That's Pretty Punny

A detailed Summary of That's Pretty Punny

Throughout his works, Oscar Wilde shows an interest in aesthetic values. His curiosity about beautiful men is revealed in the Picture of Dorian Gray. Wilde continued on his aesthetic trend in The Importance of being Ernest.

In this play, Wilde chose to write about the elite aristocracy, who consider themselves the most beautiful people on earth. Wilde's play makes fun of aristocratic intelligence, manners, customs and marriages. Wilde decides to ridicule the aristocrats because they were the source of his harassment for being homosexual. What better way to have revenge upon people than writing a play about them in which you reveal how shallow their practices are? How shallow is the belief Cecily and Gwendyen had about a man's name is his most important quality? A combination of this criticism and irony make The Importance of Being Ernest humorous.

Wilde plays games with language to keep his audience alert and interested throughout the play while at the same time making them the target of ridicule. With his creative use of the English language, Wilde points out the ignorance of the rich without their knowing. He calls them lazy because they don't work and grab at any opportunity that comes their way, even marriages. In the end, Wilde got his revenge.

Conflict and violence are often times hilarious. Wilde first used this to his advantage in Act I when Algernon and Jack fought over a cigarette case. The later conflict between Cecily and Gwendolyn over the tea and cake is humorous.

Throughout the play, there is a double meaning of the word Ernest, both as the name and as the adjective. The men lie about being Ernest, but cannot be earnest, since they are lying. As it is revealed later in the play, the men were not lying

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 596
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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