Study Questions to Explore
1) Explore the way Wilde uses this idea of secrecy in order to keep up appearances, while living freely under an assumed name. Think about the following exchange from the play:
Lady Bracknell: Algy, I hope you are behaving very well.
Algernon: I am feeling very well, Aunt Augusta.
Lady Bracknell: That is not quite the same thing. In fact, the two rarely go together.
4) How does Wilde comment on social class? What are his views?
Lady Bracknell: Algy, I hope you are behaving very well.
Algernon: I am feeling very well, Aunt Augusta.
Lady Bracknell: That is not quite the same thing. In fact, the two rarely go together.
How does this apply to Jack's philosophy of life, and the need for a dual identity? How does the idea of being "Earnest/earnest" tie back to the idea of secrecy AND the overarching themes?
2) How does Wilde divulge the secret at just the right comedic moment? How does everyone react?
3) Where do you see the elements of Aestheticism in the play?
4) How does Wilde comment on social class? What are his views?
5) How does Wilde comment on literature and education? What are his views?
6) How does Wilde comment on religion? What are his views?
7) How does Wilde comment on marriage? What are his views?
8) How are the characters used to present stereotypical and symbolic representations in the play?
9) How does Wilde use satire and humor to present his views?
10) How is this play a satire on the classic comedy? How are moments "over the top?"
By the way, ladies and gentlemen, this is what I mean by "graveyard shift." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amprEfJBvqE
ReplyDeleteAnd now for something completely different: The Importance of Being Earnest.
Delete⏯Lady Bracknell: I would strongly advise you, Mr. Worthing, to try and acquire some relations A. S. A. P., and to make a definite effort to produce at any rate, one parent, of either sex, before the season is quite over.
DeleteJack/Earnest: Well, I don't see how I could possibly manage to do that. I can produce the hand-bag at any moment. It is in my dressing-room at home. I really think that should satisfy you, Lady Bracknell.
Lady Bracknell: Me, sir! What has it to do with me? You can hardly imagine that I and Lord Bracknell would dream of allowing our only daughter-a girl brought up with the utmost care-to marry into a cloak-room, and form an alliance with a parcel!⏯(11)
Roughly a century after Jane Austen was in business, wealthy girls were being married off exclusively to wealthy boys. Cut that out already! Make love, not profit!
DeleteAnd this all runs on ambition! In fact, go check this out.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX6K72mZ4Mg
And who puts babies in handbags, anyway?
Delete⏯Ms. Prism: [Calling] Cecily! Cecily! Surely such a utilitarian occupation as the watering of flowers is rather Moulton's duty than yours? Especially at a moment when intellectual pleasures await you. Your German grammar is on the table. Pray open it at p. 15. We will repeat yesterday's lesson.
DeleteCecily: [Coming over very slowly] But I don't like German. It isn't at all a becoming language. I know perfectly well that I look quite plain after my German lesson.
Ms. Prism: Child, you know how anxious your guardian is that you should improve yourself in every way. He laid particular stress on your German, as he was leaving for town yesterday. Indeed, he always lays stress on your German when he is leaving for town.⏯(14)
This what Wilde meant by, "Life is too short to learn German." I disagree. In addition to taking a Chinese class in school, I'm learning German in my spare time. I don't think this is funny at all. Aber das ist nicht die dümmste Witz Ich habe gehört.-But this is not the stupidest joke I've heard.
DeleteBut you have plenty of time to learn such languages as these, or any languages, for that matter!
Delete⏯Algernon: Yes, but I haven't been christened for years.
DeleteEarnest/Jack: Yes, but you have been christened. That is the important thing.
Algernon: Quite so. So I know my constitution can stand it. If you are not quite sure about your ever having been christened, I must say I think it rather dangerous your venturing on it now. It might make you very unwell. You can hardly have forgotten that someone very closely connected with you was very nearly carried off this week in Paris by a severe chill.
Earnest/Jack: Yes, but you said yourself that a severe chill was not hereditary.
