Essay Topics for Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" In contrast to much theatre of the time, the light plot of The Importance of Being Earnest does not seem to tackle serious social and political issues, something contemporary reviewers were wary of. This hardly promotes the eternal, sincere and passionate love seen in other Victorian texts such as Jane Eyre and thus parodies traditional Victorian passionate love stories. Print. Importance of Being Earnest as a farce, Except in the very flimsiest of such pieces, of course, it is rare to find a play that depends upon nothing but farcical elements. For example, one might detect satire in the depictions of society and high-ranking society members, such as can be found in The Importance of Being Earnest. How does Death of a Salesman lament realism? Explore the comic elements employed by the author in the play, such as irony, farce . Summary. Shaw later acknowledged . They start their relationship based on the lies in the hope of marrying the girls that they love. Algernon could be interpreted as a recreation of Wilde himself due to his flamboyancy, dandy-like characteristics and being discreet in an indiscreet way with regards to his idea of Bunburying. He is a bit confused when she explains that they have already been engaged for three months, starting last February 14 at least that is how she recorded her fantasy in her diary. To a Victorian audience, maturity, ripeness, and green are all coded words dealing with experience and naivet. Jack is angry that Algernon could play such a trick. Tales of the Avunculate The Importance of Being Earnest . By trying to correct the flaws of the characters in this play, this piece also serves as a great form of critiscim. The play is clearly influenced by Restoration Comedy due its sharp repartee and a plot revolving around love and marriage. Oscar Wilde: 'The Importance of Being Earnest' - Making fun of - GRIN Modern Language Quarterly 1 June 1974; 35 (2): 173186. How is the tone of The Lottery deceiving? The Importance of Being Earnest draws on elements of farce and melodrama in its depiction of a particular social world. Author Oscar Wilde. Just dandy: Known for his long hair and the ever-present flower in his button-hole, Wilde popularized the figure of the fop, or dandy, a man devoted to his personal appearance, style, and dress. Jon C.Stott, Raymond E. Jones, and Rick Bowers. The plays focus on style over substance, according to Nicola Onyett, allows for gambling, homosexuality, deceit and illegitimacy as long as an appropriate veneer of respectability is maintained which displays the Victorians requirement of sincerity and earnestness as hypocritical. Both Gwendolen and Cecily yearn to have a husband called "Ernest." They both place emphasis on such a trivial matter as a name. Sign up to unveil the best kept secrets in poetry. 2011. Lady Bracknells interrogation of Jack, his replies and her assessment of the border on the absurd. How is irony used in "The Importance of Being Earnest"? How is Virgil important to Dante in The Divine Comedy? womanthrope a humorous word made up by Miss Prism for a person who hates women. The Importance of Being Earnest is a farce. Their banter with one another is one of the main comedic elements at the heart of the play. Why, one may be accepted. The effort of Jack and Algernon to rechristen themselves as Ernest with the help of Dr. Chasuble is another instance of force. Oops. David Parker Search for other works by this author on: This Site. In conclusion, Oscar Wildes The Importance of Being Earnest is most certainly an artistic and subtle play as well as complex and therefore Foster was correct in saying that the terms farce and comedy of manners are unsuitable as they do not begin cover the depth, complexity and originality behind the play. An endless number of societies existed for the reform of various causes. Miss Prism and Canon Chasuble also provide a comic touch to the subject of religious zeal and its relationship to Victorian morals. "Farce". Its more like interviewing someone for the job of being Gwendolens husband rather than getting to know the man her daughter is interested in. Is the "Importance of being Earnest" a farce or a comedy of manners? Many novelists, essayists, poets, philosophers and playwrights of the Victorian Age wrote about social problems, particularly concerning the effects of the Industrial Revolution and political and social reform. This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before, Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts. By presenting these vignettes subtle, carefully constructed literary sketches within the context of a farce, Wilde pokes fun at the Victorian concept that everyone has his duty, and each knows his place. How does satire and parody affect Northanger Abbey? These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Importance of Being Earnest. Registered office: Creative Tower, Fujairah, PO Box 4422, UAE. Though a fledgling writer, Wildes fame as a proponent of Aestheticism grew during his yearlong lecture tour of the United States, England, and Ireland. How important are dreams in Death of a Salesman? Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UKEssays.com. Such novels were not deemed proper literature by Victorians, but were read in secret. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. 4 Apr. Plain, guttural German is lauded, and Cecily feels plain after reciting it. Embarrassment. Free resources to assist you with your university studies! The quarrel between Cecily and Gwendolen caused by their ignorance of the double identity of Jack verges on the farce. David Parker; Oscar Wilde's Great Farce the Importance of Being Earnest. All work is written to order. This is exposed through the lacking of true Victorian values and the choice of style over substance. Such notions are subtly displayed through Gwendolen knowing of a man called Ernest and knowing that she was destined to love him simply due to his name. Cecily's schooling is a perfect opportunity for Wilde to comment on the grim, unimaginative education of England. It is obvious that our social spheres have been widely different. (Wilde,559) This is called dissembling as the characters arent literally wearing masks, but metaphorically they are all pretending to be someone they arent. Where a headache is usually used as an excuse for a lack of sexual interest, Miss Prism uses it as a reason to go on a walk alone with the minister. The Importance of Being Earnest - SparkNotes Importance of Being Earnest as a farce. Petruchio: My remedy is then, to pluck it out. The farce is a play for the theatre, full of ridiculous situations intended to make people laugh. bookmarked pages associated with this title. Their exchange establishes a tone of light hearted, witty and beyond the reach of conventional morality commentary and linguistic humour. 4 Apr. Although the themes in The Importance of Being Earnest address Victorian social issues, the structure of the play was largely influenced by French theatre, melodrama, social drama, and farce. The Importance of Being Earnest survived despite of its content which was indirectly criticizing Victorian society and lampooning dramatic conventions decades and is still a very popular play. Copyright 1974 by Duke University Press. While they are gone, Merriman, the butler, announces Mr. Ernest Worthing has just arrived with his luggage and is anxious to speak with Miss Cardew. Never speak disrespectfully of Society, Algernon. Why is dramatic irony used in An Inspector Calls? Farce does not try to be something it is not. David Parker. One of the clearest expressions of Wilde satirizing his upper-class audience members is in the words of the minister. He says: Ive now realised for the first time in my life the vital importance of being Earnest.. Below the surface of the light, brittle comedy, however, is a serious subtext that . three-volume novels Lending libraries circulated novels in three parts so that three different readers could be reading at the same time. In conclusion, The Importance of Being Earnest strongly focuses on those of the upper class society and the vanity of the aristocrats who place emphasis on trivial matters concerning marriage. Could not validate captcha. Farce - Definition and Examples in Literature - Poem Analysis Other notable writers such as Thackeray, the Brontes, Swinburne, Butler, Pinero, and Kipling were also contemporaries of Oscar Wilde. The play was first published in 1898 with the subtitle "A Trivial Comedy for Serious People." For example, religion, marriage, and familial relationships. The ending of Earnest, in which Jack misidentifies Prism as his unmarried mother, is typical of the endings of farces. His words come from Miss Prism when she says, "I am not in favour of this modern mania for turning bad people into good people at a moment's notice." It is sometimes thought that modern critics have explicitly exposed the subtext behind the play reading into the division of bun and bury as a code for male to male intercourse, intended for Wildes gay audience in an implicit way as to keep up Victorian importance of appearance. The bulk of the story centers on Petruchio and Katherina. Thus, although The Importance of Being Earnest is a play which possesses the conventions of a farce or comedy of manners, in certain aspects it is inventive, subtle and artistic as suggested by Richard Foster. Dedicated to your worth and value as a human being! Gwendolen satirically says to Cecily, I am glad to say that I have