The Importance of Being Earnest is a drama written by Oscar Wilde to address critical societal matters through the use of comedy. The author presents a humorous approach to cultural criticism using the comic elements of paradox and puns. The play consists of epigrams that expose characters’ perspectives on love, romance, marriage, and gender in the Victorian Era. In addition, Wilde uses several paradoxes consisting of witty comments and inversions of reality to keep the audience engaged. According to the text, aristocrats, such as Algernon, views marriage as a business deal and not having a companion to do life. When talking about his relatives, he says, “I love hearing my relations abused. It is the only thing that makes me put up with them at all. Relations are simply a tedious pack of people, who haven’t got the remotest knowledge of how to live, nor the smallest instinct about when to die” (Wilde 29). Algernon’s comic view on family relations reflects how upper-class individuals do not care about their extended families. He only maintains a relationship with them because he wants to inherit their money when they die.
The play also uses humor to critique society by portraying how people lie to obtain something. Algernon and Jack conjure fake individuals to escape their family obligations. They lie to Gwendolen and Cecily on matters that they do not need false accounts, such as their names. Furthermore, Algernon had to lie to be a brother to Jack so that he could meet Cecily (Wilde 40). Characters have lied throughout the text, even when telling the truth would not cost them anything. The technique expresses the significance of recognizing hypocrisy among people in Victorian society and gives them a chance to rectify their mistakes. In addition, the author uses humor to illustrate Lady Bracknell’s unabashed racist behaviors, especially when she makes snide remarks about playing French Music at her party. The technique is effective because the author satirizes controversial aspects of society, presenting them in a witty and light-hearted manner to avoid offending the audience while passing his message.
Work Cited
Wilde, Oscar. The Importance of Being Earnest. Simon & Schuster, 1895. Web.