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 2530 years of the 1800s. Wilde wittily asserts that victorians believe that. In his introduction, sinfield argues explicitly against reading earnest as a play about homosexual desire although he remains sympathetic toward the impulse to provide such a reading. Oscar wildes the importance of being earnest, a trivial comedy for serious. In this play, he satirizes and mocks the victorian society particularly the institution of marriage, morality and show off. Because we realize that there is a pun between the adjective earnest and the proper name ernest, we can interpret jacks comment as tongueincheek. The importance of being earnest, in particular, was immensely popular, its run cut short only by the reallife scandal that overtook the playwright. The importance of being earnest draws on elements of farce and melodrama in its depiction of a particular social world.
Synchronicity and the trickster in the importance of being earnest. The aristocratic victorians valued duty and respectability above all else. The importance of being earnest victorian society wilde. Despite jacks statement that hes learned the importance of being earnest or the importance of being honest, we must question his sincerity. This means that all secret identities are revealed and all the couples can get married in a socially acceptable way. Earnestness a determined and serious desire to do the correct thing was at the top of the code of conduct. The chasuble is a priest who delivers sermons just to satisfy the moods of the audience.
Professor john stokes considers how oscar wilde combined disparate influences into a brilliant satire which contained hidden, progressive sentiments. Satire in the importance of being earnest english literature. He is writing a monograph on the history of literary criticism and is a columnist for the times higher education supplement. The importance of being earnest was an early experiment in victorian melodrama. I propose that the importance of being earnest allows for two readings. A marxist criticism on the importance of being earnest free. The rising action of the plot occurs throughout act ii, and is the longest part of the plot. Wildes farcical and irreverent comedy of manners follows the adventures of two stylish young gentlemen in 1890s london.
The listed critical essays and books will be invaluable for writing essays and papers on the importance of being earnest. The importance of being earnest literature essay samples. The importance of being earnest study guide contains a biography of oscar wilde, literature essays, a complete etext, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Irony situational irony situational irony occurs when there is a discrepancy between what is. Literary devices in the importance of being earnest by. The summary of the play will enable you to understand the storyplot of the play. 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 importance of being earnest quotes course hero. Appearance was everything, and style was much more important than substance. Both readings have their limits and privilege the performance.
Miss prism expresses literary conventions of the time, which wilde mocks. Wilde was also infamous for writing duplicate content. The importance of the importance of being earnest utah. Dualism in oscar wildes the importance of being earnest gupea. Jeremy lalonde bio i propose that the importance of being earnest allows for two readings. Critical essays themes in the importance of being earnest. The following quotes by characters in the importance of being earnest reveal oscar wildes clever wit in holding the mirror up to reveal truth and human nature. Themes in the importance of being earnest cliffsnotes. The main character and protagonist of this play is john worthing known as jack in the city. Because it uses satire to ridicule these instituitions, it shows the deviance from the social order by making ridiculous the ideas of standards, morals and manners. A suggested list of literary criticism on oscar wildes the importance of being earnest. The popular attitudes of the day about the french, literary criticism, and books are also subjects of wildes humor. Hyperbole in the importance of being earnest uk essays.
Similarly, the attraction of gwendolens mother towards cecily after getting aware of her status and fortune and her hate for jack because of not being of a high class also exposes the false ego practised by victorian society. Pdf criticism in oscar wildes the importance of being earnest. As the editors of the oxford anthology of english literature put it, the. Dualism in oscar wildes the importance of being earnest author. In this post, you are going to study the play the importance of being earnest written by oscar wilde. Literary devices in the importance of being earnest by kelli. Many commentators assume that queerness, like murder, will out, so there must be a gay scenario lurking somewhere in the depths of the importance of being earnest. The importance of being earnest is a play by oscar wilde that was first published in 1898. These quips show the characters insight and changing points of view show the deception and thought processes of the characters hypocrisy, the nature of truth begin to show historical context.
