The Importance Of Being Earnest Satire Essay

Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is truly a satire. In The Importance of Being Ernest, Wilde mocks the society in Britain, and the rules it followed in the 1800s. He uses satire in the description of every character and other themes like marriage, intelligence, morality, and lifestyle primarily aimed at the upper class of the time. At the turn of every page the use of satire proves again and again to be ideal when questioning the morals and values of people.

The 1952 and 1986 interpretations of Oscar Wilde’s play were more elegant than the 2001 film. My reaction to this version was much different from my initial perspective. This interpretation of the play seems to be presented in a more serious and dramatic manner.

In the present context many of Wilde’s contextual jokes in the play may not be as humorous in the present context, thus it is understandable why Parker has placed more emphasis on the farcical jokes, which would appeal to a wider audience. When Wilde wrote the play it was at a time when literature was becoming more widely available for all citizens, wealthy or poor. This gave Wilde room to write as he did, making a mockery of the upper class, as the lower class would enjoy it. However that was over a century ago, and in the modern context people may not find this as relevant or quite as amusing. However, the farcical elements of the play, such as the plot, are the kind of jokes that can be understood in either context. Therefore, Parker has not focused on the contextual jokes, and instead on the farcical jokes. It is the farce nature of the plot that Parker has constructed his romantic comedy around. While this enables the film to be appreciated by a wider audience, it no longer embodies Wilde’s criticisms of the upper class, which was the crux of Wilde’s play. However, Parker not only stops at one overembellished farcical plot, but he does the same with an extended sub-plot.

Morgane Bensadoun The Importance Of Being Hypocritical Ideals are only as ideal as the advocate's moral conduct. Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is a comedic play that explores the convoluted beliefs of Victorian society through the use of satire. Wilde uses a satirical lens to examine not only the pretenses that typify Victorian culture but to explicate the fundamentals of the characters.

Oscar Wilde was an Irish poet born in October 1854. “In 1871, Wilde enrolled at Trinity College in Dublin. The years from 1874-1878 were spent at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he received a first class degree in Classics and the Newdigate Prize for poetry with his poetry submission of Ravenna.” (Bloom 11). Wilde was married to a daughter of a wealthy Irish barrister in 1884, and had two sons in the following years. (Bloom 11). Before he died in November 1900, he wrote several plays, including The Importance of Being Earnest. There are several themes placed throughout Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, such as: gender roles, love and marriage, and society v. hypocrisy.

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde is set in the Victorian era and is about lying and deceiving to make life more enjoyable. With the interaction between the characters, the upper class takes an indirect beating by Oscar Wilde. This use of satire is portrayed with wealth to show the arrogance and dishonesty that the members of this class hold. This is done through the use of Wilde’s parallel structure, through the reader’s characterization of the characters, and through the comedic conventions Wilde uses.

This satirical view is closely bound to the atmosphere of the time. The play itself deals itself with a typical Comedy of Manners storyline, the trivial social standards, love affairs and the aim of gaining the most money with the least effort. These subject matters are transfixed into a witty dialogue of which is usually a focal point of Comedy of Manners material. The play criticizes and upholds the Upper classes ideals at the same time. Oscar Wilde’s satirical view of the Upper class is a paradox in itself as he was part of it. The Importance of Being Earnest also supports elements of the well-made play.      

The theme of marriage is magnified throughout Oscar Wilde’s captivating novel, The Importance of Being Earnest. By ridiculing the cultural norms of this time, Wilde scrutinizes and comments on the Victorian age as a whole. Wilde utilizes several characters in his play to point out the absurd ideologies of the Victorian upper class society. A prime example of this is Lady Bracknell, a character who wholeheartedly believes that people of London who are “upper class” should have power, while those “below” should not. Lady Bracknell quickly becomes the driving force of the plot exhibiting the behavior of common Victorian Age citizens. The play’s blatant use of satire is intensified by the actions of Lady Bracknell to expose the outrageous principles

In the comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde, an abundance of humor can be found all throughout, in a variety of forms. From satirizing Victorian norms to dramatizing the relationship between Cecily Cardew and Algernon Moncrieff, Oscar Wilde uses wit and absurdity to induce a good laughter in his audience. Wilde begins the passage from Act II with an exaggeration on Cecily’s part. Cecily, being a young woman with plenty of time in her hands, possesses a diary in which she record the highlights of her day. As it was in that time, many Victorian women of higher status kept diaries to keep themselves busy.

The peculiarities of the Victorian society seem to have been the main inspiration of Oscar Wilde, who at that moment was well-known for his lifestyle, when writing his most famous comedy: The Importance of Being Earnest. Throughout this story various themes such as identity, the creation of fictions, lies, social class and marriage are discussed. The theme of marriage is the most outstanding of the play and is seen from different points of view. On the one hand, the theme highlights the comedy of the trivial situations that happen in the play. On the other hand, the seriousness with which some characters treat marriage, stands out emphasising that marriage is an important thing, especially for Victorian society. Either way, affirming that

Many people have not experienced the unique work of art known as a farce. After witnessing The Importance of Being Earnest, I have determined that a farce and a comedy can be described as opposite to a certain extent. A farce is ordinary people in a strange situation, while a comedy is unique people in an ordinary situation. Although not all people may see it this way, this is how I perceived Oscar Wilde’s classic which was clearly very ahead of its time. Richard Robichaux directed this work of art at the Pavillion Theatre from April 12-23 and focused on several particular elements/themes which build on each other in order to celebrate the comedic and historical genius of Wilde’s original work. More specifically, the play focuses on the notion of marriage and its greater role in society, the role of visual objects such as food and how they hold a much larger importance than they originally seem, and finally the use of puns in order to describe and envision Victorian society and delve into what the characters are actually

Oscar Wilde, the author of The Importance of Being Earnest lived and wrote during the Victorian era, a time that was characterized by an emphasis on severe ethical standards. In this comedy and satirical play, he makes fun of everything the Victorian society seems to consider sacred and essential for life. Throughout the play, there are countless areas of criticism Oscar Wilde brings to light that exist in the society. He makes fun of marriage and courtship and the class structure.

The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde’s last and most famous play, debuted in London on February 14, 1895. Throughout the play, one major theme seems to override the others. That theme is the role of marriage; the question of whether marriage as an institution is “pleasant” or “unpleasant” comes up repeatedly. It seems as if every character has a strong stance on the role of marriage and how it affects them, no matter how futile or unreliable that opinion may be. As a whole, The Importance of Being Earnest embodies a complete criticism of the role of marriage, representing both sides of the argument; by taking a

I think that Wilde was criticizing the uptightness and social standards of Victorian society. It is said in the literature book that Wilde was born in 1854 and died in 1900. Why is this important? Victoria’s reign lasted from 1837 to 1901. This proves that Wilde lived during Victoria’s reign and died during her reign as well. During Victoria’s reign, there were strict homosexual laws introduced to society (around 1885) and Oscar Wilde was a homosexual himself! As “The Importance of Being Earnest” was written in 1894, and as that was the peak of the Victorian Era, Oscar Wilde was making fun of the social

A central theme of English literature in the Victorian Era was the criticism of various facets of the society. With all the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution, authors such as Charles Dickens used their work to express their views on the social system and stratification of classes. Likewise, Oscar Wilde was a playwright whose criticism, expressed in the form of satire, mostly targeted the upper classes. His famous play The Importance of Being Earnest provides a prime example of the use of satire as a form of critique. Through the use of characterization and absurd language, Wilde mocks the value given to social institutions in the Victorian upper-class society. Specifically, he satirizes the socially constructed role of the