What is the most important line in The Importance of Being Earnest?
“If I am occasionally a little over-dressed, I make up for it by being always immensely over-educated.” “I hope you have not been leading a double life, pretending to be wicked and being good all the time. That would be hypocrisy.”
How does Algernon feel about marriage quotes?
Algernon: “Nothing will induce me to part with Bunbury, and if you ever get married, which seems to me extremely problematic, you will be very glad to know Bunbury. A man who marries without knowing Bunbury has a very tedious time of it.”
Which line from The Importance of Being Earnest is an example of a commentary on marriage?
Which line from The Importance of Being Earnest is an example of a commentary on marriage? "I don't play accurately—any one can play accurately—but I play with wonderful expression." "The very essence of romance is uncertainty. If ever I get married, I'll certainly try to forget the fact."
What did Lady Bracknell say?
Lady Bracknell: “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. Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever.
Does Algernon actually love Cecily?
After Jack goes into the house, Algernon announces he is in love with Cecily. Algernon proclaims his undying affection while Cecily copies his words in her diary. Algernon asks Cecily to marry him, and she agrees.
Does Algernon marry Cecily?
Algernon and Cecily get married as well. To top it all off, so do Miss Laetitia Prism and Dr. Frederick Chasuble. And just when the festivities are about to start, Jack says a key line: "I've now realized for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest" (III.
Which line from Act I of The Importance of Being Earnest is a paradox?
Which line from Act I of The Importance of Being Earnest is a paradox? "It is awfully hard work doing nothing." Algernon.
Which line from Act I of The Importance of Being Earnest is an epigram?
Terms in this set (9) Which line from Act I of The Importance of Being Earnest is an epigram? "There is no good offering a large reward now that the thing is found."
How does Jack claim his brother has died Importance of Being Earnest?
However, Jack returns early in mourning clothes claiming that his brother Ernest has died in Paris. He is shocked to find Algy there posing as Ernest. He orders a dogcart — a small horse-drawn carriage — to send Algy back to London, but it is too late. Algernon is in love with Cecily and plans to stay there.
What is ironic about Lady Bracknell?
What is ironic about Lady Bracknell saying, "To speak frankly, I am not in favor of long engagements. They give people the opportunity of finding out each other's character before marriage, which I think is never advisable" (p.
What is one thing Lady Bracknell says that shows her character?
LADY BRACKNELL. Pardon me, you are not engaged to any one. When you do become engaged to some one, I, or your father, should his health permit him, will inform you of the fact.
Did Lady Bracknell marry for money?
Well, I suppose I must give my consent. Lady Bracknell graciously allows Cecily to marry her nephew, reminding the audience that Algernon lives as an idle aristocrat who marries for money. She approves of her nephew's marriage in a manner that denies his mercenary motives and betrays her own.
Why does Jack say this is the first time he has ever spoken the truth?
It is therefore that much more extreme for Jack to say this is the first time he has ever spoken the truth—and that he does so only because he is forced. It is one of Wilde's most striking positions in this play.
What did Wilde criticize?
First, Wilde criticizes social conventions that made clear, firm judgments about what people should and shouldn't read. Second, he reverses common wisdom about what is important, or not, to read. Third, while being amusing, Wilde inserts his opinion about literature and censorship. Important works were censored during this time, including Wilde's own Picture of Dorian Gray. Notable, too, is that women were discouraged from reading newspapers.
What does Wilde's proposal mean?
Wilde reverses social conventions about love and marriage. A proposal does mark a shift in a romance but not a positive one here —an ending to romance rather than the beginning of a new phase of it. A proposal removes the uncertainty and excitement of courtship, and acceptance begins the predictable certainty, permanence, and responsibility of marriage.
Is it absurd to have a hard and fast rule about what one should read and what one shouldn't?
Oh! it is absurd to have a hard and fast rule about what one should read and what one shouldn't. More than half of modern culture depends on what one shouldn't read.
Who wrote the importance of being earnest?
Esther Lombardi. Updated March 06, 2017. Oscar Wilde created one of the most delightful and memorable social comedies with " The Importance of Being Earnest .". First performed in 1895, the play satirizes the stiff and proper customs and institutions of Victorian England.
What is the most famous comedy of Manners?
Oscar Wilde's Famous & Controversial Comedy of Manners. Esther Lombardi, M.A., is a journalist who has covered books and literature for over twenty years. Oscar Wilde created one of the most delightful and memorable social comedies with " The Importance of Being Earnest .". First performed in 1895, the play satirizes the stiff ...
What was the dichotomy between what people said and how they acted in public and what they truly thought?
