An Examination of the Satire i

A detailed Summary of An Examination of the Satire i

In the late-nineteenth-century play, The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde satirizes the society in which he lived, which is now called the Victorian period. This period of the reign of Queen Victoria is characterized by British imperialism and growing power of its empire, extravagance in every aspect of life, aestheticism, and decadence. Society's values were saturated with indulgence and exaggeration. It was a time of political upheaval, tension between the classes, and massive poverty. People wore extravagant costumes, over-decorated their houses, spent money frivolously, and flaunted whatever they could. Wilde mocks this society of superficial morals and conventions. The actions and words of the characters in The Importance of Being Earnest represent the shallow values and frivolity that was common then. He achieves satire by undermining Victorian conventions as the play progresses. He makes use of dialogue among characters and stereotyping, and creates a discrepancy between appearance and reality. He also allows the people's imaginary lives to become real at the end of the play instead of destroying them.

Wilde uses the characters in the play to mimic the superficiality and triviality of the typical extrava

In Jack's first lines he is talking about clever people, but in the last one, he calls those who talk about clever people fools. At another point when Algernon suspects that Jack is lying about the cigarette case and about why his name is Jack in the country, Jack says to him, "You talk exactly as if you were a dentist. ... It produces a false impression" (595). Jack had just been accused of lying, but then quickly accuses Algernon of doing the same. Gwendolen contradicts herself many multiple times also. When she first meets Cecily she says, "I like you already more than I can say. My first impressions of people are never wrong" (618). Then later she says, "From the moment I saw you I distrusted you. I felt you were false and deceitful. ... My first impressions of people are invariably right" (621). This obvious contradiction shows not only that neither of Gwendolen's conclusions were accurate, but that she was only trying to act superior and experienced. The play is made comical by the repeated use of irony and contradictions, but this also makes the reality in the play look more ridiculous, which contributes to Wilde's purpose.

The Importance of Being Earnest is a comedy, but also a satirical commentary on the society of nineteenth-century Britain. It was a world obsessed with performance and flaunting. It was enveloped in hypocrisy and superficiality. The undermining of Victorian conventions in the play is achieved through the use of dialogue among characters, stereotyping, and discrepancies between appearances and reality. This facilitates the development of the serious observations within the play that Oscar Wilde attempts to deliver.

Another component in his play is Wilde's use of paradoxes and irony. The play is drenched with numerous contradictions. A humorous one occurs in an exchange between Jack and Algernon:

Algernon: The fools? Oh! about the clever people, of course.

an absolute public nuisance. I wish to goodness we had a few fools left.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Importance Earnest, Algernon Jack, Gwendolen Jack, Lady Bracknell, Queen Victoria, Uncle Jack's, Cecily Jack, Oscar Wilde, Jack Christian, Jack I'm, importance earnest, clever people, victorian conventions, algernon jack, physical appearances, dialogue characters stereotyping, conventions play, characters stereotyping, dialogue characters, undermining victorian, discrepancy appearance, undermining victorian conventions, victorian conventions play, concern physical appearances, discrepancy appearance reality,

Approximate Word count = 1546
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English