The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
analytical Essay
1979 words
The Importance Of Being Earnest. One of the Oscar Wilde’s most loved, well known and successful play ‘The Importance Of Being Earnest’ was written during the summer of 1894 at Worthing, England. It was first performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James’s theatre, London. Jack Worthing, the play’s main character was found and adopted by a wealthy man, Thomas Cardew in a handbag at a railway line where he was accidentally abandoned as a baby. All the respect that has been given to him as acknowledged upper-class Victorian is only because of his adopted father’s wealth. As the protagonist of the play he is expected to be an earnest man to do justice to the title of the play, but it turned out to be that he is nowhere close to that. Wilde has used Jack’s character more to an instrument to represent a set of ideas or attitudes. Jack’s relatives and neighbors believe him to be a well-mannered, productive member of a polite who have a set of rules of behavior. Are they right to believe so? We’ll go to that in a short while. It can be seen clearly that Jack is a little bossy. He acts like an older brother to Algernon, even before he knows he is one. As Cecily’s Guardian, he sets down rules, even in guiding her studies, as we can see in the tutorial scene with Ms. Prism. He also very good in advising, one piece after another: “one shouldn’t read a private cigarette case, shouldn’t discuss modern culture, shouldn’t talk like a dentist.” Despite the high moral character that Jack has made up for the society, he has been living a lie. Jack’s real motive of coming to city is explained clearly in his very first line in the play: Although Jack appears to be stuffy and serious at firs... ... middle of paper ... ...ble life that has been led by Jack and Algernon is one of the leading symbols in the play. It is the central metaphor in the play. Both Jack and Algernon’s fake personas are their way of escaping from the burdensome responsibility of the society. They also helps them to appear far more moral and responsible than they can ever be. I feel that this play is very funny and it has its own hidden message. All the epigrams in this play are the best of Wilde’s to date. What is the message that we can learn from the play? All of us are living a lie to some extent. We need to recognise the ridiculous in our daily lives and need to understand that to earnest is not what others declare to be, but it is to be true to your very own self. Rather than blindly believes and follows, we need to sit down and think what is important and truthful first, then only we can be earnest.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how oscar wilde's "the importance of being earnest" was written during the summer of 1894 at worthing, england, and first performed on 14 february 1895 at the st james’s theatre, london.
- Analyzes how jack's relatives and neighbors believe him to be well-mannered, productive member of a polite. he acts like an older brother to algernon.
- Analyzes how jack creates a fake and imaginary persona to avoid the burdens of his social responsibility. his love for gwendolen fairfax, the daughter of lady bracknell, is pure and sincere.
- Analyzes how algernon (algy) moncrieff, jack's best friend, is younger, flip-pant, irrelevant, and playful in nature. he exemplifies acumen, ridicules the world around him and the society in it.
- Analyzes how algy represents wilde's cleverness and position in the esthetic culture of the 1890s.
- Explains that oscar used two different locations as the setting for this play, which are the luxurious london and the unblemished countryside estate, hertfordshire in the late 19th century of the victorian era.
- Analyzes how wilde has made both the country and the city setting as a waggish and frolicsome.
- Explains that unlike most plays, this play does not have a narrator from whose eyes and voice we learn the story. the characters speak in the first-person.
- Analyzes how algernon moncrieff is visited by his best friend, ernest worthing, who explains the purpose of his visit to algy’s cousin, gwendolen.
- Explains how jack aka ‘ernest’ was forced into admitting his double-role act. this was his explanation for creating a fake younger brother called ‘ ernest’.
- Analyzes how algernon reveals about a fake persona, his friend ‘bunbury’, that he created to escape from the dull gathering and social responsibility.
- Analyzes how lady bracknell enters the room to find about both of them. she asks jack if he could be considered as a life partner for her daughter.
- Analyzes how gwendolen disapproves further contact between them and tells him that they can never get to be together as he don't know about his biological parents or their level/status.
- Analyzes how act 2 takes place at jack's country house in woolton, hertfordshire. cecily is found studying german language as scheduled by her uncle, jack with her governess, miss prism.
- Analyzes how jack has setup a plan to kill his irresponsible younger brother ‘ernest’ because that is how much he's willing to marry gwendolen.
