Intro To Importance Of Being Earnest

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court (verb)

Back 1

to try to win the favor, preference, or goodwill

of

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courting

Back 2

"...he spent a surprisingly large part of his life _____ publicity, and holding public court."

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Nihilism

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1. an extreme form of skepticism: the denial of all real existence or the possibility of an objective basis for truth.

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Nihilists

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Wilde had written two previous plays: Vera, or the _____, published in 1880 and produced in New York in August 1883...

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symbiosis

Back 5

the living together of two dissimilar organisms;

a relationship between two people in which each person is dependent upon and receives reinforcement, whether beneficial or detrimental, from the other.

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symbiotic

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The theatre presented him with unusual opportunities to exploit his gifts, and for an especially immediate and _____ interaction with his audience.

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lucrative

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profitable; moneymaking; remunerative

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lucrative

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It also offered a ______ source of income.

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flippant

Back 9

frivolously disrespectful, shallow, or lacking inseriousness; characterized by levity

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flippant

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It is a play, transparently, of modern life, with a non-conforming woman in the central role and a _____ mouthpiece for Wilde's epigrams,

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epigram

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any witty, ingenious, or pointed saying tersely

expressed

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epigrams

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It is a play, transparently, of modern life, with a non-conforming woman in the central role and a flippant mouthpiece for Wilde's ______,

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engross

Back 13

to occupy completely, as the mind or attention;

absorb

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engrossed

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"Ah, here is Oscar unlike himself!"--though in reality I became _____ in writing it, and it contains a great deal of the real Oscar.

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pastiche

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a literary, musical, or artistic piece consisting wholly or chiefly of motifs or techniques

borrowed from one or more sources

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pastiche

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The Duchess of Padua reads as _____, a revenge verse-drama with echoes of Shakespeare,Webster, and Shelley’s The Cenci.

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contrive

Back 17

to plan with ingenuity; devise; invent

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contrived

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"Wilde _____ to appear a little insouciant towards his comedies..."

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insouciant

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free from concern, worry, or anxiety; carefree;

nonchalant

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insouciant

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"Wilde contrived to appear a little _____ towards his comedies..."

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disparage

Back 21

to speak of or treat slightingly; depreciate;

belittle

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disparagingly

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"André Gide, who once wrote _____ of the plays, later revised his judgement..."

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shrewd

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astute or sharp in practical matters

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shrewdly

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_____,Wilde insisted on a percentage and earned £7,000 from it in the first year.

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frenetic

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frantic; frenzied

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frenetic

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The year 1894 was a productive, if _____, one for Wilde

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lucrative

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profitable; moneymaking; remunerative

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lucrative

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"...the need to create a ______ new property sharpened."

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propriety

Back 29

conformity to established standards of good orproper behavior or manners

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propriety

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The only name which survived into the final version is Miss Prism, dragon of _____ with designs on her employer.

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succumb

Back 31

to give way to superior force; yield

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succumbing

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"...while Douglas, installed at one point in the Grand Hotel at Brighton and _______ to flu, seems a demonic echo of the invalid Bunbury."

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clandestine

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characterized by, done in, or executed withsecrecy or concealment, especially for purposesof subversion or deception; private or surreptitious

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clandestine

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"Wilde, holed up for the summer at 5, The Esplanade, Worthing, practically penniless and with a _____ lover in tow..."

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transcend

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to rise above or go beyond; overpass; exceed

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transcended

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"Whatever the play's derivation, Wilde created something which _____ the genre of farce..."

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disconcert

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to disturb the self-possession of; perturb; ruffle

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disconcerting

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Wilde was "delighting his contemporary audience though _____ some of his admirers, most notably Shaw, who found it 'heartless'."

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idyll

Back 39

a simple descriptive or narrative piece in verse orprose

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idyll

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"Mary McCarthy would go further: she thought the play, though extremely funny, a 'ferocious _____': 'depravity is the hero and the only character'."

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trivial

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of very little importance or value; insignificant

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trivial

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The play is neither superficial, nor _____, but purely surface, purely play.

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matriarch

Back 43

the female head of a family or tribal line

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matriarch

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Appearance, style, fiction are treated as essence, not just by the wits and dandies, but by the butler, the 'serious' guardian, the ______, the ingénue, and, finally, by the governess and the clergyman.

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ingenue

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the part of an artless, innocent, unworldly girl or young woman, especially as represented on the stage

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ingenue

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"Appearance, style, fiction are treated as essence, not just by the wits and dandies, but by the butler, the 'serious' guardian, the matriarch, the _____ and, finally, by the governess and the clergyman."

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aesthetic

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having a sense of the beautiful; characterized bya love of beauty

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aesthetic

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Everything must be arranged into an _____ pattern..."

