act according to one’s wish. The era when the play was written down was a very sensitive where the concept of middle class came into being. After the industrial revolution, London undergoes a rapid socio-economic change. People of the gentry became richer and a vivid line of distinction were formed between the rich and the poor. with economic benefits came a constant tension of maintaining one’s social status in the society.In order to do so people started residing to double standard living, a life for the public to witness and appreciate and a private life to suffice one’s heart’s desire.However this kind double standard living were only seen amongst the gentlemen, ladies were more into the protective shield of the household,perhaps thats why they didn’t have to pretend so much. They were never considered to be an active member of the society and were given trivial responsibilities and duties. However instances were found where their seeding passion were seen like the discovery of Cecily’s diary where she had penned down all her dreams and passion. It was perhaps the only place where she did not have to maintain her perfectly immaculate behavior and where she could be her own master. The act of bunburrying is nothing but letting one’s...
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...Theme of death in The Importance of Being Earnest It is obvious from the very first conversation in the play (between Algernon and Jack) that the characters are lackadaisical in their actions and views. This theme continues through the play, evident in the ridiculously comical and odd comments they make, their eccentric and aloof mannerisms and their general air. Many might look at The Importance of Being Earnest and see it as a play wrought with frivolities and meaninglessness, including author Oscar Wilde himself, who described it as "A trivial comedy for serious people." However, the play does contain a few serious undertones which are subtle enough that most readers (serious people or not) fail to notice them. One of the most noticeable of these is the trend of death. Death is mentioned several times throughout the play, in the form of flippant comments and offhand jokes. The initial thought one might have when realising the frequency with which death is mentioned in the play is that this was added to give the play dimension and a bit of dark humour. That may be true, but at the same time it highlights and compliments the lighthearted and flippant theme that is so evident throughout. Since the characters in Being Earnest* do not act in a manner that is appropriate or socially acceptable in modern times, it would make sense that their view on death, as a group, is exceedingly callous. The subject is handled with less gravity than most other issues (such as the consumption...
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...Comedic techniques in the importance of being earnest. In the play, Jack, after inventing the name Earnest, and lady Gwendolen falls in love and want to get married. When Jack asks for a hand in marriage from Gwendolen mother, Lady Bracknell, he is turned down because Lady Bracknell knows that Jack was conceived in a handbag at a train depot. Lady Bracknell finds it unnecessary for her daughter to get married to an orphan while there were many noble men around. "You are not down on my list of eligible young men," Lady Bracknell replied to Jack (Wilde). In the play, Lady Bracknell is presented as a snob and overprotective mother. She ironically pocks her nose in other people's business especially when the issues concerns marriage. In this example, comedic element and humor is created through satire and ridicule. This is because there was not way Jack could have changed his life to become noble in the eyes of Lady Bracknell to be granted hand in married for Gwendolen. The comedic elements that have been explained from The Importance of Being Earnest show that that author strives to express real life situation using comedic devices. The development of comedic elements in the play creates humor through the way the audience can relate events in the play to real life situations. There are many instances where the author uses direct humor. For example, that author creates humor through playing on words, reversing sayings, mocking marriages and aristocracy, satirizing women, and others...
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...Saxton Wilson Miss Sibbach Honors English IV 10 December, 2014 The Importance of Fraudulence In Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest deceit institutes itself as a manipulable entity, used advantageously by the characters to alter the situation favorably. The characters use deceit, and they lie whenever they feel necessary to avoid social responsibility. The incessant lies told by the characters let them live double lives, establish false personas and mask the true meaning and symbolism that each character contains. Deceit becomes a way to conveniently shape the scenario around the characters. Ernest, also known as Jack, uses deceit so that he may partake in pleasurable acts whenever he gets an urge to do so. He lies and travels between the...
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...Comedic techniques in the importance of being earnest. In the play, Jack, after inventing the name Earnest, and lady Gwendolen falls in love and want to get married. When Jack asks for a hand in marriage from Gwendolen mother, Lady Bracknell, he is turned down because Lady Bracknell knows that Jack was conceived in a handbag at a train depot. Lady Bracknell finds it unnecessary for her daughter to get married to an orphan while there were many noble men around. "You are not down on my list of eligible young men," Lady Bracknell replied to Jack (Wilde). In the play, Lady Bracknell is presented as a snob and overprotective mother. She ironically pocks her nose in other people's business especially when the issues concerns marriage. In this example, comedic element and humor is created through satire and ridicule. This is because there was not way Jack could have changed his life to become noble in the eyes of Lady Bracknell to be granted hand in married for Gwendolen. The comedic elements that have been explained from The Importance of Being Earnest show that that author strives to express real life situation using comedic devices. The development of comedic elements in the play creates humor through the way the audience can relate events in the play to real life situations. There are many instances where the author uses direct humor. For example, that author creates humor through playing on words, reversing sayings, mocking marriages and aristocracy, satirizing women, and others...
