A satire is a literary device which is implied to ridicule the follies, abuses, stupidity and faults of either an individual or an entire society in the notion of not to defame it but to reform it. It allows the The Importance Of Being Earnest Literary Analysis 1106 Words | 5 Pages Wilde had a purpose in writing this play about Victorian society. | Thus, Wield through his all-rounded characters shows that while it is right to exhibit acceptable behavior while in the public, the same people tend to deviate from the moral codes when not in public. Nevertheless, Wilde is satirical of this Victorian ideal especially when he exposes the hypocrisy behind behaving properly in the public. For instance, the adherence to the Victorian ideals led the people to live dual lives whereby they tried to exhibit the socially acceptable behaviors in public but at the same time breaking the social norms to meet their desires like Jack and Algernon. Oscar Wilde has targeted the Victorian Society of England in his own language. As such, this paper’s primary objective is to discuss why Wilde satirizes the viewers whom he expects to buy the tickets to watch the play and the reaction he might be aiming to evoke in his audience. But he had a country name Jack. He was generally viewed as a controversial symbol for Aestheticism, mainly because of his appearance. This love devoid of emotional depth is satirized by Wilde in the play. The use of Earnest in the play denotes the qualities of an ideal man in the Victorian era and which include a man who is passionate, loving, sincere, trustworthy, and honorable. Born to a family of unabashed Irish agnostics, the self-proclaimed “dandy” valued art, […], Wilde’s purpose in writing this play about Victorian society was to expose the foolishness of the society and show readers that the posh people and their social values were ridiculous. In The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde pokes fun at the upper class by showing them to be fickle, dishonest and snobbish. Particularly, the upper middle classes were encumbered by the folly of rushing for the hollow ideals of earnestness. This haughty trend available in the upper middle class people is critically exposed by Wilde in this play. It carried the meaning of an ideal Victorian man/husband who was supposed to be loving, caring, honest, and trustworthy. It is the then Victorian society which made room for youths to run after a depthless and essence-less life. A Satire on the Victorian Age in The Importance of Being Earnest Chasuble is the sort of priest who gives sermons repeatedly with a view to satisfy the moods of the attendants. Satire, in the time and context of the novel The Importance of Being Earnest, refers to a comedic style in which the behaviors and beliefs of a particular social class are made fun of. It allows the It is no exaggeration to say that “Importance of Being Earnest” is a social satire. Get an answer for 'In the play The Importance of Being Earnest, explain the play as a satire on victorian society.' He knows it clearly that modern Victorian lady in urban society falls quickly in love with a man named Earnest. “Double Morality and the Temperance Issue in Victorian. and find homework help for other The Importance of Being Earnest questions at eNotes Wilde's play on the name of "Ernest" with the quality of being "earnest," turns this Victorian obsession with names and their social meaning on its head. It is nonetheless ironical how Blacknell suddenly changes her stand when she learns about Cecily’s fortune of about 130,000 pounds. Courtship and Marriage in Victorian England. The Importance of Being Earnest is a comedy of manners, whereby Oscar Wilde uses satire to ridicule marriage, love and the mentality of the Victorian aristocratic society. Algernon had known that Cecily loves Jack’s fictitious brother named Earnest. In summary, Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is a satire of the ideals of the Victorian era. The concept of earnestness arguably one of the defining features of the Victorian era. Evidently, Wilde employs numerous techniques such as trickery, sarcasm, and jokes which are central to humor studies. Jack and Algernon portray less than ideal manners when they both fake their identities as Earnest so as to attract the attention of the city girls who are obsessed by the name. In some cases, it is even written around the idea of comedy itself. Therefore, the Victorian understanding of earnestness is the root cause of the moral fa?§ade, hypocrisy, and dual morality. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde.First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae to … In this case, therefore, Wilde seeks to evoke the reaction that the audience should search for their true character which is not merely represented by their names. | Satire in the Importance of Being Earnest The surface overview of Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest paints the image of an amusing comedy merely for entertainment purpose. Wilde mocks Victorian people who have no better ways of breaking away from the cocoon of the slim social ties and ideals than living deceptive/double/duals lives. Why Jack took the name Earnest? There are short and long essays written to […] Print. Jack, for instance, disguises as Earnest while in town and as Jack while in the country (Wilde 9). Further, a reader understands that the It is a divine name. This ludicrous plight of Gwendolen can be seen in her submissive reactions to every word of her mother. Introduction The Importance of Being Earnest is, from head to top, a literary satire. The Importance of Being Earnest written by Oscar Wilde is a social satire, using irony and paradoxes to insinuate the problems and faults found in the Victorian society. People became double dealers in an attempt to live life earnestly. However, the reader knows that possessing the name does not guarantee the individual of such qualities. Valentinov Krastev, Stilian. We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website. On one hand, the people lived a double life to maintain the respect of the conventional Victorian society while on the other hand, they choose to live frivolously to satisfy their desires. Appearances being deceiving is an idea that permeates both plays. The Influence of Oscar Wilde’s Sexuality | English Literature Dissertation, Lord Henry Is the Root of Dorian Gray’s Corruption, Internal and External Conflicts in The Picture of Dorian Gray, Aesthetic Principles in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, New Hedonism in The Picture of Dorian Gray, Satire in the Importance of Being Earnest, Khan Amin T. Social Classes in Victorian Era. The play describes their behavior in a hypocritical manner. Ugly, selfishness, unnecessary pride, false sense of self-worth and dangerous haughtiness developed as evils which corroded the simple charm and unspoiled nature of people. Jack Worthington is, for instance, a very respectable judge of peace in the province but cheats that he has a younger brother, Earnest. One defining style used by Wilde is the manner in which he makes fun of the audience while amusing them through his characters. Undoubtedly, the Victorian era was known for the classification of people into different social classes. The Importance of Being Earnest Must Victorian-era social interactions involved a dichotomy between what people said and how they acted in public and what they truly thought. Both Jack and Algernon represent the upper middle class. Jack became liar in the process of living an earnest life. Both man and woman became the victims of hypocrisy, and the vice of double dealing. According to Gwendolen, ” my ideal has always been to love someone of the name Earnest” (Wilde 17). You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings. Privacy and Cookie Policy Her haughty manner makes an appearance when she interrogates Jack whether he is really qualified to be her son in law or not. International Journal of Advance Engineering. The Importance of Being Earnest is set in the late Victorian This kind of hypocritical life of Jack is an example of double life. Let's look at how he does this by considering the various aspects of the Victorian life that he ridicules. Hence, Wilde wants to evoke the emotions of his viewers by challenging them to face the truth and find the actual character in one’s personality other than the name. Although a majority of The upper middle class haughty and arrogance nature is critiqued by Wilde. Therefore Jack engaged in the cult of Bunburying. This line of rush for the earnest life made people compromise with anything. The name Earnest as used in the play goes beyond the surface meaning. The importance of being earnest by Oscar Wilde uses satire to ridicule the cultural norms of marriage love and mind-set which were very rigid during the Victorian Age.