ipl-logo

The Importance Of Being Earnest Moral Analysis

1074 Words5 Pages

Man Ieng Wong Dr. Damian Shaw ENGB220-001 12 April 2016 Is Oscar Wilde’s The Importance Of Being Ernest Merely Written To Amuse An Audience, Or Does It Have A Serious Moral Message? Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is a comedy produced and released in 1895. It is regarded as his most famous and successful work. Wilde showed his marvelous skills in using humorous and satirical words in the play. However, in the early and mid-twentieth century, many people criticized that it was barely a play to amuse the audience, but without any meaningful inspiration. In order to overturn this comment, it is necessary to have an analysis of the play. “… He developed a set of attitudes and postures for which he would eventually become famous. Chief …show more content…

The Victorian society regarded Ernest as a popular and respected name. Also, the meaning it implies, which is ‘serious’, ‘honest’, and ‘earnestness’, was seen as a serious value for the upper class people. In the play, Gwendolen and Cecily’s attitude towards the name Ernest is remarkable. When the two girls were asked whether they would still love the men engaged to them if their name was not Ernest, both of them definitely showed their attitude. For Gwendolen, she said “the only safe name is Ernest” (The Norton Anthology English Literature, 2303) and Cecily replied, “I fear that I should not be able to give you my undivided attention” (The Norton Anthology English Literature, 2320). From the conversations between Jack and Gwendolen, Algernon and Cecily, it is also notable that both of the girls were not really caring about “whether the man actually possesses the qualities that comprise earnestness” (SparkNotes Editors), what they admired was merely their name. This demonstrates again the Victorian upper class’s shallowness. Besides, it is quite preposterous to be engaged to someone only because of his or her name. This kind of engagement could hardly be serious and sincere. Moreover, it is ironic that none of the men were called Ernest. Ernest was just an artificial name invented by them, and both of them were not earnest

Show More
Related
823 Words | 4 Pages

What’s in a name? that which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet” (Romeo & Juliet 2.2 43-44). Shakespeare wrote these words to indicate that the value of a name is placed there only by the people who use it and no matter the name, it does not change the object. Roses are sweet in smell no matter the name and Mt. Denali is going to be the largest mountain in North America whether the name is Denali or McKinley.

Read More
1098 Words | 5 Pages

Jack later promises Algernon that he would reveal his true identity to Gwendolyn in which Gwendolyn responds, “...my ideal has always been to love someone of the name Ernest….The moment Algernon first mentioned to me that he had a friend called Ernest, I knew I was destined to love you.” (Wilde, pg. 1706). Wilde is making it known to his audience that now, in order for Jack to marry Gwendolyn and in order for her to remain in love with him, his name should be Ernest. Also, considering that without Ernest there is no Gwendolyn, Jack realizes that he cannot be without Ernest.

Read More
318 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout the play “Romeo and Juliet”, Shakespeare develops a theme, that someone’s name shouldn’t decide anything for them or define them, by using various literary devices such as metaphors, foreshadowing, as well as irony. The tale of Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy where two fall in love and end up taking their lives because of their family feud which came between their love. During Juliet’s soliloquy, she voices her frustration that their families are feuding, too, for a reason nobody knows of. She compares Romeo to a flower when discussing how even “which we call a rose [was called] by any other name[, it still] would smell as sweet” (Shakespeare 2.2). The metaphor talks about how a rose wouldn’t change even with a different name, it talks

Read More
3221 Words | 13 Pages

However, he does similarly present the importance of equality, but in a more silly and satirical way. Whilst questioning the men on their deception, Wilde uses a paradox to emphasise Gwendolen’s shallowness, “In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing” as the women praise the “beauty” of the men’s answers. Bubb suggests that Wilde’s paradoxes imply “a criticism of society as having got its priorities wrong” as they “destabilise our understanding of what makes sense and what doesn't”. The focus on appearance is repeatedly emphasised, and encapsulated in Gwendolen’s lines, as she reflects society’s care for what can be perceived, “style” compared to what should matter, “sincerity”. Additionally, the women’s “principles” that prevent their total forgiveness are the men’s “Christian names”, not the fact that they have lied about their identity.

Read More
478 Words | 2 Pages

Truth behind Names In Act II, scene II of “Romeo and Juliet”, Juliet says one of the most prominent lines of the play. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet.”