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...The Importance of Being Earnest, Act 2 In The Importance of Being Earnest, almost every character is in pursuit of another; Jack is in pursuit of Gwendolen’s love, whom is in pursuit of Jack, who she believes is Ernest. Meanwhile in the country, Dr Chausible is in pursuit of Miss Prism’s love, and Cecily of Algernon’s love; similarly to Gwendolen’s situation, Cecily is fooled into believing Algernon is called Ernest. Wilde has created this situation to mock the upper class of the time and also uses it in various ways to build comedy throughout act 2. Within act 2, the audience witness many entrances and exits, one of the most significant from the Merriman during the dispute between Gwendolen and Cecily. During the dispute, Gwendolen and Cecily are disrupted by the Merriman, ‘followed by the footman’, with ‘the presence of the servants [exercising] a restraining influence, under which both girls chafe’. This builds the comedy within this scene as the Merriman sets the table slowly, with ‘a long pause’, further infuriating Cecily and Gwendolen; this creates anticipation within the audience, as they would be anxiously wait for the dispute to continue. One could interpret the entrance and exit of the Merriman as Wilde placing more importance in the servants than the people they are serving, another way to mock the upper class of the time. Another important exit in the act is when Cecily and Gwendolen ‘retire into the house with scornful looks’, expecting the men to chase after...
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...People tell white lies so they don’t hurt other people. Oscar Wilde uses satire in many different forms in the play called The Importance of Being Earnest. The one that is going to be explained in this essay is lies. Lying can become a second nature for some people. Oscar wilde makes fun of people for telling the truth and saying that they should lie. Lying is being untruthful to make yourself to look better. The two main people that lie in this play are Jack and Algernon and they lie over little things. They both lie to the girls they like and say that their names were Ernest “I have always pretended to have a younger brother of the name Ernest , who lives in Albany and gets into the most dreadful scrapes” (Jack Act 1). This...
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...In the Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde it provides humor by differentiating the society in which they say they are, but are acting differently and eventually are being made fun of. It demonstrates this by using imagery and the tone it creates that shows how they take society and think about love. This novel will be consider as a satire as well because it makes fun of the Victorian period. In act 2, Oscar Wilde uses imagery to show how Cecily’s letters are a fantasy that demonstrates how her relationship with Earnest was even though it was just part of her imagination. Before Algernon’s departure to the city, he questioned Cecily what was she talking about, “My letters! But, my own sweet Cecily, I have never written you letters”. Algernon was not aware of the letters in which he thought it never existed. Cecily’s answer was, “I remember only too well that I was forced to write your letters for you.” Even though Algernon (Ernest) never had the intention to write letters, she had the desire to do it herself, so she would not feel lonely and still have the desire to love him and marry him because of his name Ernest. We can see that the letters are just written things that are not even true....
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...Time Period and Literary Movement: The importance of being earnest was written in the 19thcentury, which was the Victorian era. The Victorian era was a period that brought England to its highest point of development as a world power. During this time, the English aristocracy was dominant, snobbish and rich. Numerous authors, writers, artists, and dramatists of that era expounded on social issues, especially those concerning the impacts of the industrial revolution and political and social reform.Although, many say Wilde’s importance of being earnest is a “shallow, universal farce” because it has nothing in relation to the historical background in which it was written. Nonetheless, Oscar Wilde’s references to the historical events of his time were rather surpassed...