Algernon: It usen't to be, I know-but I daresay it is now. Science is always making wonderful improvements in things.⏯(29)
Oscar Wilde here points out that a christening is associated with commitment to the church. Algernon has been christened before, so there should be no issue. Jack/Earnest is torn as to whether to get christened at this point, because he's not sure if he wants to commit himself.
And for the record, I couldn't pick a favorite line.
DeleteMy most favorite line in the play of "The Importance of being Ernest" is one of the very first lines of the play. When Algernon is playing the piano and stops to share some words of wisdom to his butler Lane, "I’m sorry for that, for your sake. I don’t play accurately—any one can play accurately—but I play with wonderful expression. As far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is my forte. I keep science for Life." This is my favorite because I also play the piano and have been playing for a while now. And I remember that at a young age my teacher would always make me play the piece very slowly in order to play the correct notes at the exact beat and it bored me to death. Then when I would practice by myself it would never be accurate but I would always play it so lively that to the normal person, I am playing a masterpiece very well when in fact I was not.
ReplyDeleteOscar Wilde has many things to talk about when concerning the social classes and his views on them. He seems to think that the upper class does whatever it takes in order to stay in the upper class even if it means avoiding love with the lower class. For example when Jack proposes to Gwen, Lady Bracknell does not allow him to because,"To be born, or at any rate bred, in a hand-bag, whether it had handles or not, seems to me to display a contempt for the ordinary decencies of family life that reminds one of the worst excesses of the French Revolution." Not knowing his family name or displaying any true sense of high wealth, Lady Bracknell an upper class person refuses Jack's hand to Gwen because of his unknown heredity.
The play also touches base with Oscar Wilde sort of mocking his times of modern literature with Algernon who says, "The truth is rarely pure and never simple, modern life would be very tedious if it were either, and modern literature a complete impossibility!". Algernon in the play is a character with the characteristics of being very sarcastic in a sense. Through Algernon, Wilde is mocking modern literature by commenting how literature these days is impossible to figure out because the truth is hidden so well no one even knows what it truly is.
Jack: Well, really, Gwendolen, I must say that I think there are lots of other much nicer names. I think Jack, for instance, a charming name.
ReplyDeleteGwendolen: Jack? . . . No, there is very little music in the name Jack, if any at all, indeed. It does not thrill. It produces absolutely no vibrations . . . I have known several Jacks, and they all, without exception, were more than usually plain. Besides, Jack is a notorious domesticity for John! And I pity any woman who is married to a man called John. She would probably never be allowed to know the entrancing pleasure of a single moment’s solitude.
So perhaps this isn’t a line, but this exchange was particularly funny to me. I really liked the irony incorporated in this conversation as they are clearly intimate with each other, but Gwendolen is blissfully ignorant of Jack’s situation, or should I say Earnest’s situation. The dramatic irony of this situation is incredible. Wilde comments on marriage through the interaction between Lady Bracknell and Jack. After Lady Bracknell discovers the relationship building between her daughter and “Earnest,'' she quickly puts it on hold so she can learn more about the young man. Wilde’s first comment on marriage was, “An engagement should come on a young girl as a surprise, pleasant or unpleasant, as the case may be” (page 9) which I find quite comedic. The author makes fun of society’s standards of marriage is completely based on the parent’s judgment and the child may only accept the decision. Then later in the interview, Wilde continues to use humor to make fun of how parents choose their children’s future partners.
Lady Bracknell: … I have always been of opinion that a man who desires to get married should know either everything or nothing. Which do you know?
Jack: [After some hesitation.] I know nothing, Lady Bracknell.
Lady Bracknell: I am pleased to hear it. I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone. The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. (9)
Again, there is quite a lot of humor present in this exchange. Typically one would want a husband that knows everything, but, again, Oscar Wilde is making fun of society’s views on marriage with Lady Bracknell’s comments. The author makes the joke about the parent’s views and ideas about their children’s future husband/wife. It is quite amusing to read about. I also find how in the end of this, Wilde just puts in a little barbing comment about education in society.
My favorite part in the play was the exchange between Lady Bracknell and Jack when she is asking him questions so that she can determine if he is fit to marry her daughter.
