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How Does Oscar Wilde Use Humor

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In Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest there are multiple types of humor. Oscar Wilde was known for being quite humorous and he shows this throughout the story. This story has grown to be very popular and has been made into countless stage productions and even three films. The Importance of being Earnest can thank its humor and hysterical tone for making it into the widely known and loved play that it is today. One type of humor that is found in The Importance of Being Earnest is inversion humor. Inversion humor is when someone goes against logical reasoning and says expressions that make little to no sense at all. In inversion humor, the end of the phrase being said is typically the opposite of what you expect to be said, and is very unpredictable. One of many instances where this type of humor is found is when Cecily says, “I don’t like novels that end happily. They depress me so much” (Wilde, Act II P.2311). As you can see she begins with saying she does not like happy endings and then contradicts the meaning of the word happy and says that they depress her. There are numerous other instances where inversion humor is used and it adds greatly to the tone of the story. …show more content…

A satire is typically a writing style that focuses on criticizing an individual, social class, or a society by using humor or a hyperbole. Satires are used to ridicule shortcomings and do it in a funny or comical manner. Lady Bracknell is an excellent example of satirical humor. When she is contemplating whether not she approves of Earnest she points out all of his flaws and then gives a funny, unexpected response. She criticizes him for living on the wrong side of the street that has houses that are not quite as nice as the other sides. Algernon is also a great example of a satire. He is known as self-centered and will blame anyone except himself when problems arise

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