The Importance Of Being Earnest Essay

Decent Essays
In the last line of Oscar Wilde’s comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest, Jack Worthing exclaims: “I’ve now realized for the first time in my life the vital importance of being earnest” (Wilde III). This line perfectly sums up the irony present throughout Wilde’s entire play. The characters within are revealed to be superficial and adamant about conforming to society’s standards. Although it may not be obvious at first, Wilde’s attempt to live as a homosexual during the Victorian period parallels the lies and fabrications created by Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff. Inspired by his controversial experience as a homosexual man in the Victoria era, Wilde uses ironic dialogue between characters, situational irony, and the theme of deceit …show more content…
When Lady Bracknell discusses Cecily’s eligibility to be married, she states ironically: “We live, I regret to say, in an age of surfaces” (Wilde III). Jeremy Lalonde states that the play “subjects the social institutions of its milieu to ridicule but stops short of advocating specific reforms” (666). Allegedly, a few critics agree that because Oscar Wilde was gay, he attempted to disrupt the norms of men and women in Victorian society. Lalonde claims that “throughout the play, Wilde celebrates the breakdown of the traditional family unit…this celebration is the effect of Wilde’s own disavowal of heterosexist institutions” (668). He gives Jack Worthing an untraditional upbringing and presents how others judge based on parentage and bloodlines. Lady Bracknell tells Jack: “I would strongly advise you, Mr. Worthing, to try and acquire some relations as soon as possible, and to make a definite effort to produce at any rate one parent, of either sex, before the season is quite over” (Wilde I). This obsession with coming from a proper family is clearly a theme Wilde is mocking. His unconventional affair with fellow poet Lord Alfred Douglas was viewed as highly improper during the time period and did not align whatsoever with Victorian standards of

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Individuality in The Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest takes place in the Victorian Era in Europe, showcasing the strict societal rules and the pressure they cause to attempt to remove individuality from the society by having characters follow the proper upper class stereotypes (being rude to lower class, choosing marriages for money, etc.) By showing the upper class standards and stereotypical snobby behavior through multiple characters, Wilde highlights the few characters who choose to stand out and maintain their individuality by means such as trying to do whatever makes them happy or completely disregarding the social norms. Many characters such as Jack, an upper class man living in the Victorian era, stand out from the crowd by choosing to value living to seek his own happiness, which is different from the Victorian era expectation of being motivated by wealth and status since happiness doesn’t always include these. By following his heart, he maintains individuality from many of the other upper class characters. During the Victorian era, huge weight was placed on marriage.…

    • 1205 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Social rules are not written, but everyone must have knowledge of them and follow them when the time is appropriated, however, the social decorum that is followed during the early nineteenth century are rules that should not be broken. In such times the women were expected to act certain ways and to respond in accordance to the social decorum. Elizabeth, who resides in the landed gentry’s social class, during the early nineteenth century was expected to become a wife, which is the only socially acceptable course of action to take for a women; as working in a profession would deem them unworthy. During Mr. Collins stay at Longbourn, he proposes to Elizabeth in hope to impress Lady Catherine, however, Elizabeth responds, “I thank you again and again for the honour you have done me in your proposals, but to accept them is absolutely impossible. My feelings in every respect forbid it.…

    • 1822 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Wilde parodies his characters’ obsessions with maintaining an aristocratic…

    • 1322 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, the differentiation between the town and the country is a great, lurking source of conflict between characters, often in regards to the class-distinction characteristic of Victorian society. Location proves to be a serious contention of Lady Bracknell’s as she considers Jack’s engagement to Gwendolen, assumptions about the city and country exacerbate the rift in Gwendolen and Cecily’s friendship, and the obligations of both places cause the creation of Ernest Worthing and Mr. Bunbury by Jack and Algernon in order to escape from their respective settings. While Wilde’s emphasis on the contrast of the town and the country is subtle, it is integral to the plotline of the play and the thoughts and actions of its characters. This juxtaposition creates tension that leads to the unraveling of Jack and Algernon’s double lives, foreshadowing and surrounding the climatic moments of the play.…

    • 1196 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Often, literary work are adapted to the big screen, which brings in different interpretations and adjustment of the original written piece. These subtle or distinguishable adjustments made by the director can be seen as either positive or negative to film reviewers and viewers. Director and screenwriter Oliver Parker film adaptation of the play, The Importance of Being Earnest, holds similarities to Wilde’s original play and likewise include changes from the original play. Overall, Oliver Parker film adaptation takes Wilde’s original concept and brings changes in the characters, setting, and theme of the original play.…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A. Poague. " The Importance of Being Earnest: The Texture of Wilde 's Irony. " Modern Drama 16.3 (1973): 251-257.…

