The importance of being earnest essays

The importance of being earnest essays

 · The Importance of Being Earnest is a trivial comedy for serious people written by Oscar Wilde and set in late Victorian London. The comedy is made purposely to criticise the aristocratic. The play’s crucial themes are the triviality with which it treats institutions as serious as marriage, and the satire of the Victorian system and their strong beliefs at the time.4/5(1) view essay example. The Importance of Being Earnest 5 Pages. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde and Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw are both satirical plays meant to criticize Victorian society and war, respectively. While both plays were written by Irish authors familiar with London and both were first performed Essay Writing Service. The importance of being earnest is referred to as a comedy of manners because it ironically describes the conduct of the Victorian upper class. The play describes their behavior in a hypocritical manner. The play seems to be making fun of them

"The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde | Free Essay

Oscar Wilde had written during the Victorian time which was an era that laid much emphasis on moral values, the importance of being earnest essays. It can be contended that The Importance of Being Earnest is in essence a play on morality since the major argument surfacing after its reading relates to honesty as being the best policy. Although the learning from the play strengthens the values as prevailing during the period, there is quite a lot in the play that is not as per convention.

This he was able to do by making use of the untraditional relationships and images. The Importance of Being Earnest was the last play written by The importance of being earnest essays Wilde and it undoubtedly became the most celebrated. George Bernard Shaw and H G Wells considered the play amongst the funniest that were ever written and to this day the play continues to absorb and entertain theatre lovers through out the world. The play makes fun of the literary world, the aristocratic society and the customs and mannerisms of the British, while at the same time questions the concept of identity.

The plans of the different characters in the play are seen to be going topsy-turvy due to the occurrence of unexpected developments. Wilde has skilfully taken up the issues of romantic gamesmanship, social ambitions and class pretensions through wit sharpened dialogues.

Although some of the succinct and inconsistent statements relate to contemporary happenings, most of them are general manifestations of beauty, classes, women and men. Most of the statements are being quoted to this day and keep on delighting the audience with their mix of absurdities and sophistication. Other than revealing the beauty, the play is a masterpiece in depicting Victorian styles as prevalent during the time, especially in relation to morality and marriage.

For long, the importance of being earnest essays, marriage had been a significant issue and Wilde had depicted its scheming use as a social instrument of progression. Other than Miss Prism, all the ladies in the play are seen as having hidden motives in regard to romance. Wilde has convincingly criticized the superficial ways of politeness as practiced by society and has outlined the nature of the shallow masks that were worn by aristocratic Victorians, the importance of being earnest essays.

A major source of humour in the play is the confused source of values as displayed by the characters. Wilde had impressed upon his actors to speak out their words very seriously so that the audience did not think that they were joking. Although in essence the play is a comedy that relates to protocol, it has openly used ridiculous means to minimize its significance.

Fortunately the audience is ever willing to ignore the inconsistency and indiscretions in the play. Within the structure of the play one can feel the allusions of homosexuality implied in the male characters. It is known that while he was writing this play, Wilde was leading a twin life of a married man as also of a homosexual. The original audiences of the play were utterly shocked at the reference of such a culture in the play and unfortunately for Wilde, the success of the play was not carried too further as his well known trial began after the opening night of the play and his career began to get loose.

There are two major issues forming the critique of The Importance of Being Earnest. Firstly, although the play was very well received by audiences when it opened for the first time, critics during the time openly questioned the moral aspects pertinent in the play. The second issue relates to the dramatic framework of the play in exhibiting aspects of parody, comedy of manners and mockery. Critics have been unable to come to a conclusion in regard to what category the play belongs to.

Critics are divided on the issue of morality in The Importance of Being Earnest. Roditi felt that the play did not have ethical perspectives since no character saw through other characters nor criticized their values. Consequently there was a superficial cover up of the white lies that maintained politeness in the so the importance of being earnest essays polite society, which alone was able to give the plot a moral meaning.

This is exemplified by the instance in the play when Algernon is criticized by Lady Bracknell for having taken care of his make believe friend, Bunberry who was supposed to make a decision whether he was going to die or live. Lady Bracknell is not protected from her own shortcomings in being extra earnest. She disapproves of marriages amongst mercenaries and admits that when she had married Lord Bracknell she did not have any fortune, which implied that she was opposed to marrying for money, and that she was not in possession of much wealth at the time she married a wealthy man.

In all, the play has not endorsed social dishonesty and for some time it makes a mockery of respectability. This is so because Algeron, in trying to escape the pretence of conventions, becomes a hypocrite himself when he pretends to be a person that he actually is not. Wilde has conveyed that the so called Victorian morality forced people to lead a life of double standards, one that was frolicsome and another that was respectable, none of them being solemn.

A critical issue in the play relates to the categorization of the play. The characters have not been ironic enough by way of saying something but meaning something else. He is shocked at convention. This makes things conventional out of unconventional situations. Instead of being a comedy of manners or a mockery, Forster believed that Wilde used characters and familiar plot devices satirizing the Victorian community.

The relationship that Jack the importance of being earnest essays with Gwendolen symbolizes the problems faced by lovers in being forced to stay away from getting married due to class differences. A common feature of romantic literature pertains to falling in love at first sight which too is demonstrated by Wilde the importance of being earnest essays total contrast when Cecily falls in love with Algernon, not at first sight but simply because she is under the impression that his name is Everest.

In appearing to be innocent and protected, Cecily conveys that it would become a hypocritical situation if Algernon tries to be good while trying to project himself as being fiendish. In essence the dramatic troubles as identified by some critics in the play, are seen as being its strengths, the importance of being earnest essays. Forster emphasizes that the whole point of the play lies in the machinations of its plot and the convenience outlined behind the numerous coincidences that are neatly placed in its resolutions.

Bob Nelson, The Importance of Being EarnestA study Guide. Eric Bentley, The Playwright as Thinker,Harvest Books Foster, Richard. Reinert, Otto. This paper was written and submitted to our database by a student to assist your with your own studies. You are free to use it to write your own assignment, however you must reference it properly. If you are the original creator of this paper and no longer wish to have it published on StudyCorgi, request the removal.

StudyCorgi Literature, the importance of being earnest essays. Table of Contents. Thesis Statement. Morality and marriage. Learn More, the importance of being earnest essays. We will write a custom essays specifically for you! Print Сite this. A Hero: Character Definition in Literature, the importance of being earnest essays.

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 · The Importance of Being Earnest is a trivial comedy for serious people written by Oscar Wilde and set in late Victorian London. The comedy is made purposely to criticise the aristocratic. The play’s crucial themes are the triviality with which it treats institutions as serious as marriage, and the satire of the Victorian system and their strong beliefs at the time.4/5(1) Essay Writing Service. The importance of being earnest is referred to as a comedy of manners because it ironically describes the conduct of the Victorian upper class. The play describes their behavior in a hypocritical manner. The play seems to be making fun of them “The Importance of Being Earnest,” a play by Oscar Wilde, is a satire, ridiculing class, gender, and marriage. This essay will describe some points from each of these sections, as well as give a brief synopsis of the play these examples come from. The Importance of being Earnest includes three acts, with seven major characters