ReplyDeleteLady Bracknell: Are your parents living?
Jack: I have lost both my parents.
Lady Bracknell: To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness. Who was your father?
Jack: I am afraid I really don’t know. The fact is, Lady Bracknell, I said I had lost my parents. It would be nearer the truth to say that my parents seem to have lost me . . . I don’t actually know who I am by birth. I was . . . well, I was found.
Jack is in love with Gwendolyn, and she is in love with Jack, or his alter personality of Earnest. After they both express they want to be married, Lady Bracknell concludes that she will interview him to see if he is fit on marrying her daughter. When asked about his parents the play turns to a sad and somber mood, with jacks response being that he lost both of his parents and never knew either of them. It is assumed that lady Bracknell will feel sorry, and view this as a positive thing. (Jack grew up with nothing, and worked his way up to become a very successful man without the help of his parents.) She instead dismisses this as a "Careless act", and places the blame instead on him. This is comical because it is Wildes way of using a play on words, Jack did not lose his parents on purpose, they abandoned him. So it is not careless of him it is instead unfortunate. This is also a jab at the social class in England at the time, they viewed family power, and marrying into the right family to keep power as the only way to marry instead of marrying the perfect person you love. They sought only to make sure that future generations of their name are rich and powerful. On another note, Gwendolyn wanting to marry Jack because his name is Earnest is another way of showing that the rich and powerful are blind, and their intentions are skewed. When asked if she would marry a man named jack she says that the name Jack is a common and boring name and that someone named Earnest sounds much more attractive.
-Bryant Kroeger
I haven't really thought of any of the exchanges or lines are that funny. I feel like what makes people laugh in 2019 is a lot different from what made people laugh back in the late 1800’s. So I think that is my reason why I don't find it that funny, but I still appreciate the “foreshadowing” that is done in this play. When Miss Prism is talking with cecily about how she used to write short stories in a book, but then lost it. As it turns out later in the play, Miss Prism accidently switched out her book with Jack in the train station. I really like this “foreshadowing” because in the play it gave the audience this little hint about how Miss Prism liked to write books. Who would have thought it actually would have played a role in the actual story of the play? I think that was an interesting choice by Oscar Wilde.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 1) Explore the way Wilde uses this idea of secrecy in order to keep up appearances, while living freely under an assumed name. How does this apply to Jack's philosophy of life, and the need for a dual identity? How does the idea of being "Earnest/earnest" tie back to the idea of secrecy AND the overarching themes?
I think the themes present in the play are from what was going on in Oscar Wilde's life at the time. I believe Oscar WIlde was living a double life at the time he wrote this play, Wilde had his life at home with his wife, but then would go out and party with guys at night. So I think the themes of double lives in the play come from Wildes real life experiences.
Question 10) How is this play a satire on the classic comedy? How are moments "over the top?"
I feel that the coincidence that everyone ends up at the same house in the play is crazy, like how would that even happen? I think that's over the top but obviously that's the “funny” part about the play, and a lot of other movies, TV shows, ect. Have now used this “coincidence” that everyone always ends up right where they need to be.
