LRJ #3 - The Importance of Being Earnest

Sarita Beekie
Ms. Peifer
10 IB - Hour 5
9 May 2009

LRJ #3 - The Importance of Being Earnest

There are several instances in The Importance of Being Earnest where wit is used to add dimension to the characters, and add humor to the play as a whole. Examples of wit include Algernon telling Jack, "It is awfully hard work to do nothing" (Wilde i) and "It is perfectly childish to be in deep mourning for a man who is staying for a whole week with you in your house a a guest (Wilde ii). Algernon also displays wit when he tells Cecily, "[Good looks] are a snare that every sensible man would like to be caught in" (Wilde ii). As well when Ms. Prism tells Dr. Chausuble, "No married man is ever attractive except to his wife" (Wilde ii).

The satire in The Importance of Being Earnest is used mostly to ridicule the actions of women and that of the upper class. When Gwendolen first meets Cecily, she politely tells her, "Cecily Cardew? What a very sweet name! Something tells me that we are going to be great friends. I like you already more than I can say. My first impressions of people are never wrong" (Wilde ii). However, this friendly conversing soon turns nasty, and eventually Gwendolen snaps at Cecily, "From the moment I saw you I distrusted you. I felt that you were false and deceitful. I am never deceived in such manners. My first impressions of people are invariably right" (Wilde ii). Oscar Wilde uses this spat to illustrate the cattiness and fickleness of women. As far as the absurdity of the upper class, Lady Bracknell's character does a most perfect job at demonstrating such a foible. When hearing of Cecily's immense inheritance, she replies, "A hundred and thirty thousand pounds! And in the Funds! Miss Cardew seems to me a most attractive young lady" (Wilde iii) and then goes onto tell Algernon, "There are distinct social possibilities in Miss Cardew's profile" (Wilde iii) as is he really cares about "social possibilities". Creating Lady Bracknell as the "aristocrat's aristocrat" Oscar Wilde portrays the British upper class of the time period as a group only concerned with appearances and money.

Comedy for comedy's sake (also known as farce) is what makes The Importance of Being Earnest so likable. The frequent "slipping-of-tongues" includes Cecily's, "Yes, to good heavens, Gwendolen, I mean to Gwendolen" (Wilde ii) and Algernon's, "Oh, I killed Bunbury this afternoon. I mean poor Bunbury died this afternoon" (Wilde iii).