Wilde as Parodist a Second Look at the Importance of...

Although many of the early critics found Oscar Wilde’s final play strictly humorous, it clearly conveys social hypocrisies of the upper-classes of the period (late-Victorian). Wilde was being satirical and paradoxical in his play to show the hypocrisy and entertain the viewers in a play that is still being repeated till today. It is a witty and amusing comedy which conveys real life everyday themes such as real love as opposed to selfish love, religion, marriage, being truthful and country life as opposed to city life. Richard Foster, author of â€Å"Wilde as Parodist: A Second Look at The Importance of Being Earnest†, published in October 1956, writes on how the this play was viewed by critics, the techniques used by Wilde to achieve his†¦show more content†¦Foster continues to describe the technique Wilde used to make a parody to romantic â€Å"love at first sight†. You see, Cecily seems to have fallen in love with Ernest Worthing before actually meeti ng him. She has diary entries of their engagement, their break-up (as â€Å"it would hardly have been a really serious engagement if it hadn’t been broken off at least once†), and their re-engagement, and she even has his love letters, although she had written them herself. The standard notion of a romance involves the man proving himself to the woman after a breach in their love. In this play, Gwendolen and Cecily find out that their Ernests are really Jack and Algernon, and the restoration of their â€Å"love† occurs when the guys decide to christen themselves as Ernest. It appears that a major critical part of the play revolves around marriage being just a social tool. The two girls are in love with a name rather than a character, and Algy even proposes to Cecily right after meeting her. Also, Lady Bracknell, Algy’s aunt, disproves of Algy and Cecily’s marriage until she discovers that Cecily has a large fortune, and disproves of Jack and Gwendo len’s marriage, because he is an orphan. Foster explains that the â€Å"flaws† of the play- the contrivance of the plot, the convenience the coincidence and the resolution in the end- are the whole point. It is easy to mistake the play for something that it is not, as nothing in the play is what itShow MoreRelatedThe Importance Of Being Earnest Satire Essay1291 Words   |  6 PagesMaverick Yabut Professor Tina Regan ENGL 200 June 18, 2017 Satire in the Importance of Being Earnest Introduction Throughout Oscar Wilde’s play â€Å"The Importance of Being Earnest†, Oscar Wilde routinely uses satire throughout the story amongst character dialogue and actions to scorn the Victorian society audience. Oscar uses satire to mock love, and the concept of marriage as well as the Victorian-aristocratic class system and society mentality. The play is described as â€Å"A trivial comedy for seriousRead MoreA Critical Analysis of Oscar Wildes Importance of Being Earnest3101 Words   |  12 PagesAesthete and the Leisure Class 9 The Plot vs. Characterization 9 The Analysis of Character 9 The Structure Analysis of Plot 10 The Title of the play 11 Conclusion 12 Critiquing Play Introduction The play, The Importance of Being Earnest, is written by Oscar Wilde and was first performed in London at St. Jamess Theatre on fourteen February of the year of 1895. In order to escape burdensome social obligations, fictitious personal was maintained by the protagonists in this farcical comedy