Is the Importance of Being Earnest a Satirical Play? Essay

With the definition of a raillery be, the rehearse of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize peoples folly, it is ludicrous to even propose that The vastness of be businesslike is anything separate than a sarcastic play, as the characters relishing in the upper variant of the Victorian head un whopingly mock their own habits acquired to them due to the luxuriousness they ar spoilt with. Despite this, it is evident that the use of satire is feckless and misss a object lesson billet of view, in contrast with the moral blame expressed by means of satire in another(prenominal) Victorian plays such as Mrs Warrens Profession, which exposes the corruption and hypocrisy of the genteel carve up. Ergo, we acknowledge that the play is an invention of a truly serious devise of triviality has neither ancestors nor descendants and was unique to its genre at that period of time, yet the frivolousness of the plot results in the audience freely and tru ly laughs without quite being sure what it is laughing at hence The enormousness of world serious is indisputably satirical, but a satire that has lost its sting. brothel keeper Bracknells view of trades union is expressed through her account of visit Lady Harbury, I hadnt been there since her poor husbands death. I never saw a woman so change she looks quite twenty years younger she implies marriage is a force and that life is only regained once freedom from marriage is embraced. Such opinions are heavily satirical and ironic as Lady Bracknell is herself married, and so by praising the widower she mocks herself. It is evident from this that Wilde is ridiculing the epitomes of the upper clan and their absurd attitudes to marriage, barely the ridiculousness of portrayed by Wilde in the play, especially when the arranged marriage idea is summed up by Lady Bracknell, An engage manpowert should come on a young girl as a surprise, pleasant or unpleasant as the case may be illu strates how deficit the satire is of a moral point of view, as Lady Bracknell continues to protest that Gwendolen provide proceed with an arranged marriage despite the cruelness of her intentions.The women are portrayed as sheltered, uneducated, and some as dominating figures oer the men in their lives Jamie Crawfords variant of the reference of women in The importance of creation impatient alludes that the behaviour of the female characters is exceedingly antipodal to what would be expected in the Victorian era, A wifes duties to tend to her husband were considered critical cornerst ones of social stability by the Victorians. thither is strength to this parametric quantity as conveyed by Cecilys language when addressing Algernon, Oh dont cough high-priced. When one is dictating one should speak fluently and not cough. Besides, I dont know how to spell a cough. The juxtaposition of Cecily instructing Algernon in range to appear domineering Oh dont cough near and her revo lution against receiving an education I dont know how to spell a cough elaborates the unorthodox temper of the female characters Wilde has incorporated. Thereupon, Wildes portrayal of the human relationships among men and women in The Importance of cosmos Earnest is majorly satirical of the conventional, as by reversing the roles of authority it derides the power men traditionally uphold over women. On the contrary, Robert J. Jordan implies Wildes use of satire when illustrating social differences between men and women has lost its sting as the question redes, by dry land of even if this satiric device is structural in the play it crapper hardly be a satire of great power, as the attitudes to women were modernising importantly at the period the play was written. Consequently we observe Wildes failing in presenting a satirical view of womens role in Victorian society he was simply delineating the changes he comprehend around him, thus supporting Eduoard Roditis interpretatio n and questioning whether The Importance of Being Earnest belongs to a different genre of japery. Previous to Wildes The Importance of Being Earnest, Victorian comedies consisted intimatelyly of high and low comedy and of dirty or vulgar jokes, dirty gestures, and excite. Hence, it is possible to adumbrate that contradictory to Edouard Roditis interpretation, the Importance of Being Earnest carries a moral point of view in the particular it does not exploit sex or sexual preferences to effectuate drollery Wilde provokes laughter through chimerical identities and the consequences of bunburying perhaps to allude that his opinions it that sexuality is not a laughing issue. Providing this interpretation is true, it is acceptable to assume that the reasoning behind the negative criticisms the drama acquire when first written were due to the fact critics felt appalled that a piece of writing could prove successful without it consisting of any sexual nature and hence deemed The Impo rtance of Being Earnest as, dull in semblance to other plays read over the years.Howbeit, some critics state that the say earnest became a code-word for homosexual, as in Is he earnest?, in the same way that Is he so? and Is he musical? were besides employed, suggesting that The Importance of Being Earnest is an expression of Wildes curse for marriage and his fondness of homosexuality as he praises the idea of being Earnest. This undoubtedly contradicts the idea that the drama is unique from other plays of its time in the fact it lacks sexual content, and