- CJ
Cecily: You must not laugh at me, darling, but it had always been a girlish dream of mine to love some one whose name was Ernest. [Algernon rises, Cecily also.] There is something in that name that seems to inspire absolute confidence. I pity any poor married woman whose husband is not called Ernest.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite scene in The Importance of Being Earnest is the scene between Cecily and Algernon. Algernon confesses his love for Cecily and wishes to be married. After some talk between the two, Cecily tells Algernon that she has always had a dream to “love some one whose name was Ernest.” Realizing the situation Algernon is in, he makes a hypothetical about having a different name like “Algernon for instance.” The irony of the situation makes it my favorite scene. Not only is the entire situation ridiculous, but also we, as the audience, know that Gwendolyn said the exact same thing to Jack. Throughout Wilde’s play, he makes several criticisms and comments about social classes. Jack represents a lower class as he doesn’t have/doesn’t realize that he has noble blood. He was found in a handbag at the Victoria station and as a result, Lady Bracknell, the pinnacle of nobility, refuses to have her “only daughter—a girl brought up with the utmost care—to marry into a cloak-room, and form an alliance with a parcel?” Wilde makes comments about the ridiculous standards of nobility and marriage. Jack, having the money and all the things that are suitable for a husband, cannot marry Gwendolyn solely because he lacks intrinsic status of a noble. Lady Bracknell also looks down upon those who lack wealth. For example, Lady Bracknell is indifferent to Cecily as she may be “connect with any of the larger railway stations in London.” She continues to refuse to approve Algernon’s marriage until Jack mentions her wealth, “a hundred and thirty thosuand pounds in the Funds.” As soon as Jack mentions this, Lady Bracknell’s attitude makes a 180 degree turn. “Miss Cardew seems to me a most attractive young lady, now that I look at her.” Wilde critiques social classes, nobles, and marriage through the characters and their actions. From his play, Wilde finds nobles and their standards very petty and ridiculous. Marriage between classes is too convoluted because love is apparently not good enough for marriage. Through excellent characters and writing, Wilde easily conveys his opinions on social classes and marriage.
Wilde uses secrecy in order to keep up appearances while living freely under an assumed name. Many elements in the play portray aestheticism, so many things in the play are just superficial, and those particular things don’t get very deep. Ex) relationships, why people do what they do, etc. Those things are just funny to audiences in their own way of just being themselves - nothing more and nothing less. Wilde makes fun of just about every aspect listed in the assignment blog post but when it comes to religion, Wilde doesn’t take it seriously at all. There was the part about the two abnormally old men for baptisms, going to get baptized by Dr. Chasuble. That part seems to me to make fun of religion. Overall Wilde tried his best it seems to make fun of a lot of things in this particular work of literature.
ReplyDelete7) Oscar Wilde shows the readers of this play that his view of marriage is that men and women should be rich, come from a good family, and upstanding. In Jack's case, he was an orphan who was found in a handbag, which made it difficult for him to marry Gwendolen since he did not meet the requirements from that time.
ReplyDeleteLady Bracknell: [Pencil and note-book in hand.] "I feel bound to tell you that you are not down on my list of eligible young men, although I have the same list as the dear Duchess of Bolton has. We work together, in fact. However, I am quite ready to enter your name, should your answers be what a really affectionate mother requires. Do you smoke?"
Lady Bracknell: You can hardly imagine that I and Lord Bracknell would dream of allowing our only daughter—a girl brought up with the utmost care—to marry into a cloak-room, and form an alliance with a parcel? Good morning, Mr. Worthing.
3)Aestheticism is shown in this play by some characters such a Cecily and Jack. Cecily likes to write fantasy stories or events in her diaries in order to make her life more interesting. She wrote about an fake engagement with Jack in her diary. Jack, has another personality whose name is Earnest when in town and Jack in the country. Jack makes up the personality and name Earnest in order to propose and please Gwendolen.
Jack: "If Gwendolen accepts me, I am going to kill my brother, indeed I think I’ll kill him in any case."
Gwendolen: "Jack? . . . No, there is very little music in the name Jack, if any at all, indeed. It does not thrill. It produces absolutely no vibrations . . . I have known several Jacks, and they all, without exception, were more than usually plain. Besides, Jack is a notorious domesticity for John! And I pity any woman who is married to a man called John. She would probably never be allowed to know the entrancing pleasure of a single moment’s solitude. The only really safe name is Ernest."
Cecily: "I keep a diary in order to enter the wonderful secrets of my life. If I didn’t write them down, I should probably forget all about them."
Cecily: "On the 14th of February last. Worn out by your entire ignorance of my existence, I determined to end the matter one way or the other, and after a long struggle with myself I accepted you under this dear old tree here. The next day I bought this little ring in your name, and this is the little bangle with the true lover’s knot I promised you always to wear."
