Analyse The Importance Of Being Earnest Satire Essay

Wilde uses satire especially with the idea of marriage. In the society that he lived in, marriage is seen as a business arrangement. When Lady Bracknell questioned Jack to determine if he is suitable for her daughter, she

Charles Dickens uses satire to point out the faults in the Victorian London courts, such as the way anyone would be proven guilty and then executed for the smallest of crimes.This is seen when Dickens states: "That, for these reasons, the jury, being a loyal jury (as he knew they were), and being a responsible jury (as they knew they were), must positively find the prisoner Guilty, and make an end of him, whether they liked it or not...in short, that there never more could be, for them or theirs, any laying of heads upon pillows at all, unless the prisoner's head was taken off," (Dickens, Page 69). Dickens is satirizing this system because it is extremely harsh and unfair, with execution becoming the sentence for everything. He is bringing the problem to light so that it may be resolved before it contributes to civil unrest.

This play criticizes marriages in Victorian society and the aristocratic norm that marriage is more of a business than for love or happiness. Through these characters Wilde is not only commenting on the nature of love and marriage, but the place marriage holds in society. During this time in Victorian society and throughout history, many women married for financial security and social standing. It was only through their husbands that woman could hope continue living in the lifestyle to which they were privileged to gain political power. Lady Bracknell’s marriage was one of the marriages that was clearly for business and not for love. Wilde shows how Lady Bracknell has no emotions for Lord Bracknell; she doesn’t even really care about him but only uses him to increase her own social standing. Similarly, Lady Bracknell also does the same when she tries to “arrange” for an eligible suitor for her daughter Gwendolyn, not considering whether Gwendolyn loves the man or not. He must be in the same social standing as they are and must also belong to an aristocratic family. Lady Bracknell tells Jack, “You can hardly imagine that I and Lord Bracknell would dream of allowing our only daughter – a girl brought up with the utmost care – to marry into a cloak-room, and form an alliance with a parcel?” Although Jack is rich, he doesn’t have that name and social standing that Lady Bracknell wants rather she is dissatisfied when she finds out that he was found at a train station inside “a handbag!’’ Jack being found inside a handbag suggests that he was an abandoned baby out of illegitimacy which carried a huge social stigma in the Victorian era. Such babies were often delivered in secret and abandoned in a public place, like train stations as Jack’s situation perfectly

Throughout much of the play and especially the beginning, Wilde satirizes the setting in which both the characters as well as his audience live in. This satirization specifically requires that the audience be thoughtful whenever Wilde makes a joke, resulting in the thoughtful laughter which makes a true comedy. “The Importance of Being Earnest” is set during the late 20th century in Britain, a time period known as the Victorian Era, in which the British Empire was at its absolute peak. The dominance of Britain in world affairs resulted in a sense of

In the play, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, there is a lot of humor that can be found. Specifically, developed behind the characters in this play that display many instances of irony and how important it was to fit into the “status quo” of this time period. There are specific behaviors from the characters of Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen, and Algernon that portray Wilde’s opinion of society during the Victorian Age. The attitude of these characters is snobbish and their manners display double standards and superiority. The play’s use of mockery and irony of these satirical situations is meant to publicly ridicule the self- loving attitude of the upper class while exposing their true absence of intelligence which causes their absurd social behaviors

A final way Lady Bracknell's character creates comedy is via gender inversion and role reversal. Lady Bracknell is given a position of power and constantly makes it known; it could even be argues that she is the most powerful character in the play. For example, when talking to Jack she uses imperatives such as 'come here' and 'sit down immediately' which creates a stern

Oliver Parker’s (2002) film adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s play ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ is sadly completely consumed by the romantic comedy style, masking Wilde’s key concerns and detracting from important comic elements of the play. This can be observed through the varying representations of characters, the film’s lack of contextual jokes, the more prominent sub-plot between Dr Chasuble and Miss Prism, the addition of music and the way in which dialogue, while remaining true to the play, has lost meaning in the film.