- Analyzes how jack and algy calmed them down and explained the truth. they were engaged to nobody, since there was no ernest. the men told them that they only wanted to meet the lady of their interest.
- Analyzes how lady bracknell arrives at the manor house and sees algernon holding cecily's hand, which she disapproves in the first. jack refuses to give his consent for their marriage.
- Analyzes how lady bracknell recognizes miss prism as a family nursemaid twenty-eight years ago. she recklessly put the baby boy in the hand bag and the manuscript of her novel.
- Analyzes how wilde uses comical tone most of the time in the play, with puns and epigrams used to show satirical situations. he never wastes his opportunity to critic the victorian society.
- Analyzes how the play's style of writing is as funny and witty as oscar wilde. some dialogues can be literally taken out and used in our lives.
- Analyzes wilde's use of the main character to tell the world things that would come out of his own mouth. the advices and comments that jack and algernon give in the play are examples of their thought.
- Analyzes how dramatic irony is one of the important essences of john and algernon's play, which is the double life jack has been living all the while to stupefy his friends.
- Analyzes how jack and algernon have been trying to marry the love of their love beyond all the obstacles they faced. marriages are made in heaven, but this was not the case during the victorian era.
- Analyzes how marriage was more to maintaining and improving the social status. it was measured by the amount of wealth rather than the deep of love.
- Analyzes how jack and algernon's fake personas are their way of escaping from the burdensome responsibility of the society.
- Opines that wilde's play is funny and has its own hidden message. all of us are living a lie to some extent.
Related
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- 'The Importance Of Being Earnest' By Oscar Wildeanalytical essayThe plot of “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde, performed by Shem Productions is a Victorian melodrama where Jack Worthing, the protagonist, lives by a phantom name ‘Ernest’ in London, and by his original name in the country. This further leads to a series of misunderstandings among his friends, family and girlfriend.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the plot of "the importance of being earnest" by oscar wilde, performed by shem productions, where jack worthing, the protagonist, lives by a phantom name ernest in london, and by his original name in the country.
- Analyzes how the central metaphor was the double life represented by the idea of ‘bunburying’, an imaginary term given by algemon. the play was enacted without narration or chorus music.
- Analyzes how an evolving debate is witnessed about the nature of the marriage throughout the play. the play was a mix of comedy, couples fall in love but cannot be together, and satire.
354 wordsRead More - Oscar Wilde's The Importance Of Being Earnestanalytical essayThe Importance of Being Ernest and Insignificance of Being Earnest According to two female characters in Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, Ernest is a name that is typically desirable for a husband and represents high social status and wealth. Earnest, on the contrary, according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, means to be “serious, sincere”, or, in other words, honest (“Earnest”). Within the irony of the title of Wilde’s play itself, the hypocrisy of the high social class of the Victorian era is revealed. Wilde himself said of the play in one of his letters to Lord Alfred Douglas from Worthing, “The real charm of the play, if it is to have a charm, must be in the dialogue.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how oscar wilde's the importance of being earnest portrays the hypocrisy of the high social class of victorian era.
- Analyzes how the importance of being earnest is a comedy of manners, revealing the shallow mindset of victorian high society through satirical, yet critical tone.
- Analyzes how wilde reveals victorian high society's false sincerity and shallowness through the dialogue between characters.
- Analyzes how lady bracknell's values are not held in the character of the individual, but in silly things like wealth and status.
- Analyzes how gwendolen fairfax and cecily cardew defy victorian ideals for women of modesty, unassertiveness, and naivety.
- Analyzes how wilde exposes the prevailing class prejudices of nineteenth century england through the character, values, and dialogue of the characters.
1137 wordsRead More - The Importance Of Being Earnest Analysisanalytical essay“I’ve now realized for the first time in my life, the vital importance of being Earnest. (713.521-523) Jack’s final line demonstrates his understanding of the secret meaning behind “The Importance of Being Earnest”, by Oscar Wilde. That human beings have the capacity to be both good and evil. This is shown through the character of Jack, other character’s relation to Jack, and even in the theatrical elements of the show.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how jack's final line demonstrates his understanding of the secret meaning behind "the importance of being earnest" by oscar wilde.