The elements of aestheticism are seen through nearly every character in the play. From the start of the play to the end, each character expresses their own ideas of what beauty is or should be. In the first scene, Algernon shows his personality but also presents his values in the way he plays the piano. He says to Lane, "I’m sorry for that, for your sake. I don’t play accurately—anyone can play accurately—but I play with wonderful expression. As far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is my forte. I keep science for Life." He sees more beauty in music that is played expressively rather than robotically. Lady Bracknell represents a stereotypical upper class woman of the Victorian era, especially with regards to her feelings about marriage. She believes that appearance is the most important part of a husband. She wants everything to be very extravagant, and believes that everything has to have a touch of class. Upon Jack’s proposal to Gwendolyn she exclaims, "You can hardly imagine that I and Lord Bracknell would dream of allowing our only daughter--a girl brought up with the utmost care--to marry into a cloak-room, and form an alliance with a parcel?" We see elements of both Cecily and Gwendolyns similar ideas of beauty through their fantasies. Cecily likes to write false events in her diary to make her life seem interesting, including a fake engagement. Gwendolyn is fixated on marrying a man named Ernest like Cecily, "you must not laugh at me, darling, but it had always been a girlish dream of mine to love some one whose name was Ernest. There is something in that name that seems to inspire absolute confidence." With the entirety of the story revolving around Jack’s made up persona of Earnest, Wilde shows the era’s hypocrisy and how important appearance was to many.
ReplyDeleteBefore we started on reading The Importance of being Earnest, I remember reading the synopsis of it and it was very confusing to me: the ideas of living this double life that goes hand -n hand with not only one character but also two characters was strange but it had started to make sense, considering how hilarious it was based on topics that can be hard and controversial to talk about. It’s like how in the American culture, we use humor to mask some topics that may be hard to talk about for some people such as marriage. In our society today, where marriage can be a hit or miss topic, we often joke about the pros and cons of marriages and whether people want to get married or not. But back in Oscar Wilde’s time, the matter of marriage was taken very seriously and if you were arranged to marry someone with no free will, it didn’t matter because then, you would only care about your place in the social hierarchy. So when the play starts, I appreciate how Oscar mentions through his characters that marriage doesn’t have to be so serious and that it takes away from the romantic aspect of things if one to be forced to be married. In the play, the character Algernon explains to his brother Jack that he “really [doesn't]t see anything romantic in proposing. It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal. Why, one may be accepted. One usually is, I believe. Then the excitement is all over. The very essence of romance is uncertainty. If ever I get married, I’ll certainly try to forget the fact.” (2) Yet I also found it funny how Algy was being a hypocrite when he’d seen two couples showing public displays of affection, saying that it “ is not very pleasant. Indeed, it is not even decent . . . and that sort of thing is enormously on the increase. The amount of women in London who flirt with their own husbands is perfectly scandalous. It looks so bad. It is simply washing one’s clean linen in public.” (5) Something that I also like to mention is how Oscar used some of his characters to display the stereotypes of how women shouldn't be able to think for themselves. During that time, women had many opinions about themselves and the world around them, but there was no way of being able to work their ideas into society nor could they contribute in matters where it was only meant for men. In the play, Cecily wants to express her ideas and imagination to the fullest and learn all she can, but she’s restricted to what she can learn, think, or do. She only limited to what the resources that Jack has given her and the same goes for her governess Ms. Prism on what she can teach her. Even Miss Prism goes on to say that “you must put away your diary, Cecily. I really don’t see why you should keep a diary at all.” (15) Even when Cecily tries to explain that her diary is something worth her time imagination, Miss Prism seems to think that it is unnecessary for her to spend time on such ideas and that she should be focusing on her studies that Jack wants her to do. But I do love the comedy that comes with these two acts and how the characters compliment each other in these interesting dynamics.
ReplyDelete4) Wilde comments on social class through the behavior of the characters in the importance of being earnest. There is much aristocracy shown as above the lower classes. They are very arrogant and have a lot of pride. For example when alernon tells jack the way he flirts with Gwendolen is disgraceful, "I am afraid Aunt Augusta won’t quite approve of your being here. ... The way you flirt with Gwendolen is perfectly disgraceful. It’s almost as bad as the way Gwendolen flirts with you” (1. 65). This shows perfectly how aunt agusta views how the lower class acts as bad and disgraceful. When Gwendolen and Cecily meet, there is another example of this structure. “I had no idea there were any flowers in the country. ... Personally I cannot understand how anybody manages to exist in the country, if anybody who is anybody does. The country always bores me to death” (II. 690). The upper class seems polite yet straight forward and quite blunt to the lower class.