In parallel, ashbery, in his interview with earnest, explains his use of the neutral pronoun. The plays main characters epitomize victorian high society. In the late 19th century, when the importance of being earnest was written, homosexuality was illegal in england, as it was in most of the western world, and wilde was persecuted for his orientation by both literary critics who thought his work was lewd and shouldnt be read, as algernon alludes to here and by the government, who imprisoned. Literary criticism importance of being earnest youtube. Jack is not really an earnest man, thought he calls himself ernest, and gwendolen does not really want to marry an earnest man, but a man earnest is name only. A play on words so that a single word can have multiple meanings, puns not only reveal characters cleverness but also suggest wildes own opinions on certain topics. Im terribly thirsty, and the weather out here isnt doing any good for my complexion. Therefore, when analyzing the importance of being ernest, one must consider it is a piece of entertainment, which did in. If the eccentric or unusual is to be replaced with correct behavior and thought. The importance of being earnest literary analysis the paper. Wildes main criticism in the play is with the institution of marriage. It ends happily, resolving any tensions in such a way that all the characters get what they desire. An introduction to the importance of being earnest the.
Get an answer for discuss the importance of being earnest as a critique of victorian society. It is, as can probably be surmised from its extraordinary toings and froings and its incredibly unlikely resolution, is. Some of the most polemical, divisive, and canonical forces of 20thcentury american art criticism are found sidebyside in jarrett earnests new collection of interviews. The importance of being earnest themes english summary. The importance of being earnest literary criticism youtube. An analysis of the play called importance of being earnest with feminist. First performed in london on the year 1895, the play is a ridiculous comedy in which the protagonists maintain a fake persona to escape the tiresome social obligations.
Wildes own wit and intellect make for an excellent view of the classes of the previous era. Anyone who needs help understanding the historical and literary context of the importance of being earnest will benefit from the lessons in this chapter. Both readings have their limits and privilege the performance either of class or of sexuality in the play. Wilde was influenced by walter pater, the cofounder of the aesthetic movement in art, literature and criticism for whom all art forms are selfsufficient.
See a complete list of the characters in the importance of being earnest and indepth analyses of jack worthing, algernon moncrieff, gwendolen fairfax, and cecily cardew. Set in england and published in 1895, it is one of wildes bestloved works. Discuss the importance of being earnest as a critique of. Read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. Historical analysis of oscar wilds the importance of being earnest. This concept has come to be the brick and mortar of the wry play the importance of being earnest by oscar wilde the significance of the notion of being earnest is contradicted in the play, through wildes clever use of words, characters digression of societal normalcy, and triviality of victorian concepts. Filled with witty victorian aphorisms and wildes own brand of wisdom, the importance of being earnest tells the story of jack worthing and algernon moncrieff who use clever deception and truthbending to accommodate their social pursuits. The importance of being earnest is most obviously a comic critique of. This essay presents a plot summary of oscar wildes the importance of being earnest and provides historical, societal, religious, scientific, and biographical contexts for the play. May 15, 2014 the importance of being earnest draws on elements of farce and melodrama in its depiction of a particular social world. The importance of being earnest full text act i owl eyes.
Various reference works describe literary criticism as essentially an opinion, supported by evidence, relating to theme, style, setting, historical context, or political. The importance of being earnest combines a labyrinthine plot, the seemingly irresolvable narrative of a farce, and some of the most comic and wittiest lines ever written. Oscar wilde was an established writer of the late 1800s who had a gift of being witty. The importance of being earnest by oscar wilde 9 words 4 pages.
