Hyperbole in the importance of being earnest. The Importance Of Being Earnest Exam Study Guide: Part 3 April 22, 2014 Flashcards 2019-01-11

Understatement & Exaggeration Quotes in The Importance of Being Earnest

The play Importance of Being Earnest written by Oscar Wilde criticizes the aspect of the aristocratic life in the Victorian era by making fun of them with a term called satire. However, because Ernest left his cigarette case with Algernon last time, Algernon figures out that Ernest's name is really Jack, though he is Ernest in the city and Jack in the country, where he has an 18-year-old ward. The effect of the theme duplicity and deception is essentially the criticism of the Victorian citizen. All of these relationships show the interactions between the two members. That the three names are in fact the same satirizes Lady Bracknell's old-fashioned sense of decorum while at the same time poking fun at the names of law firms and businesses, who sometimes have comical names like this one.

The importance of being earnest

Miss Prism confesses that she had accidentally put the baby in a handbag which she had than left in Victoria station. The play contains inversions of thought, situation, and character, as well as inversions of common notions of morality or philosophical thought. Jack and Algy are both dandies and only Jack qualifies on the wealth side. Their relationship is all about tug and pull and they contradict each other while creating a comedic relief for the play. The moralism of Victorian society—its smugness and pomposity—impels Algernon and Jack to invent fictitious alter egos so as to be able to escape the strictures of propriety and decency. Duality- Jack and Algie both have two diff. When Jack fabricates his brother Ernest's death, he imposes that fantasy on his loved ones, and though we are aware of the deception, they, of course, are not.

Hyperbole in the importance of being earnest

Wilde's own character also refers to duplicity. The characters live through their speech, merely conveying the role they are playing, rather than their psychology. Art can bring about such thoughtfulness. Each participant in a conversation is aware of this and will try, at all costs, to fill potential pauses with talk. Although satire often appears in comic writing, it has a serious purpose in that it seeks to show that the vice it is satirising is wrong. However, their relationship proves to work out because of their similarities that can be seen through the intelligence that they both share.

What Are Some Epigrams Found in Importance of Being

Find other examples of these reversals in the play. For instance Lady Bracknell:- Well, I must say, Algernon, that I think it is high time that Mr. In they play, Wealth is a desirable aspect in life that many people crave. For example how Gwendolen was pleased to know that Jack is an orphan and Cecily excited to learn about Algernon's wickedness. Even Algernon's aesthetic life of posing as the dandy, dressing with studied care, neglecting his bills, being unemployed, and pursuing pleasure instead of duty is an example of Victorians valuing trivialities.

Which literary device is used in the title of Oscar Wilde's play The Importance of Being

I think these two characters connect well. Women fought to gain more control in the institution of marriage, but they did not gain those rights until after the end of the Victorian era. If strict moral values leave no room for question, a society loses much of what is known as humanity. The difference between what Jack does and what Algernon does, however, is that Jack not only pretends to be something he is not, that is, completely virtuous, but also routinely pretends to be someone he is not, which is very different. Chasuble can rechristen, marry, bury, and encourage at a moment's notice with interchangeable sermons filled with meaningless platitudes. The nature of marriage; the constraints of morality; hypocrisy vs. Understatement in literature is a rhetorical device in which a character intentionally de-emphasizes the importance of something for comic effect.

The importance of being earnest

It also takes the definition of homosexual. These restrictions and assumptions suggest a strict code of morals that exists in Victorian society, but Wilde isn't concerned with questions of what is and isn't moral. It might be uncomfortable, but not to the degree that Jack is claiming. Marriage was a careful selection process. Why is silence to be avoided? Through the figure of Lady Bracknell, Wilde manages to satirize the hypocrisy and stupidity of the British aristocracy. Several of the characters attempt to create a fictional life for themselves which then, in some capacity, becomes real. Algernon thinks the servant class has a responsibility to set a moral standard for the upper classes.

The Importance Of Being Earnest Exam Study Guide: Part 3 April 22, 2014 Flashcards

Each form of irony is used to mock the behavior and status of the characters, depending on their character and position in the society. An understatement that Wilde puts into this act is the understatement of how much Cecily loves Ernest. There is nothing earnest about this play, at least on the surface. Each couple does end up having their own specific way of working out whether they speak the same language or not. This brings the two characters closer together as, while not openly revealing Lady Bracknell's feelings, foregrounds her softheartedness and the affection she will grow to have for the boy.

The Importance of Being Earnest Quotes from LitCharts

Characters such as Jack, Gwendolen, Miss Prism, and Dr. Upon farther enquiry, moreover, it is found out that his original name was indeed Ernest. It is very vulgar to talk like a dentist when one isn't a dentist. Another Main aspect that Oscar Wilde evoked in people's mind is the institution of marriage. Earnest people are clear-headed and serious Moss. When the men explain themselves, they are forgiven, and the women agree not to break off the engagements when each man announces his intention to be re-christened. When Algernon arrives at Jack's country house, he claims he is Jack's brother, Ernest.

Hyperbole in the importance of being earnest

Ernest is a man's name. The question of the nature of marriage appears for the first time in the opening dialogue between Algernon and his butler, Lane, and from this point on the subject never disappears for very long. Ho … wever, I don't mind hard work where there is no definite object of any kind. Earnestness was a good, wanted quality of the Victorian time Moss. Miss Prism: And you do not seem to realize, dear Doctor, that by persistently remaining single, a man converts himself into a permanent public temptation.

Which literary device is used in the title of Oscar Wilde's play The Importance of Being Earnest?A.)

Gwendolen, learning from her mother, is totally self-absorbed and definite about what she wants. However, this same factor also serves to illuminate the major points that Wilde tries to convey about the English society in which he lived. Men should be more careful; this very celibacy leads weaker vessels astray. Understatement The play opens with Algernon speaking to his butler, Lane, about marriage. Chasuble and Prism's flirting and coded conversations about things sexual, Algernon stuffing his face to satisfy his hungers, the diaries which are the acceptable venues for passion , and Miss Prism's three-volume novel are all examples of an inner life covered up by suffocating rules. Hence he invented an invalid friend in the country to use as an escapade from the town, creditors and relative. Miss Cardew seems to me a most attractive young lady, now that I look at her.