- Analyzes how jack's double life as earnest is very different from his life in the countryside.
- Analyzes how algernon moncrieff is a reflection of jack's character. he pretends to be earnest knowing he can take advantage of cecily and marry her on the spot.
- Analyzes how cecily cardew is infatuated with jack's alter ego earnest, but his reputation is enough to make her fall in love with him when she meets algernon.
- Opines that the elements of theatrical production are very important in the portrail of the play onstage.
1578 wordsRead More - Oscar Wilde's The Importance Of Being Earnestanalytical essayOscar Wilde's The Importance Of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde is a legendary author who has composed many great plays including The Green Carnation and A Woman of No Importance, however, The Importance of Being Earnest was undoubtedly the most famous of his works. First published in 1930, yet acknowledged since the late 1800s, The Importance of Being Earnest helped to revive the theater tradition of Congreve and Sheridan. The story is a comedic view of romance and the emphasis we place on seemingly trivial articles, such as a name. In this story, contrary to the typical saying, a rose by any other name would not smell as sweet. Our first scene begins with a confrontation, and the whole story is a man versus confusing women (better known as society) conflict from there on out.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how jack proposes to gwendolyn, who knows him as ernest, but lady bracknell vocalizes a slight disconsent.
- Narrates how jack and algy haughtily disregard their men to pout over this horrible injustice. gwendolyn and cecily are profoundly relieved and flattered.
- Analyzes how reverend chasuble mentions miss prism, cecily's governess, at the estate, which conjures a reaction from lady bracknell.
- Analyzes how jack grows anxious and presents a black handbag to miss prism, who identifies it as her own. lady bracknell explains that jack is the eldest son of her sister, meaning he is algy’s older brother.
- Analyzes how jack worthing was the most lucid character in the importance of being earnest. he had a real taste for deception, but his fabrications were all for his greater good.
- Describes miss prism as one of the play's minor characters, yet she is vital to the plot. they sympathize with both algernon and jack.
- Analyzes how the dialogue was interesting since the story was written in the 1800s, whereas then it was colloquial and casual, especially when the younger characters were speaking.
- Describes the name of cecily cardew and introduces herself.
- Opines that cecily cardew is a sweet name that tells them that they are going to be great friends.
- Opines that it's nice of you to like me so much after we've known each other for a relatively short time.
- Explains that the book was written in third person, but without many of the benefits of a third-person tale. the reader does not know the internal thoughts of any characters unless they are spoken.
- Analyzes how the play is brief due to its short duration. the action is handled chronologically, with miss prism disclosing the details of the handbag incident.
- Explains that they don't play accurately, but they play with wonderful expression. as far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is their forte.
- Asks whether lady bracknell's cucumber sandwiches have been cut for the science of life.
- Analyzes how the book illustrated how much weight we place on the dumb things when we should truly pay attention to the more important things.
- Opines that they wouldn't read another book by oscar wilde. the importance of being earnest was comical at some parts, had an all-around great plot, but lacked that little extra something to make them intrigued with .
- Analyzes how oscar wilde's the importance of being earnest helped revive the theater tradition of congreve and sheridan.
- Opines that wilde's writing style is nothing but realistic, based on the actual habits of people during that time period.
- Analyzes how algernon is the more distinguished of the two, and writes with a reality based influence so that you can tell simply by the words used who is more educated.
3082 wordsRead More - The Importance of Being More Than Earnestanalytical essayEvery line, every character, and every stage direction in The Importance of Being Earnest is set on supporting Oscar Wilde’s want for social change. The Importance of Being Earnest was written during the late period of the Victorian era. During this period social classification was taken very seriously. It could affect working and living conditions, education, religion, and marriage. Wilde explores the issues of social class and turns it into a comedic play. He humorously criticizes Victorian manners and attacking the society of the luxurious life. The audience becomes self-aware as the characters reflect on themselves. Plays such as this become successful because of the backgrounds the writers come from and the experiences they have had. In The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde satirizes the Victorian society and the ironic differences between the lower and upper class.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how oscar wilde's the importance of being earnest satirizes the victorian society and the ironic differences between the lower and upper classes.