Importance of being earnest, there are two principal male characters, jack and. This unit will also make you familiar with the age of oscar wilde. It is a work that will be a not only viewed as a comedic triumph, but also as a social one as well. The dazzling conversationalistnorton 1720 was once reported by yeats whom said, i never before heard a man talking with perfect sentences, as if he had written them all overnight with labor and yet all spontaneousnorton 1720. The importance of being earnest is a capitalc comedy. Before getting to the analysis, it serves great importance first to define that historical, literary criticism is an evaluation of a literature work based on the facts such as. When analyzing a piece of literature work, a student makes use of different literary criticism techniques which facilitates the individual to carry out a thorough analysis of the literature work that the students is working on. Oscar wildes play the importance of being earnest is both humorous and lighthearted. Historical analysis of oscar wilds the importance of being. In oscar wildes, the importance of being earnest, satire is used to emphasize the triviality and absurdity of certain conventions within victorian society. Literary devices in the importance of being earnest owl eyes. Brief, humorous statements divulging a truth about humankind, epigrams along with wildes use of satire making fun of someone or something to expose corruptionmost distinctly reveal wildes criticism of the upper classes. And his adept use of truth in jest makes the importance of being earnest a perennial favorite of western theatre audiences and literary critics.
Below the surface of the light, brittle comedy, however, is a serious subtext that. An analysis of the play called importance of being earnest. A marxist criticism on the importance of being earnest. Mar 27, 2014 the play makes a great example for a marxist criticism on the effect of classes on literature. A marxist criticism on the importance of being earnest essays. Formatted with wide spacing and margins and extra pages between scenes for your own notes and ideas write on literature. Formatted with wide spacing and margins and extra pages between scenes for your own notes and ideas write on literature by oscar wilde aug 17, 2019. Every page, every line of dialogue, every character, each symbol, and every stage direction in the importance of being earnest is bent on supporting wildes contention that social change happens as a matter of thoughtfulness. The importance of being earnest is considered to be the most famous and his most original work. Table of contents next page downloadable printable version the importance of being earnest. These different standpoints overlap but i have looked upon the postcolonial aspect as one context in which the doubling is borne out. Literary devices examples in the importance of being earnest. The play set within the late victorian london centers its themes on important social institutions such as marriage,and other victorian ways satire. Learn the important quotes in the importance of being earnest and the chapters theyre from, including why theyre important and what they mean in the context of the book.
It is, as can probably be surmised from its extraordinary toings and froings and its incredibly unlikely resolution, is not to be taken as a serious drama. Oscar wilde importance of being earnest essay bartleby. He led a miserable life due to personal problems, marital issues, imprisonment, harsh criticism, and trails because of homosexuality. Multiple critical perspectives, prestwick house, 2008 a brief history of feminist literary theory. The importance of being earnest by oscar wilde uses satire to ridicule the cultural norms of marriage love and mindset which were very rigid during the victorian age. Literary devices in the importance of being earnest pun epigram an epigram is a short, witty, and sometimes contradictory statement that usually ends with an ingenious turn of thought. The subtitle of the play is a trivial comedy for serious.
Historical analysis of oscar wilds the importance of. Literary devices in the importance of being earnest oscar wilde creates a comedic tone using puns, situational irony, dramatic irony, satire, and epigrams. First performed in london on the year 1895,the play is a ridiculous comedy in which the protagonists maintain a fake persona to escape the tiresome social obligations. My thesis is that wilde employed the wellestablished late victorian concept of double identity as well as a dualistic. The british empire was at its height and occupied much of the globe, including ireland, wildes homeland. Declan kiberd presents wilde as a key figure of the irish renaissance and as a militant nationalist, and he has even analyzed wildes most popular play, the importance of being earnest, through this republican lens. In this essay i explore the dualism in oscar wildes most famous society comedy the importance of being earnest. The importance of being earnest literary analysis the. The importance of being earnest west ada school district. The importance of being earnest as social criticism. The importance of being earnest 1895 by oscar wilde. Ive now realised for the first time in my life the vital importance of being earnest jack, act iii, pg 54. A marxist criticism on the importance of being earnest excuse me geoffrey, could you get me some more water. The importance of being earnest has proven to be oscar wildes most enduringand endearingplay.