ReplyDelete7) First, Oscar Wilde uses marriage as a drive for the plot and story. The girls in the story, both dream of marrying someone by the name of earnest, which leads there decisions and actions. The men in the story see it as a way to finally secure the women of their dreams. There is also a on going debate between the characters in the story wether marriage is of "Buisness" or "Pleasure". Lady bracknell expresses her veiws on it, “An engagement should come on a young girl as a surprise, pleasant or unpleasant, as the case may be.”(1.465) She seems to subject jack based on assumptions about the nature and purpose of marriage. - Troy Kennedy
So far Oscar wilde’s play, the importance of being earnest is quite interesting and I’m having a whale of a time in acts i and ii. It’s much funnier than Hamlet was, and while I could tell when Shakespeare was trying to make a joke, Wilde’s play is one big joke the whole time. My favorite line is when lady bracknell was interviewing Jack and gave us this gem:
ReplyDelete“To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.”
It’s just so absurd I can’t help but chuckle. While what she says doesn’t quite make sense, I think she was meant to sound stupid on purpose. As a noble himself, I’m sure Wilde knows how crazy the rich think and something like this might not be too out of the ordinary. I think he includes this line to make fun of the higher class and to give us a closer look at how they might think.
Something Wilde also has experience with in terms of nobility is their view of marriage. It’s much different from our view of it now, as instead of two individuals falling in love and getting married, back in the day it was two entities merging through a marriage. Lady bracknell puts it like this: “You can hardly imagine that I and Lord Bracknell would dream of allowing our only daughter—a girl brought up with the utmost care—to marry into a cloak-room, and form an alliance with a parcel? Good morning, Mr. Worthing!”
We can see even more of Wilde portraying the nobles as crazy when Jack proposes and Lady bracknell does not approve. “Pardon me, you are not engaged to any one. When you do become engaged to someone, I, or your father, should his health permit him, will inform you of the fact.” I’m sure this sort of thing isn’t said out loud but instead an unspoken rule. It may seem absurd to us but to a noble this could be what
How does Oscar Wilde comment on marriage? What are his views?
ReplyDeleteOscar Wilde comments on marriage by creating a pro and con argument between Jack and Algy. Algy argues against marriage, and Jack argues for it. Algy is not against romance, he is against marriage as he believes that “The very essence of romance is uncertainty” and by getting married you ruin the chase and the questioning which make romance exciting. He then advises Jack to keep his alter ego around so he can periodically escape his marriage if he wants to. Jack believes that if he marries a “charming girl like Gwendolyn” then he “certainly won’t want to know Bunbury.” because he feels he will be content in his marriage without needing an escape. Algy counters by saying that if Jack was not going to keep Bunbury around then Gwendolyn will because “In married life three is company and two is none.” because he expects that married people quickly grow tired of each others company. Oscar Wilde also comments on the shallowness of marriage by having the romantic female leads, Gwendolyn and Cecily, only agree to marry Jack and Algy because of their names rather than who they are as people. Cecily tells Algy that she could respect him if his name was not Earnest, but she would not be able to give him her “undivided attention”. Wilde also uses the Lady Bracknell to criticize the treatment of marriage by the upper class. Lady Bracknell refuses to give her daughter freedom to choose who she marries, and insists on choosing a suitor for Gwendolyn herself. She interviews Jack, and still refuses to let him marry Gwendolyn even though he fits all the requirements for character, solely because he does not have a good family. All of the characters agree to marriage for shallow reasons. Whether it was due to a name, status, or social standing, the characters use marriage to gain something rather than because they truly want to spend their lives with a person.