Read More
941 Words | 4 Pages

Juliet starts to question what is in a name, specifically Romeo’s family name. “‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What’s a Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man. O, be some other name!

Read More
1408 Words | 6 Pages

His intention in lampooning was for his audience to enjoy the irony and sarcasm of his work while criticizing the foolish view of the upper class. During the time play’s release, many critics wrote about their opinions of the play. Some critics saw his work as a fantasy, others said it was burlesque, but there were also critics who understood Wilde’s purpose for writing this play (Kohl 272). For instance, Norbert Kohl said, “He is made to laugh at the hollow superficiality hidden behind the mask of earnestness, and to mock the rich facade…” (Kohl 272). Khol clearly understood that Wilde’s purpose of writing The Importance of Being Earnest was to publicly and comically criticize the rich.

Read More
576 Words | 3 Pages

I found that primarily The Importance of Being Earnest was satirical and humorous. Wilde focuses the story on the two aristocrats who seemingly had no other task, but to be sneaky and cunning. He writes with an insensitive kind of humour, which is equally entertaining and unsettling. John Drinkwater focuses on the joy and drama in the play. He also complements the simplicity of the story which I had not noticed till I had read Drinkwater’s criticism.

Read More
928 Words | 4 Pages

Wilde’s representation of the British upper class, its values and opinions, is presented most notably through Lady Augusta Bracknell. She is a dignified aristocratic residing fashionable London society circles. On the surface, she is very typical Victorian woman. As a mother to Gwendolen Fairfax, she has a great authority over her controlling her life. She has even a list of ”eligible young man” whom she is ready to interview in order to select a suitable partner for her daughter.

Read More
672 Words | 3 Pages

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet. So Romeo would, where he not Romeo called, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title. Romeo, doff thy name and for thy name, which is no part of thee take all myself.” (Juliet 2.2, 38).

Read More
1172 Words | 5 Pages

Art, artifice and identity is the theme explored through the use of the two chosen stimulus texts Grayson Perry: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl and The Importance of Being Earnest, written by Wendy Jones and Oscar Wilde respectively. Art and artifice merge as Grayson Perry uses his alter-ego, Claire, to express his creativity and identity. Similarly, the artifice of an alter-ego is part of The Importance of Being Earnest, as the play's protagonists, Jack and Algernon, deceive family and friends by lying about their identity to suit them best. The texts used to explore the theme are a review for the Guardian on the Grayson Perry memoir and an excerpt from Jack's diary set before the events in The Importance of Being Earnest

Read More
923 Words | 4 Pages

While both Algernon and Jack treat names trivially, both Cecily and Gwendolen take names too seriously. Their shared obsession with marrying a man named Ernest indicates that they they prioritize superficial markers of identity over true character. Gwendolen seems to believe that names actually say quite a lot about a person because when Ernest asks her if she could love him if his name were Jack she says, “Jack?... No, there is very little music in the name Jack, if any at all, indeed. It does not thrill.

Read More
588 Words | 3 Pages

In the play Romeo and Juliet, act two coveys Juliet and Romeo's Attitude toward names and what its significance really is in reality. Juliet goes to her balcony to express her feelings without prior knowledge Romeo was near. “Tis but thy name that is my enemy.

Read More
216 Words | 1 Pages

As a result of Romeo being a part of the Montague family, Juliet’s ongoing love for him is slightly pressured due to the name Romeo has been given. Before talking about Romeo’s name, she says how a “rose” would always “smell as sweet” if it had “any other word”. Clearly, Juliet uses olfactory imagery to demonstrate how a rose is just a name used to distinguish one flower to another, but it would have the same smell if it is named something else. Furthermore, she connects this idea to Romeo by stating “Romeo, doff thy name”, and this phrase shows how Juliet wants him to remove his name in order to “retain that dear perfection”. Evidently, this establishes how she thinks every part of Romeo is perfect, except for his name because Juliet is in

Read More
841 Words | 4 Pages

Juliet asks ‘What’s in a name?’, the theme of illogical family feuding is seen Romeo and Juliet cannot be together because their parents don't approve. This still happens today, especially with young

Read More

More about The Importance Of Being Earnest Moral Analysis

Open Document