, Copyright @ 2020 | All Rights Reserve PRC Foundation. For example: “All women become like their mothers. Discuss the character of Miss Prism. The concept of marriage has been given preeminence in Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. Jack pursues Gwendolen’s hand, while Algernon pursues Cecily. As a comedy of manners, The Importance of Being Earnestsatirizes the upper class by showing them to be shallow, judgmental, and having the wrong priorities. Web. Oscar Wilde: Epigrams in The Importance of Being Earnest ‘Oscar Wilde is profoundly known for his satirical wit and unapologetic nature. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. It was freezing cold but Wilde arrived dressed in "florid sobriety", wearing a green carnation. Question: Discuss the wit and humor of the play “The Importance of Being Earnest”. 2 The Importance of Being Earnest In the publication “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde, the author uses irony on several occasions to bring out the flaws in the Victorian society and criticize the existing values. The most memorable character and one who has a tremendous impact on the audience is Lady Augusta Bracknell. Irony and anticlimax, Irony and anticlimax are also not rare that means available in “The Importance of Being Earnest”. 2009. No man does. "Everything matters in art except the subject," said Oscar Wilde, quoted by literary critic Harold Bloom; and the short, witty sayings -- known as epigrams -- that Wilde popularized in his play, "The Importance of Being Earnest," demonstrate that the art of wit in 'nonsense literature' was one area where he excelled. Lady Bracknell firmly believes the middle and lower classes should never be taught to think or question. The rapid-fire wit and eccentric characters of The Importance of Being Earnest have made it a mainstay of the high school cur Oscar Wilde’s madcap farce about mistaken identities, secret engagements, and lovers entanglements still delights readers more than a century after its … So, Lady Bracknell is the paragon of cunningness and humor. Why is it that at a bachelor’s establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne? He flouted morality and avoided serious issues to establish the autonomy of literary art. Cecily provides Wilde with an opportunity to discuss dull and boring education, Victorian values, money and security, and the repression of passion. The Alabama Shakespeare Festival celebrates the wit and sharp social satire of Oscar Wilde. In progress Cecily and Algernon are talking about…Australia ! Consequently, his chosen mode of expression was the epigram — a form which allowed him to flaunt his style … In a letter to an actor-producer friend, Wilde frankly admits that the real charm of the play is certainly the dialogues. She is another of Wilde's inventions to present his satire on these subjects. The men's dishonesty, the women's fickle nature in constantly changing their minds, and Lady Bracknell's snobbishness are all examples of such vices. Why or how is The Importance of Being Earnest funny? Yes, I was in a hand-bag from Lycée Vauban on Vimeo. John (Jack/Ernest) Worthing, J.P. Analyze some aspects of Wildean wit. English 2322 Bardenhagen Research Paper The Importance of Being Earnest In the play, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, there is a lot of humor that can be found. Similar to many Victorian novels of the period, the play reads as a marriage plot, documenting the errors in social etiquette and romantic upheavals that come about as Jack and Algernon stumble towards the altar. The Importance of Being Earnest: Wilde’s Wit in Use. Believing in the aesthetic freedom of art, Oscar Wilde insists that anything is possible in a comic play. Wilde humorously makes her the tool of the conflict, and much of the satire. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The pun is a joke using the different possible meanings of the word. When she arrives late at Algernon’s place, she explains that she was visiting Lady Harbury who looks quite twenty years younger after her poor husband’s death. Introduction: Oscar Wilde (1854 –1900) is a fabulously funny and witty writer. 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. We are equally entertained when Algernon criticizes family relatives-, “Relations are simply a tedious pack of people, who haven’t got the remotest knowledge of how to live, nor the smallest instinct about when to die.”. Cecily would prefer to water the flowers, but Miss Prism reminds Cecily that Jack encourages Cecily to improve herself in every way. The major target of Wilde's scathing social criticism is the hypocrisy that society creates. Summary. In the garden of The Manor House, Jack’s country estate in Hertfordshire, Miss Prism is trying to interest Cecily in her German lesson. Filled with witty Victorian aphorisms and Wilde’s own brand of wisdom, The Importance of Being Earnest tells the story of Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff who use clever deception and truth-bending to accommodate their social pursuits. Before diving into the questions in mind it is crucial to the betterment of one's understanding of the play to understand what each character in the play represents. They are often general reflections on life and can be lifted straight out of the text and used on your friends. (2009, 12). The audience, according to one report, "included many members of the great and good, former cabinet ministers and privy councillors, as well as actors, writers, academics, and enthusiasts". He calls this practice ‘Bunburying’. By using the name Ernest throughout the play, and … 12, 2009. EssaysForStudent.com. View The Importance of Being Earnest prewriting from AA 1 Laced with wit, humor, and criticisms, Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest makes statements about Victorian society and its One should always have something sensational to read in the train.” …