The following question are designed to help you think about Oscar Wilde's play, The Importance of Being Earnest, in more depth.

Discuss the comic effects of the play. Many commentators agree that Lady Bracknell has some of the funniest lines: what is the source of their humor? Does she intend to be funny? What view of marriage does the play provide? Is marriage a positive or a destructive institution, as depicted here?

 

Answer:

In the play 'The importance being earnest' Oscar Wilde uses many forms of comedy through out the play such as Irony, Satire and Farce. The play uses satire to show the upper class how shallow and judgmental they are and that they have the wrong priorities.Oscar Wild displays this through the men's dishonesty, the women who change their minds constantly and Lady Bracknell's snobbishness.

Lady Bracknell is used as a tool of conflict and a lot of the satire in play comes from her. She is a symbol of the Victorian earnestness and the unhappiness it brings as a result. She also represents the lower class as she married into the aristocracy. She claims as a Lady to she can have opinions on society, marriage, religion, money, and many other topics. Lady Bracknell is a memorable instrument of Wilde's satiric wit and questioning all he sees in Victorian upper-class society.

Quotes of Lady Bracknell:

'Indeed, no woman should ever be quite accurate about her age. It looks so calculating.'

'35 is a very attractive age. London society is full of women of the very highest birth who have, of their own free choice, remained 35 for years.'

Views on Marriage:

The older people thought that marriage was a means to an end. It is a way of bettering your social position. It was also important to have an acceptable title and parents to prove the marriage.

The younger generation thought that love mattered more.

This were the irony comes in as they all marry, who they where expected to marry according to society, The younger generation stayed within the lines that they where suppose to.

An ironically positive spin on marriage:

The play ends with the prospect of two very happy marriages. But through out the play, the men lie, the women change their minds and there are many opportunities that suggest that there might not even be a marriage at the end as Wilde uses his satire to impose that the characters are foolish in the Victorian society, one might think that the play will go in a completely different way.

Step-by-step explanation

Irony: Refers to a mocking or cynical approach to matters in general. Like what your expecting turns out in a completely different way and actually the thing that you have been trying desperately to avoid.

Farce: Defined as a humorous play or film involving unlikely situations.

Satire: This is literary works in which the human vices and follies are ridiculed.