-Solace Lockheardt
1. Wilde brings out the secret at the perfect time by exposing both Algy and Jack for using the name Earnest. He chooses just the right comedic moment by bringing both of their love interests together as well as both of their second identities. Jack has already dealt with the fact that his love interest, Gwendolen, but Algy still has to deal with the conflict between himself, his other identity, and his love interest, Cecily. Jack and Algy then get mad at each other and want to change their names to Earnest but can't decide which one it should be. Gwendolen and Cecily then meet each other and find that they are both in love with men named Earnest. This causes even more comedic conflict as they fight thinking that they're both in love with the same man but in fact they are both in love with two different people. The two find out that Jack and Algy are lying and feel betrayed and plan to leave them.
ReplyDeleteGwendolen: The fact that they did not follow us at once into the house, as any one else would have done, seems to me to show that they have some sense of shame left.
Cecily: They have been eating muffins. That looks like repentance.
Gwendolen: [After a pause.] They don’t seem to notice us at all. Couldn’t you cough?
Cecily: But I haven’t got a cough.
Gwendolen: They’re looking at us. What effrontery!
Cecily: They’re approaching. That’s very forward of them.
Gwendolen: Let us preserve a dignified silence.
Though they are angry they find that they are still in love with the men and carry out their engagements.
“Lady Bracknell: Well, I must say, Algernon, that I think it is high time that Mr. Bunbury made up his mind whether he was going to live or to die. This shilly-shallying with the question is absurd. Nor do I in any way approve of the modern sympathy with invalids. I consider it morbid. Illness of any kind is hardly a thing to be encouraged in others. Health is the primary duty of life. [...] I should be much obliged if you would ask Mr. Bunbury, from me, to be kind enough not to have a relapse on Saturday, for I rely on you to arrange my music for me. It is my last reception, and one wants something that will encourage conversation, particularly at the end of the season when every one has practically said whatever they had to say”
ReplyDeleteI think this quote was funny, primarily because of how Lady Bracknell talks about life and death like it’s just a choice that one can make at any point, which is a bit absurd as well as heartless. She also uses this as a reasoning for why she believes that there should not be any sympathy for invalids.
2) How does Wilde divulge the secret at just the right comedic moment? How does everyone react?
Wilde forces the characters to divulge their secrets at a time when all of the characters are together in one place, especially in the midst of Cecily and Gwendolyn’s argument over who is to marry Earnest, who at that point is really no one at all. It ends up being comically perfect as all misunderstandings and lies are revealed, with both men sounding guilty, and both women sounding haughty and vindicated, before immediately changing their opinions of each other, and asking “You will call me sister, will you not?” Everyone acts shocked, but also relieved that at least their marriage proposals are not a lie. The absurdity of the situation is furthered by the fact that both Jack and Algy intend to christened themselves as Earnest, as if just having a different name would have any bearing on who they actually are.
3) Where do you see the elements of Aestheticism in the play?
Aestheticism is prominent throughout the play, most notably in Algy’s character. He is often shown to embrace art for art’s sake as he often doesn’t “play accurately—anyone can play accurately—but I play with wonderful expression. As far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is my forte. I keep science for Life.” This mentality is in line with Wilde’s version of aestheticism. Algy is also a selfish person and an inconsummate liar, and often takes pleasure in his own cleverness, as well as in the freedom and beauty of life. Jack does this to an extent as well, creating a whole other persona so that he can enjoy life free of consequences and responsibility, often not paying his bills. Algy does this as well when “Lane presents several letters on a salver to Algernon. It is to be surmised that they are bills, as Algernon, after looking at the envelopes, tears them up.”
4) How does Wilde comment on social class? What are his views?
Throughout the play, Wilde uses Lady Bracknell’s character as a way to display his views on class and society. Particularly in scenes where Lady Bracknell interacts with Jack, as she is often seen commenting disapprovingly at the fact that Jack does not come from an important family. In many ways, Jack’s parentage, or lack thereof, is the crux of the play. For Lady Bracknell it is necessary for Jack to come from a notable family in order to marry Gwendolyn. She constantly fluctuates between approval and disapproval depending on Jack’s answers to certain questions or estates, income, finances, and of course, parentage. She does this with Cecily as well before learning the size of her dowry. Her behavior seems hypocritical given that she, herself, did not have any money or standing before her marriage, and Algy, who is her nephew “nothing but his debts to depend upon.” Lady Bracknell’s character and attitude reflect Wilde’s intention to showcase the ridiculousness and hypocrisy of society and the upper class.
