Oscar Wilde is well known for the satire involved within his plays. The Importance of Being Earnest is not an exception to this. Wilde created a brilliant comedy that mocked different aspects of the Victorian lifestyle and unrealistic ideals. Part of the brilliance within this satirical piece is that Wilde mocked the very people that constructed his audience. While the play may be mocking of its own audience, it also draws them in by creating a relatable unrealistic world. In order to…
She represents women of the Victorian upper class society and believes that those of high class should be the ones in power. She has very little opinion of those with no title, or money and views the upper class society as being a `closed club.' In other words, most people don't deserve to be in it unless they were born into it. She appears as a guardian of society in that she forcefully dictates who should marry who in the play. In the first scene, Gwendolen is unable to…
Being My Own Best Friend: Isolation in The Perks of Being a Wallflower Loneliness is something that many teenagers experience during their time in high school. Loneliness can shape one’s character in drastic ways, and can even dictate their personal decisions. The impact of loneliness is something that is explored in detail in The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Through the depiction of unhealthy relationships, irrational character behaviour, and declines in mental health,…
Honesty is an important aspect of many agreements in everyday life. It is important in school, work and other aspects, like marriage. In Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, the satire of an upper-class Victorian marriage can also be seen as a parody of the noble Victorian society as a whole. Wilde uses short dialogue to mock upper-class marriage in order to highlight and ridicule the flashbacks of society as a whole during this Victorian era. Wilde’s clever mind comes up with the…
dramatists in England, and especially to Congreve and Wycherley; but it is a type of comedy which can flourish in any civilized urban society, and we see it again in Sheridan (1751-1816). This kind of comedy makes fun not so much of individual human beings and their humors as of social groups and their fashionable manners. It is general satirical, though in a good-natured way. The comedy of manners is a highly artificial form of drama and is generally full of verbal wit. So, like…
Also Victor is deciding his friend about how he looks. After his friend shows him how to scowl he thinks it is not him. This shows Victor needs to stop being subjective towards people.The author states, “‘..., Victor tried scowling. He felt foolish, until out of the corner of his eye he saw a girl looking at him.”’ (Soto 23) This shows how Victor instead of deciding what Micheal (his friend) did he tested…
The Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde, ca. 1894 “Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about.” - Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere's Fan Oscar Wilde liked to write plays that pointed at the aristocracy and nouveau riche in a critical way, but of course, written in a funny way so that his work became satirical. Oscar Wilde was therefore a brilliant writer of comedies of manners, the entertainment form that satirizes the manners of a social class, in Wilde’s case, the high…
In Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde uses satire to ridicule the strict expectations of marriage and the Victorian aristocracy. He breaks from what is socially acceptable by creating extravagant situations and including eccentric characters. With its outlandish scenarios, “Wilde now uses, as plot, a purely farcical intrigue” (135 Roditi). The play involves changing of identity, misunderstanding lovers, and unexpected surprises. Each act leads to the events of the next act…
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is a beautifully written piece of literature about a young boy’s first year of high school. The main character, Charlie, is a socially awkward teen, just entering high school, who is struggling to cope with past events that have left him a shattered mess of emotions. He is wallflower, watching life unfold before him, although he never actually “participates”. He meets Sam and her stepbrother…
Have you ever noticed something that seemed ridiculous or petty but everyone never said anything bad about it? Well, that is exactly how Oscar Wilde felt about the Victorian upper class. In the play “The Importance of Being Earnest”, Oscar Wilde uses the characters to portray how he viewed the Victorian upper class. Wilde satirizes the Victorian upper class by using understatements about serious matters, bringing attention to the comedic behaviors of the characters, and portraying the humourous…