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...The minor and principle characters contribute equally to the form of 'The Importance of Being Earnest'. How far do you agree with this statement? A comedy of manners is categorically associated with and elaborate and scandalous plot, a joyous ending and using wit and inversions throughout. Throughout the play “The Importance of Being Earnest”, the conventions of a comedy of manners are clearly demonstrated by both the principle characters and the minor characters. However due to Oscar Wilde’s ideology of empowering the minorities and the ideas of reform in a Victorian society, it can be argued that the minor characters contribute more significantly. The first convention of a ‘Comedy of Manners’ that the characters contribute to is an elaborate plot. Unexpectedly, due to her insignificance in previous scenes and portrayal as a minor character, Miss Prism makes the most significant contribution to this. As she is the one who concludes the mystery of where Jack came from and in turn leads him to learn his name is Ernest, which therefore resolves the problem he had with Gwendolen over his name. This then also concludes the play as Lady Bracknell eventually grants permission for them to marry as she realises that he is the son of her “poor sister, Mrs Moncreiff, and consequently Algernon’s elder brother”. Nonetheless, the principle characters all make a significant contribution to the elaborative plot. A forewarning of such plot developing is first hinted by the principle characters...
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...How far do you agree with the opinion that Wilde uses conventions of dramatic comedy in The Importance Of Being Earnest to satirise and undermine the institution of marriage? Lane Lane: I attribute it to the superior quality of the wine, sir. I have often observed that in married households the champagne is rarely of a first- rate brand. Algernon: Is marriage so demoralising as that? Lane: I believe it is a very pleasant state, sir. I have had very little experience of it myself up to the present. I have only been married once. That was in consequence of a misunderstanding between myself and a young person. Even though lane does not think marriage is demoralising, he is not to be trusted as he later says, ‘consequence of a misunderstanding between myself and a young person’. This then raises the question of why did his marriage end, if it was not ‘demoralising’ or a ‘pleasant state?’ Algernon regards Lane’s views on marriage as “somewhat lax.” Laid back or not as strict as it should be taken + Questions of marriage and whether its ‘demoralising’ or a ‘pleasant state’ are mentioned so early in the play, by lane and Algernon. This depicts that the rest of the play will be an ongoing debate on the institution of marriage. Algernon; Oh! There is no use speculating on that subject. Divorces are made In Heaven (Act1, page 4) this shows an inversion as the actual phrase is meant to say that ‘marriage are made in heaven’. (A reversal of the usual order of words) this might...
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...‘The tone says life is fun. The undertone suggests life is a catastrophe’. To what extent do you think Eric Bentley’s comment about the dramatic genre of comedy is relevant to Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest? The philosopher and literary critic Sigmund Freud agreed with Bentley’s statement on the dramatic genre of comedy, agreeing that ‘every joke contains an element of seriousness; a joke is never just a joke’. Wilde uses many aspects of comedy to back this opinion. The character of Lady Bracknell was created as a comic tool by Wilde to generate fun for the audience; her dialogue is essentially a way of creating humour, despite her domineering nature which is made absurd and ridiculous to mock the upper classes. This creates a light hearted tone. However, Wilde also uses the character of Lady Bracknell to express the undertone of catastrophe through her unwittingly funny comments on serious subjects. As soon as Lady Bracknell enters in Act one Wilde uses her as a tool to mock marriage. She talks about Lady Harbury who has recently lost her husband and, Lady Bracknell comments, ‘she looks quite twenty years younger’. Lady Harbury looking well is certainly due to the restraints of her strict Victorian marriage being broken, so she can now live ‘for pleasure’. In the 21st century if your husband died you would mourn his death, because modern marriages are mainly for love, not to gain status and money. This is part of the tone which Wilde has set of frivolity...
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...this research study can acknowledge the effect the expectations have on these characters; especially the men. Analyzing the characters in Oscar Wilde’s works, The Importance of Being Earnest and A Woman of No Importance, show how the expectations of society effects the characters’ behaviour and their reaction to society’s ideals. Oscar Wilde examines the impact of Victorian society’s unrealistic expectations on the individual in The Importance of Being Earnest and A Woman of No Importance, showing how rejection, whether from a potential partner or society as a whole, can lead to deceit and engaging in a double life in order to satisfy conventions. As it stands, these comedies are the fullest embodiment of Wilde’s lifelong assault upon commonplace life and commonplace values. It was inevitable that the conventional world should strike back at Wilde, at his character and his ideas, if not specifically at his play, but the speed and cruelty of the world’s retribution surpassed expectation. Four days after the opening of his last and finest comedy, the succession of events began that brought about his disgrace, imprisonment and exile. Wilde felt strongly that men and women should be treated equally when it came to sexual matters. It is a main topic of The Importance of Being Earnest as well as A Woman of No Importance. As several writers have suggested, it is not difficult to see that a concealed sin, especially a sexual one, and a plea for forgiveness might well reflect Wilde’s...
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