10) How is this play a satire on the classic comedy? How are moments "over the top?
ReplyDeleteI think this is a play on classic comedy because they pretty much end up repeating each other where they say "How are you" and then the response is "Im well". He plays on that as he extends the simple hello into something abstract and wild. He seems to use this eccentric language to make it satirical and it resonates in the text.
-Aidan Foley
DeleteMy favorite quote from the play so far is one of the many absurdities that Oscar Wilde uses to provide comic relief, “Lady Bracknell: Well, I must say, Algernon, that I think it is high time that Mr. Bunbury made up his mind whether he was going to live or to die. This shilly-shallying with the question is absurd”. The many absurd remarks some of the characters make in serious situations makes the play even more enjoyable because they are not expected. Oscar Wilde uses lady Bracknell’s character to show the classic stereotypical view on marriage of the time that daughters should be married off into good families that are wealthy no matter what. Lady Bracknell describes her views on marriage by saying, “Lady Bracknell: Pardon me, you are not engaged to anyone. When you do become engaged to someone, I, or your father, should his health permit him, will inform you of the fact. An engagement should come on a young girl as a surprise, pleasant or unpleasant, as the case may be”. She is outraged at Gwendolyn for thinking that she could get engaged without the permission of her or her father. Wilde also uses satire to ridicule the upper-class mannerisms through lady Bracknell’s blunt tone when she says, “To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.” She doesn’t seem to care for anyone but herself and what she thinks is best for her daughter even if Gwendolyn doesn’t want it.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite lines in the play is when Jack is talking to Lady Bracknell about his parents and tells her he was found. Jack: I have lost both my parents.Lady Bracknell: To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness. Who was your father? He was evidently a man of some wealth. Was he born in what the Radical papers call the purple of commerce, or did he rise from the ranks of the aristocracy?Jack: I am afraid I really don’t know. The fact is, Lady Bracknell, I said I had lost my parents. It would be nearer the truth to say that my parents seem to have lost me . . . I don’t actually know who I am by birth. I was . . . well, I was found.
ReplyDelete3. Oscar Wilde has a lot to say about social class in his play. Lady Bracknell is the biggest example of making criticisms on social class. She believes that appearance and wealth is the most important thing in life. She won’t let Jack marry Gwendolan because he doesn't know his parents, therefore he doesn’t have a prestigious name. Also he doesn't live on the fashionable side of the street.
Christine r
My favorite line so far in "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde is when Jack says “My dear Algy, you talk exactly as if you were a dentist. It is very vulgar to talk like a dentist when one isn't a dentist. It produces a false impression.” This line is so funny because it is so unusual that they would be talking about dentistry and also extremely hypocritical as he talks about it being wrong to impersonate someone.
ReplyDeleteOscar Wild uses this play to comment on numerous societal norms, one of these being marriage. From the beginning of the play, this is one of the main topics being discussed. We are first introduced to it when Jack tells Algernon that he is planning to propose to Gwendolen. Algernon responds by saying “I thought you had come up for pleasure? . . . I call that business.” He is modeling the classic belief of the time period that the marriage of two people is mostly for the two families to come together with their money so that they will be richer. Jack responds with what I believe Oscar Wilde’s view on marriage to be, that it is supposed to be romantic.
Oscar Wilde also uses the play to comment on the ever present theme of society and class. This is seen through the use of Cecily and Mrs. Prism as Mrs. Prism is educating Cecily. Education is seen as something that only the higher class get to have, so when she says to Cecily “Surely such a utilitarian occupation as the watering of flowers is rather Moulton's duty than yours? Especially at a moment when intellectual pleasures await you. Your German grammar is on the table,” Oscar Wilde is trying to exclaim how the higher classes are valuing education in the highest way. Cecily is just doing something that brings her pleasure but wont allow for it because Mrs. Prism believes education is more important.