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egotist

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a conceited, boastful person

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egotists

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'...which satisfies the _____ who inhabit the story and who are endowed with the disarming innocence and ruthless tunnel-vision of children."

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dubious

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doubtful; marked by or occasioning doubt

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dubious

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"To confuse the issue, the events do not take place in some fanciful construction such as Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland or Samuel Butler's Erewhon, or in the ______ hotel or seaside boarding-house of popular farce..."

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subjugate

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to bring under complete control or subjection;conquer; master

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subjugating

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"Here he succeeds in _____ plot to dialogue so conclusively that one feels literally anything could happen without affecting his characters' aplomb."

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aplomb

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imperturbable self-possession, poise, or assurance

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aplomb

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"Here he succeeds in subjugating plot to dialogue so conclusively that one feels literally anything could happen without affecting his characters' ______ ."

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integral

Back 57

of, pertaining to, or belonging as a part of the whole; constituent or component

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integral

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The contrast between style and subject is The contrast between style and subject is _____.

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dénouement

Back 59

the final resolution of the intricacies of a plot, asof a drama or novel

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dénouement

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"The play achieves its power to disconcert by deploying traditional patterns, such as the _____"

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innuendo

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an indirect intimation (hint) about a person or thing, especially of a disparaging or a derogatory nature.

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innuendo

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"there is a lot more provocative sexual _____ than most critics have been willing to observe in Earnest."

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artifice

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a clever trick or stratagem; a cunning, crafty device or expedient; wile

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artifice

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"In this world of _______, each individual is autonomous, and separate..."

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autonomous

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self-governing; independent; subject to its own laws only

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autonomous

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"In this world of artifice, each individual is _____, and separate..."

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deprave

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to make morally bad or evil; vitiate; corrupt

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depravity

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"Mary McCarthy would go further: she thought the play, though extremely funny, a 'ferocious idyll': '______ is the hero and the only character'."

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celibacy

Back 69

abstention from sexual relations

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celibacy

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"the ceremonies of social life are stylishly exploded, just like Bunbury: death, birth, engagement, marriage, _____, fidelity, receive the same treatment.

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melodrama

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a dramatic form that does not observe the laws of cause and effect and that exaggerates

emotion and emphasizes plot or action at the

expense of characterization

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melodramatic

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"...Vera, a _____ treatment of Nihilism set in contemporary Russia, was actually put into rehearsal in London in November 1881..."

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adverse

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unfavorable or antagonistic in purpose or effect

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adverse

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Apart from The Importance of Being Earnest, these plays have consistently been subjected to _____ criticism as successful works of art, even where their value as entertainment, as vehicles for Wilde's wit, has been recognized.

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christening

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baptism

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christening

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Bertram became Geoffrey, and Ernest and the _____ motif appear.

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fidelity

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faithfulness, loyalty, strict observance of promises, duties

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fidelity

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"...the ceremonies of social life are stylishly exploded, just like Bunbury: death, birth, engagement, marriage, celibacy, _____ receive the same treatment."

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ostensibly

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apparently

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ostensibly

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"Vera, a melodramatic treatment of Nihilism set in contemporary Russia, was actually put into rehearsal in London in November 1881, but withdrawn, _____ because of political considerations."

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obtuse

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not quick or alert in perception, feeling, or

intellect; not sensitive or observant; dull

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obtuse

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"...they continue to appeal to late twentieth-century audiences in spite of the largely ______ commentaries of generations of theatre critics."

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tableau

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a picture, as of a scene

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tableau

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"...the closing _____ of The Importance of Being Earnest provides it with a superbly trivialized image."

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exponent

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a person or thing that expounds, explains, or interprets

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exponent

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"It is entirely natural that Wilde, a supreme _____ of conversation and experimenter with masks, should explore the medium of the theatre."

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dandy

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a man who is excessively concerned about hisclothes and appearance; a fop

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dandy

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"...Prince Paul, who anticipates the _____ of the later comedies."

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invert

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to turn upside down

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inversion

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"He achieves the total suspension of belief, creating a polished mirror into which his contemporary audience could gaze and see, if they chose, a disconcerting reflection, or _____ of themselves."

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motif

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a recurring subject, theme, idea, etc., especiallyin a literary, artistic, or musical work

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motif

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Bertram became Geoffrey, and Ernest and the christening _____ appear.

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dragon

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a fierce, violent person; a very watchful and

strict woman

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dragon

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The only name which survived into the final version is Miss Prism, _______ of propriety with designs on her employer.

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endow

Back 95

to provide with a permanent fund or source of income; to furnish, as with some talent, faculty,

or quality; equip

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endow

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who are _____ with the disarming innocence and ruthless tunnel-vision of children.