- Analyzes how oscar wilde's the importance of being earnest satirizes the life of the wealthy.
- Analyzes how wilde satirizes the upper classes by placing the play in an upper class social setting.
- Analyzes how lady bracknell represents the archetypal aristocrat and controlling mother who forces marriage based on wealth or status rather than love.
- Opines that when a young girl becomes engaged to someone, she or her father, should inform them of the fact. engagement should come on her surprise or unpleasant, as the case may be.
- Analyzes how wilde satirizes aristocratic foolish beliefs through exaggeration. lady bracknell is superlative and feels that her daughter has had the highest level of upbringing.
- Analyzes how lady bracknell represents the views of aristocrats in the film, the importance of being earnest.
- Analyzes how lady bracknell believes the upper class to be much more educated than the lower class because of social status alone.
- Analyzes how wilde demonstrates the extremes of lady bracknell by comparing her to miss prism. the irony of these ideals symbolizes the ridiculousness of the time.
- Analyzes wilde's play, the importance of being earnest, as one of the first plays to deal with modern issues, such as the importance of social status.
- Explains that oscar wilde's the importance of being earnest was performed at gainesville state college ed cabell theatre.
- Explains that the national council of teachers of english was established in 1956. the literature network, jalic inc., 2008.
- Explains that wilde, oscar, and woods, robert. the demography of victorian england and wales.
1726 wordsRead More - Wilde's Importance of Being Earnest and Weschler's Boggsanalytical essayWilde, Oscar. The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays. Ed. Richard Allen Cave. New York: Penguin, 2000.
In this essay, the author
- Explains wilde, oscar, the importance of being earnest and other plays, ed. richard allen cave.
- Compares j.s.g. boggs as a social critic while reveling in the pure, aesthetic beauty of his art, which serves the specific purpose of societal edification.
- Analyzes how boggs's art fails to promote the lucid, didactic message that one associates with functionalism.
- Analyzes how aestheticism's aversion to usefulness further problematizes the functionalist reading of boggs' art.
- Describes foster, richard, and foster's views on the importance of being earnest.
- Compares oscar wilde's the importance of being earnest and lawrence weschler’s boggs: a comedy of values.
- Analyzes how wilde's humor makes it easy to appreciate earnest in a strictly aesthetic sense.
- Analyzes how algernon establishes distinctions between accuracy and expression, science and sentiment, art and life.
- Analyzes how boggs' art flies in the face of aestheticism's fundamental tenet that any extraneous function or purpose must be counted as a serious defect.
- Analyzes how boggs, in his hyper-aestheticism, rejoices in the aesthetic beauty of the banknote.
2896 wordsRead More - The Importance Of Being Earnestanalytical essayEvery text is an argument to the audience and every argument is influenced by a text and the audience surrounding the author. The Importance of Being Earnest is a play written by Oscar Wilde which was first performed in 1895. The plot centers around the proposal of marriage between Jack Worthing and Gwendolen Bracknell and also the proposal from Jack’s friend and Gwendolen 's cousin Algernon Moncrieff extended towards Jack’s ward, Cecily Cardew. In The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde uses the ideas of his time period, his own background, and absurd comedy to argue that the views of marriage and gender held by those in Victorian Era England are wrong and hypocritical.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that every text is an argument to the audience and every argument is influenced by a text. the importance of being earnest was written by oscar wilde and first performed in 1895.
- Analyzes how wilde's portrayal of the victorian era in the importance of being earnest portrays the high standards and expectations that victorian gentlemen were held to.
- Explains that oscar wilde was influenced by the values held by his audience, but unlike other members of victorian society, he refused to accept them.
- Analyzes wilde's use of absurd and ironic comedy in the play to illustrate the absurdity of victorian society.
- Analyzes how an audience and context influence an author creating a triangle of impact. oscar wilde uses the ideas of his time period, comparing them to his own, and criticizing them in his play.