never seen a spade. Createyouraccount. This is a major point Oscar Wilde focuses on in this comedy of manners- values are totally reversed. Wilde as Parodist: A Second Look at the Importance of Being Earnest. College English 18.1 Oct. (1956): 18-23. Richard Foster states that The Importance of Being Earnest has a multivalent nature and thus implies that a farce or comedy of manners are not particularly urbane genres and are therefore unsuitable for The Importance of Being Earnest. It can be inferred that Algernons bankruptcy influences his attraction to Cecily. The Importance of Being Earnest as Farcical and Satirical Comedy The genre developed in Europe in the 15th century. What kind of comedy is The Importance of Being Earnest? What role does champagne play in "The Importance of Being Earnest"? CliffsNotes study guides are written by real teachers and professors, so no matter what you're studying, CliffsNotes can ease your homework headaches and help you score high on exams. A baby mislaid in a hand-bag at a London railway station, and the completely arbitrary desires of young ladies to marry men with the name Emest are the mainsprings of the plot. Comedy in 'The Importance of Being Earnest' - clarendonhousebooks Writers create farces for one main reasonto entertain. In fact, she agrees readily because she has made up an entire romantic story of their courtship and engagement. The play has remained popular with audiences ever since, vying with Wilde's 1890 novel The Portrait of Dorian Gray as his most . Farce - The Importance of Being Earnest Farce Understanding Farce "Comedy is unusual people in real situations; farce is real people in unusual situations." ~ Chuck Jones "Farce is. By clicking Continue, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy. Become a Study.com member to unlock this answer! The Importance of Being Earnest was an early experiment in Victorian melodrama. Extensive verbal wit is utilised to provoke humour but is quite obvious and lacks subtlety. However, little attention is paid to moral values. In subtitling his play A Trivial Comedy for Serious People, perhaps Wilde is showing that setting one's jaw in a strong position for living rigidly with duty is both shortsighted and tediously boring. Katherine: If I be waspish, best beware my sting. I hate waiting even five minutes for anybody. Oscar Wildes Great Farce: The Importance of Being Earnest. Modern Language Quarterly 35 (1974): 173-86. How was Jack misplaced in "The Importance of Being Earnest"? Oscar Wilde's 'The Importance of Being Earnest' is a satirical play about the significance of being our true selves. Maxims and Masks: The Epigram in "The Importance of Being Earnest". Jack enters in mourning clothes because his brother Ernest is dead in Paris. What happens in the first act of The Importance of Being Earnest? The comic pairing of Jack and Algernon can come across as childish in the pettiness of their arguments such as in their quarrel over muffins. Here is a characteristic exchange like those readers can find in the play: Petruchio: Come, come, you wasp; i faith, you are too angry. "The Fall of the Rupee" is seen as "too sensational" for her to read. In this Shakespearean play, the poet creates numerous farcical elements in his construction of the plot. Algernon closely compares to the flamboyant character of Lord Darlington in Wildes Lady Windermeres Fan revealing that satirising Victorian values and hypocritical tolerance is a running theme for 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 personae to escape burdensome social obligations. Oscar Wilde's Great Farce the Importance of Being Earnest. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. Why is The Divine Comedy important to world history? The play is a comic masterpiece. How does Ernest die in "The Importance of Being Earnest"? This might be a case of mistaken identity, a simple misunderstanding of a words multiple meanings, or someones intentions. Part satire, part comedy of manners, and part intellectual farce, this play seems to have nothing at stake because the world it presents is so blatantly and ostentatiously artificial. The British Empire was at its height and occupied much of the globe, including Ireland, Wilde's homeland. The Importance of Being Earnest opened in the West End of London in February 1894 during an era when many of the religious, social, political, and economic structures were experiencing change The Victorian Age (the last 25-30 years of the 1800s). Is The Importance of Being Earnest considered classical? Jack creates a brother called Ernest in the city that he uses as a scape goat to leave his prim and proper, respectable country life, whereas Algernon creates a friend by the name of Bunbury to escape his aunts high class society parties.