Must Victorian-era social interactions involved a dichotomy between what people said and how they acted in public and what they truly thought. The play's title -- and many of its quotes -- allude to Wilde's belief that it was important to be earnest, and that truthfulness and honesty were lacking in Victorian society.
What was expected of men and women in the era of the peak under to covers?
Like everything else in this era, men and women were expected to behave in a prim and proper manner. But, a peak under to covers -- so to speak -- shows that what men and woman thought about their roles was very different than what appeared on the surface.
Why was social standing important in Victorian times?
Social standing was very important during the Victorian era. You did not have a chance to rise to the top, as you might in the U.S., through hard work and luck. If you were born to a lower class -- generally the poorer and less-educated in society -- you would remain a member of that class for life , ...
What is the importance of being earnest?
Filled with witty Victorian aphorisms and Wilde’s own brand of wisdom, The Importance of Being Earnest tells the story of Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff who use clever deception and truth-bending to accommodate their social pursuits. Jack bends the truth to include an imaginary brother, Ernest, whom he uses as an excuse to escape from the country to party among urban socialites, while urbane Algernon uses a similar technique (Bunburying) that provides him opportunities for taking adventures in the country. Of course, courting and liaisons ensue, but not without complications. Oscar Wilde builds a farcical—albeit realistic—world of Victorian social mores by using double entendre, aphorisms, and witty repartee.
What does the title of the play Ernest mean?
Rather than a form of the name Ernest, the title implies earnestness as a quality one should seek to acquire, as in being honest, sincere, sober, and serious. Throughout the play, Ernest is a name ...
Is Ernest a description or a name?
But audiences are left to wonder if Wilde meant to use “Earnest” and “Ernest” interchangeably. After all, one is a description and the other is a man’s name. No, Wilde reminds viewers that to be earnest is more important that to be named Ernest.
Is there something in that name that seems to inspire absolute confidence?
There is something in that name that seems to inspire absolute confidence.”. Indeed, there is almost a worship of the name more than what it represents. “It is a divine name. It has a music of its own,” explains Gwendolyn. “It produces vibrations.”.
Is Ernest a safe name?
The only really safe name is Ernest.”. That both Gwendolyn and Cecily dream of marrying a man named Ernest seems more than a coincidence. Cecily admits, “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.”.
What is the importance of being earnest?
Although the themes in The Importance of Being Earnest address Victorian social issues, the structure of the play was largely influenced by French theatre, melodrama, social drama, and farce. Wilde was quite familiar with these genres, and borrowed from them freely. A play by W. Lestocq and E.M. Robson, The Foundling, is thought to be a source of Earnest, and it was playing in London at the time Wilde was writing Earnest. The Foundling has an orphan-hero, like Jack Worthing in Wilde's play. A farce is a humorous play using exaggerated physical action, such as slapstick, absurdity, and improbability. It often contains surprises where the unexpected is disclosed. The ending of Earnest, in which Jack misidentifies Prism as his unmarried mother, is typical of the endings of farces. Farces were usually done in three acts and often included changes of identity, stock characters, and lovers misunderstanding each other. Wearing mourning clothes or gobbling food down at times of stress are conventions that can be traced to early farces.
Why was the importance of being earnest important?
James Theatre on February 14, 1895. On this particular evening, to honor Wilde's aestheticism, the women wore lily corsages, and the young men wore lilies of the valley in their lapels.
How many acts did Wilde make in Earnest?
The theatre manager of the St. James where Earnest opened, George Alexander, asked Wilde to reduce his original four-act play to three acts, like more conventional farces. Wilde accomplished this by omitting the Gribsby episode and merging two acts into one. In doing so, he maneuvered his play for greater commercial and literary response.
What is the ending of Earnest?
It often contains surprises where the unexpected is disclosed. The ending of Earnest, in which Jack misidentifies Prism as his unmarried mother, is typical of the endings of farces.
What did Wilde's plays encourage people to think about?
In an age of change, their work, as well as Wilde's plays, encouraged people to think about the artificial barriers that defined society and enabled a privileged life for the rich at the expense of the working class. American writer, Edith Wharton, was also writing about the lifestyles of the rich during the same period.
Who is the author of Earnest?
Wilde was quite familiar with these genres, and borrowed from them freely. A play by W. Lestocq and E.M. Robson, The Foundling, is thought to be a source of Earnest, and it was playing in London at the time Wilde was writing Earnest. The Foundling has an orphan-hero, like Jack Worthing in Wilde's play.
What did the aristocracy know about Wilde's play?
The aristocracy attending Wilde's play knew and understood the private lives of characters like Jack and Algernon. They were aware of the culture and atmosphere of the West End. It had clubs, hotels, cafes, restaurants, casinos, and most of the 50 theatres in London.