During the Age of Enlightenment, people began believing in and relying upon rational thought instead of religious dogma to explain the world. This newfound emphasis on rationality promoted a breadth of freedom in speech that was previously unknown, a fact which was utilized by philosophers such as John Locke, Rousseau, and Sir Isaac Newton. In addition, the Age of Enlightenment produced famous writers who didn’t agree with the irrational politics and old traditions of their respective countries, and instead relied upon wit and satire to expose the corruption and poor human condition existing around them. These Enlightenment writers use irony in their satires to get their interpretations regarding the human condition across.

- first the name Ernest, which is the main focus of the play, and also

During the victorian era, traditional roles were considered to be significant. Women displayed as a face to be admired by the society while men are valued for their intellectual capabilities. Having written The Importance of Being Earnest during that period, Oscar Wilde knew that the gender roles were noteworthy that he decided to focus on one’s roles. While a lot say that the main role switch were given to women, I beg to differ. Wilde challenged the traditional views of gender roles in the play because of how he reciprocated what is expected of both genders by giving the men freedom to act out of morality and by granting women intellect and power.

Every line, every character, and every stage direction in The Importance of Being Earnest is set on supporting Oscar Wilde’s want for social change. The Importance of Being Earnest was written during the late period of the Victorian era. During this period social classification was taken very seriously. It could affect working and living conditions, education, religion, and marriage. Wilde explores the issues of social class and turns it into a comedic play. He humorously criticizes Victorian manners and attacking the society of the luxurious life. The audience becomes self-aware as the characters reflect on themselves. Plays such as this become successful because of the backgrounds the writers come from and the experiences they have had.

Wilde uses a deceptively flippant tone and irony to criticize the hypocrisy of the upper class in Victorian society in relation to living an earnest life. Earnestness as a virtue was of paramount importance during Victorian Society, with people constantly striving to live an earnest life, that is, a life of honesty and seriousness in intention and purpose. The Victorian society was passionately obsessed with the ideals of earnestness, that individuals in the upper middle class were pressured to go to any lengths to lead such a life, even if it meant a difference between what they said, how they acted in public and what they honestly thought. "My dear fellow, the truth isn't quite the sort of thing

Later, when Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen enter, two more ideas of marriage are brought to the forefront. Lady Bracknell portrays the aristocratic Victorian view of marriage but to a more extreme extent. According to Ziegenfuss, marriage in the Victorian era was not romanticized or fairytale-like. Love actually played a very minor role in the majority of matrimonies that took place. Engagement was entered into as one would approach a business deal, with rules and guidelines (Ziegenfuss). This is blatantly obvious when Lady Bracknell interviews Jack to see if he’s fit to marry Gwendolen. She attacks Jack with questions about family, fortune, and even place of residency and his answers need be appropriate for a union between the two families. (Kupske, Souza, 122). Even when Algernon wants to marry Cecily, Lady Bracknell voices, “I think some preliminary inquiry on my part would not be out place.” (Wilde, 46). Gwendolen, however, has the same view of marriage as Jack but, still has strong ideals about social protocol. This is seen when Jack tries to propose, she replies, “Of course I will darling…I am afraid you have had very little experience in how to propose!” (Wilde, 11)

A satire is a genre of literature that uses humour, irony, and/or exaggeration to criticize or show a character’s stupidity or vices. In this case, the literature is a play by Oscar Wilde. The Importance of Being Earnest is a comedic, satirical play that shows ridicule and mockery of the characters through the use of repetitions and parallels to ultimately show the real meaning of being earnest. Wilde’s play is a satirical play because two important characters named Algernon and Jack are living double lives under the same identity. The two characters live double lives in order to escape from reality and live life with no responsibilities. Although, in the end the two characters are caught and live more fulfilling lives under their christian names. This act of living a double life is a repetition presented throughout the play. Another action that is in the play which is linked to parallels, is Gwendolen and Cecily. Gwendolen and Cecily are parallels in that they say similar lines throughout the play and they both will only fall in love with a man named Ernest. The last idea that is linked with repetition is the marriage between Algernon and Cecily and the marriage between Jack and Gwendolen. Wilde’s play is a satisfactory example of a satire because of the irony, repetitions, and foils of each character.

Even though Cecily wasn’t poor she wanted to marry for love. In The Importance of Being Earnest, Cecily told Algernon, who was pretending to be Jack’s fake brother Earnest, that she had been engaged to him for months when he asked to marry her. She had fantasized loving him and engaged herself to him.