indicates that whilst The Importance of Being Earnest may carry the subtlety of satire as Roditis argument suggests, it incontrovertibly is a form of Blue Comedy, as the moral tone traditionally associated with satirical comedy is not present, Wilde is forcing his opinions on the reader without a sufficient moral behind his beliefs. The fact the Importance of Being Earnest consists of 3 acts implies a significant beginning, mi ddle and ending where previous feuds boast been resolved and each character is content. If we are to consider the drama as conforming to a traditional Victorian play which tended to be of an improving nature with a central moral lesson at heart, what is manifestly untraditional of The Importance of Being Earnest is the rewarding of characters that rich person commit wrong doings supporting Edouard Roditis interpretation that the drama lacks a moral point of view. If we analogize The Importance of Being Earnest with An Ideal economise, we note the significance of the final act of An Ideal Husband in delivering the moral that that the principles of Mabel and Gorings relationship demand that they hold back society and revolt against what is traditionally expected of a marriage in consecrate to achieve happiness, a final act which The Importance of Being Earnest lacks. Accordingly, it was perhaps Wildes intention to ensure that The Importance of Being Earnest was unique by refus ing to incorporate morality in order to suggest that true virtue is either dead, or is confined to the lower classes, as supported by Algernons satirical comment, They seem, as a class, to have absolutely no sense of moral responsibility. The relationship between Algernon and his servant Lane is a further example of Wilde rase social norms by ridiculing potent characters in their own domiciles. Lane ignorantly mimics Algernon when they are discussing marriage, as despite Algernons evident refusal to discuss the matter Lane continues to revive the conversation, Is marriage so demoralizing?I have only been married onceI dont know that Im interested in your family life.. No, Sir. It is not a very(prenominal) interesting subject, a witty satire of the traditional relationship of servant and master. Nevertheless the idea that satire throughout The Importance of Being Earnest has effectively lost its sting is still preponderant in the persiflage of Algernon and Lane, as Algernon is a c haracter that severely lacks depth he is regularly mentioned as eating in the drama, Eating as inveterate I see, Algy which infers that he yearns for something to fill a chimerical emptiness, possibly the lack of permanent company in his life as supported by Adam Ruhlands interpretation, Algernons readiness to lie about his diet for thought consumption reveals that he is well aware that he eats other peoples food when he feels cornered, stressed, or sad. The fact Algernon is well aware of his reliance on food to provide cheer delineates his ignorant attitude towards love and marriage. It is Lanes willingness to provide Algernon with food that brings about the lack of a moral point of view to their satirical relationship and supports Edouard Roditis interpretation, as he is perceptive and observes Algernons mournful behaviour yet refuses to encourage a change in him. The Importance of Being Earnest is above all an exercise in wit. There is nothing to be learned from it, no moral , no message defines Wildes play perfectly it is a pointless facade that attempts to provide a satirical view of Victorian society, yet due to the willingness of characters to obey the restrictions accompany with belonging to the upper class, fails miserably. Characters such as Miss Prism and Chasuble suggest the existence of another life beneath Victorian correctness through their flirtatious mannerisms, I shall see you both no doubt at Evensong? yet their refusal to further their relationship due to evident class differences, I think, dear Doctor depicts how Wildes satirical element has most definitely lost its sting due to lack of moral point of view as the characters adhere to the conventions mocked by the satire, diminishing its efficacity. 1 . Oxford University coerce Definitions http//oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/satire 2 .http//www.enotes.com/mrs-warrens-profession 3 . Roger Sale The Hudson Review, Vol.56, No.3 Being Earnest. Published pin 2003 4 . Roger Sale The Hudson Review, Vol.56, No.3 Being Earnest. Published Autumn 2003 5 . sarcasm & Wit in Oscar Wilde by Danielle N.Baxley, published twenty-eighth March 2010 6 . Point, Counterpoint, Thrust Wildes Pun Burying in The Importance of Being Earnest by Jamie Crawford. 7 . http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_Victorian_era 8 . Satire and Fantasy in Wildes The Importance of Being Earnest by Robert J. Jordan 9 . http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_in_the_Victorian_era Theatre in the Victorian era published eighteenth February 2013. 10 . Samantha (Bookworms and Tea) published March 29th 2011. 11 . http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Importance_of_Being_Earnest Theo Aronson, Published twenty-third Feb 2013. 12 . http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_literature 13 . http//resources.mhs.vic.edu.au/earnest/background.htm The Norton Anthology of English Literature The Victorian Age, 2008. 14 . Adam Ruhland The Role of Food in The Importance of Being Earnest 15 . The Import ance of Being Earnest Review- Roger Ebert, May 24th 2002