1120 wordsRead More - Importance Of Being Earnest Essayanalytical essayIn The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde uses wit to undermine the societal expectations of women. Set in England during the late 19th century, the play shows the shallow and trivial attitude of the upper-class Victorian society. This status-driven society favors men, creating a dissatisfying life for women. The male characters, particularly Algernon Moncreiff, uses wit to show superiority over women. Yet, Cecily Cardew’s wit and cleverness best Algernon at his own game. Although often interpreted as a sign of farcical psychosis, Cecily’s diary actually reveals her true intelligence and dominance over Algernon.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how oscar wilde uses wit to undermine the societal expectations of women in the importance of being earnest.
- Analyzes how algernon moncreiff, an upper-class male, traipses around with a sarcastic attitude and sharp tongue. socioeconomic status and pure amusement influence him and act as his only motivation in life.
- Analyzes how cecily cardew's view of her diary is important when analyzing the relationship between her and algernon.
- Analyzes how algernon exploits cecily's interest in ernest to flirt with her, but since he sees marriage as "problematic," their relations should not move much further.
- Analyzes how cecily's diary proves her power over algernon. it is simply a young girl’s record of her own thought sand impressions and consequently meant for publication.
- Analyzes how cecily's overdramatic performances are a cover for her cleverness. the diary scene between her and algernon gains whole new meaning.
885 wordsRead More - Character Analysis of Lord of the Flies by Willaim Goldinganalytical essayJack is the leader of the boys choir group in civilization and he is the complete opposite of Ralph. Jack wants to be leader and won’t let anyone stand in his way he rules through fear and shows signs of militarism and dictatorship. He is cruel, sadistic and preoccupied with hunting and killing pigs to help the rest signal for help. His sadism only gets worse throughout the novel, and eventually turns cruelly on the other boys. Jack pretends to show an interest in the rules of order on the island, but he views the differently because they only allow him to inflict punishment. Jack represents greed, savage and the anarchic aspects of man.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that lord of the flies was written by a british novelist named william golding, who explored the dark side of humanity. ralph, jack, simon, piggy, samneric, and rodger were the characters that stood out the most.
- Describes how ralph was the most sensible to them. he was tall for his age and handsome, looked over the other boys with a sense of maturity, was calm and rational, and had moral judgment.
- Analyzes how jack is the leader of the boys choir group in civilization and the complete opposite of ralph. he is cruel, sadistic and preoccupied with hunting and killing pigs to help the rest signal for help.
- Analyzes how simon represents the sensitive, spiritual and caring side of human behavior. he enjoys nature and walks alone in the jungle like piggy simon is an outcast.
- Analyzes how piggy's intellectual talent forms a bond with ralph in particular, who admires and respects him for his loyalty and focus on their rescue from the island.
- Analyzes how sam and eric are identical twins who do everything together. they are less influenced by fear of the beast or jack than the other boys.
- Analyzes how rodger is one of the more quiet members of jack’s group. he appears to be a mysterious, quiet boy who seems to hide himself from the others.
- Explains that the story takes place on an uninhabited tropical island and the time period is in the 1950s.
- Analyzes how the loss of innocence in lord of the flies is parallel to their descent into savagery.
- Analyzes how the island is like paradise in the first few chapters, but after a while fear comes into play just like adam and eve with the snake.
- Analyzes how simon finds the lord of the flies impaled at its center, symbolizing how the innocence of childhood has been corrupted by fear and savagery.
976 wordsRead More - Lord Of The Flies Quotesanalytical essayOne of the things that changes Jack was his hatred and drives him to the point where he was willing to kill. In the beginning he was a choir boy who knew nothing much, but his hatred grew when he was not elected leader. In the book it quote “And you shut up! Who are you anyway? Sitting here telling people what to do. You can’t hunt, you can’t sing-” (91). This quote shows that Jack had
In this essay, the author
- Explains that john locke believed that people are born with a blank slate and we acquire ideas from our environment and the people that influence us. jack merridew represented evil in "lord of the flies".
- Analyzes how jack's hatred drives him to the point where he is willing to kill.
- Analyzes how jack's priority was not being rescued, but hunting and getting meat for the children to prove that he could be a better leader than ralph.
- Analyzes how jack uses the beast and play with their fear to show that ralph is a coward, and this changes him throughout the novel.
- Analyzes how jack changes throughout the novel by his anger towards ralph and his desire to want power and being the leader. william golding shows that without civilization people can turn savage and affect others.
737 wordsRead More