    • 1780 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Oscar Wilde portrays two of the very most self-indulgent characters I've ever find out about. When presented first, Jack port Worthing seems as an honest character. He principles honor and work. Algernon Moncrieff, on the other hand, behaves and revels in it selfishly. He will not make an effort to hide or excuse his behavior.…

    • 201 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In The Importance Of Being Earnest, the play by Oscar Wilde, he brings out serious issues through humor and slapstick style of comedy. The cucumber sandwiches scene really brings out the slapstick style of the play. In the play when Jack was eating the cucumber sandwiches and his buddy was trying to get some, he said it was improper to eat the sandwiches. When his buddy asked him why it was okay for Jack to eat the sandwiches he replied with “Well she’s my aunt”. Which is actually ironic because it turns out they are brothers and she was both of their aunts.…

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One’s personal identity what either allows or inhibits one from interacting with society in its entirety. However, the societal class in which a character was born, or thrust, into is of as much importance, if not more, as a character’s personal sense of self. Both Oscar Wilde’s, “The Importance of Being Earnest” and Robert Louis Stevenson’s, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” develop themes around the central ideology of self-identity versus how an entire society views the individual. “The Importance of Being Earnest” is a sharp, satirical play that quickly and effectively points out the flaws and hypocrisy of the wealthy upper class as the focus remains largely on how society views and, therefore, forms opinions of the individual. The Victorian Age serves as a shining example of society’s upper class and their infatuation with themselves.…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    In Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Ernest, each character has a distinct alter ego that they wear at some point during the play. Authorities on Wilde 's play have described Bunburying as “the confusion and then the restoration of identities” (Craft 23). The first introduced is called Bunbury. After this first instance of role-playing, the name Bunbury, or the term Bunburying comes to apply primarily to the two male leads throughout the rest of the play, and to equate to a false identity. The protagonist, Jack, Bunburys as his troublesome younger brother Ernest, so that he can experience a life in town as well as one in the country.…

    • 2427 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Again, Wilde is satirizing the institution of marriage, as it is not based on love, but on more vain superficial criteria. Although in this case there is exaggeration used to satirize the vanity of the aristocrats, Wilde still brings across the point that both Gwendolen and Cecily may have refused to marry the `men of their dreams' if their names weren't…

    • 1982 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Student name Professor Course Date The Importance of Being Earnest: Honesty vs. Lies “The Importance of Being Ernest” by Oscar Wilde was first played in 1895 at the St James’s Theatre in London. The major theme that the play revolves around is trivial notions that critical institutions like marriages are being shown. In other words, it was a satire of the Victorian ways.…

    • 958 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Webster’s dictionary defines earnest as a serious and intent mental state. This definition of earnest brings to mind many respected people who have influenced society in a positive manner. Oscar Wilde takes advantage of these initial reactions to the thought of being earnest to spin a story of Victorian Era upper class practices to challenge the world he lived in. Through his play The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde uses the notion of being earnest to display the absurdity that is deeply rooted in upper class Victorian Era beliefs and the hypocrisy that is easily accepted, and because of how the characters react to being trivial Wilde is able to reveal the shocking morality that comes through being openly immoral.…

    • 1374 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Importance of Being Earnest is a play about two young fellows in 19th century England who lead double lives and their lies have in the long run caught up to them as a result of their affection. While it appears to be clear to me that the play is a parody of Victorian ethics and values in the silliness of the characters and the plot, what I discover all the more intriguing is Wilde's utilization of gender role reversal. By having his female characters go up against the parts of men and his male characters go up against the parts of ladies, I find that that Wilde does a very nice job turning Victorian values upside down and demonstrating their flaws. Lady Bracknell appears to encapsulate this role reversal more than all of the other characters.…

    • 604 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Importance of Being Earnest is about a character called Jack Worthing, who is the guardian of an eighteen-year-old girl called Cecily Jacobs. For years, to escape from the responsibiities in the country, Jack pretended to have an irresponsible brother called Earnest in the city whom he has to visit every once in a while to get him out of trouble. In fact, Jack is known in the city as Earnest and leads the kind of life he criticizes his imaginary brother for. No one knew that fact except for Jack's bestfriend Algernon who also invented an imaginary sick friend called Bunbury; he uses him to escape from boring social events. Jack is in love with Algernon's cousin Gwandalon and decides to propose to her one day.…

    • 738 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics