August 17, 2018. belsbookblog. Social Issues in Pygmalion and The Importance of Being Earnest: Both plays emphasize issues with class during the turn of the century. In this play, he satirizes and mocks the Victorian society particularly the institution of marriage, m… The play is a light-hearted comedy but also a social satire utilizing this chance to criticize social issues. The Importance of Being Earnest opened in the West End of London in February 1894 during an era when many of the religious, social, political, and economic structures were experiencing change — The Victorian Age (the last 25-30 years of the 1800s). Wilde displays… FAQ, Compare and contrast the views of conservatives and liberals, What kinds of changes can you imagine happening in your lifetime, The blog must be on a forensic accounting legal topic. Besides my obsessions with books and ideas, I also enjoy tea and the act of running. Importance of Wealth: Wealth, indeed, has its own importance. In allusion that I am more than willingly to accept in order to include the LGBTQA community as they are often nonexistent in ‘classic literature.’ This argument of homosexual undertones in the play does not seem far fetched when one remembers that Wilde himself was jailed for having an amorous relationship with another male. Are the statements these plays make about class in Great Britain at this time more similar, or more different? The rules of conduct that developed during this time had a strong influence on one's social standing, motivating people to be… Select one of the following contemporary social issues as the topic for your paper. Or, Bring out the use of wit & paradoxical statements in the Importance of Being Earnest. His humor in The Importance of Being Earnest relies on creating absurd Read More I first encountered Oscar Wilde’s farcical play The Importance of Being Earnest in high school. Social Status in Persuasion and The Importance of Being Earnest Social status refers to a person 's position or importance within a society. None of the spark of Wilde’s composition has faded, only my eyes have been widened to different issues and subtexts that can be read onto the play. Social Issues in Pygmalion and The Importance of Being Earnest. Oscar Wilde deals with something unique about his contemporary age in this drama. Art should not be functional or functional, a notion I have always been grappling with. She wishes that Gwendoline should follow her in grabbing money. Change ). Importanceofbeingearnest.co.uk. This led to his early death. It addresses Victorian social issues, French theatre, farce, social drama and melodrama. Class Conflict in The Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde’s play, The Importance of Being Earnest, features many themes; one of the most prominent being conflict among the two social classes. He led a miserable life due to personal problems, marital issues, imprisonment, harsh criticism, and trails because of homosexuality. These two classes are described through the setting of the play and the behaviours of the characters. One of the main ways in which Wilde uses language and character in 'The Importance of Being Ernest' is not only to entertain but also to criticise society. Social Class in The Importance of Being Earnest Presented by Sherry Shen for IB Literature SL Close your eyes, and imagine ... Where Where do we observe Social Class? The characters in The Importance of Being Earnest often treat serious issues as trivial matters. The “dazzling conversationalist”(Norton 1720) was once reported by Yeats whom said, “I never before heard a man talking with perfect sentences, as if he had written them all overnight with labor and yet all spontaneous”(Norton 1720). Social Issues inThe Importance of Being Earnest The Reality of Romance. It can be concluded that social class affects the setting and characters. ( Log Out /  Or, Importance of Being Earnest as a social satire. Proud of class and wealth are her two major characteristics. All this to say, that despite what Wilde and the Aesthetes proclaimed Art to be many of us continue to read and derive more from different forms of art that Wilde would have liked. Ultimately, The Importance of Being Earnest was a powerful tool in sparking a change in society during the time he lived in; which is still relevant today in societies that still struggle with wealth/status divides. Synopsis of The Importance of Being Earnest. Seeing Double: A Social Commentary on The Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) is a social commentary on class and conventional mores in late nineteenth century Victorian England. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. This is mainly reflected in the way that Algernon so frequently uses paradoxes to challenge and, in a way, poke fun at orthodox ideas and in the way that Lady Bracknell and Jack think so highly of society and indeed the way it must be run. Back then I was entranced by the comedic humor, the … Oscar Wilde is one of the renowned Irish dramatists of Victorian Era, infamous for his notorious history. The characters introduced in the beginning were that of a high class English society as it seemed. Back then I was entranced by the comedic humor, the witty one-liners, and the brilliance of Oscar Wilde himself. Henceforth, the Victorian manner is also included in major themes of “The Importance of Being Earnest”. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Answer: Oscar Wilde is an incredibly funny and witty writer. Algernonand Jack discuss the nature of marriage when they dispute brieflyabout whether a marriage proposal is a matter of “business” or “pleas… I first encountered Oscar Wilde’s farcical play The Importance of Being Earnest in high school. On February 28, 1895, two weeks after The Importance of Being Earnest ’s opening night, Lord Alfred’s belligerent, homophobic father, the Marquess of Queensberry, publicly accused Wilde of “posing as a somdomite.” The nobleman meant “sodomite,” of course, an insulting and potentially defamatory term for a homosexual. Lady Bracknell wants a wealthy son-in-law. Wilde was also infamous for writing duplicate content. I have done some research and have acquired information over the way social status is addressed in both the writings of Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde. The Importance of Being Earnest is regarded as one of the most successful plays written by Oscar Wilde, a great 19th century playwright. For this project, I will discuss the Gender Issues found in Pygmalion and The Importance of Being Earnest.I have chosen this as the focus for my research paper mainly because gender issues are so undoubtedly present in both plays. To the Victorians, reform means keeping the current social and economic system in place by perpetuating upper-class virtues and economy. On the surface level, Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is a lighthearted, satirical play about the mischief gotten into by two men as they endeavor to secure the hands of their respective interests in marriage. The two film versions I know are so hilarious that I have to watch with the pause button nearby else I will miss the next line. The Importance of Being Earnest does not stop being a funny piece of literature to read or performance to see (which I highly recommend you do) no mater what you read the ‘point’ of the play to be—criticism of the class system, subversion of traditional relationships, etc. What sort of statements could these plays be making? Yet without a more thorough look at the text, there is much that may be missed in listening to the actors’ rapid-fire banter. Women and Romance. Appearance "Lane: Yes, sir. The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde.First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae to escape burdensome social obligations. Wilde’s play shows the differences in behavior between the upper and lower classes. I’ve read it so many times that I have whole sections memorized, and I could read it again now and still laugh and laugh. Every page, every line of dialogue, every character, each symbol, and every stage direction in The Importance of Being Earnest is bent on supporting Wilde's contention that social change happens as a matter of thoughtfulness. It is a comical play and relies on … ( Log Out /  Appearances "The room [Algernon's flat] is luxuriously and artistically furnished." Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have lived in a different era? ( Log Out /  There are moments when aristocrats snub their help, when those who live in town look down upon those who reside in the country, and a few jabs at the education system—particularly on the education of the lower classes. Instead the ability of audiences of different generations to be able to still see a relevance to the the play is astounding and beautiful. Overview of The Importance of Being Earnest The play is based around two young men, one of whom is an upright young man called Jack who lives in the country. However, in order to escape the drudgery of his highly conservative lifestyle, he has created an alter-ego, Ernest, who has all kinds of reprobate fun in London. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Oscar Wilde was an established writer of the late 1800’s who had a gift of being witty. Art seems to be much those things and others: a historical record, a conduit for the emotions of an age, a medium for the beautiful but also a mirror for society. 1.- Chosen Topic: Gender Issues in Pygmalion and The Importance of Being Earnest. The act of “bunburying” involves deception and fraud and is carried out by Algy and Jack without any guilt or regard for consequences. Wilde aligned himself with the Aesthetic movement, a movement that professed that art should be for “art’s sake.” A notion that claimed art should be beautiful and not functional, as functionality would take away from its beauty. One that has had a lot of controversy in recent years is gender equality. Evaluate Importance of Being Earnest as a comedy. Marriage is of paramount importance in The Importanceof Being Earnest, both as a primary force motivating theplot and as a subject for philosophical speculation and debate.The question of the nature of marriage appears for the first timein the opening dialogue between Algernon and his butler, Lane, andfrom this point on the subject never disappears for very long.

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