The Importance of Being Earnest LRJ # 3

Wit:
"It is awfully hard work doing nothing" (Wilde 138).

"Women only do that (call each other sister) when they have called each other a lot of other things" (Wilde 138).

"If you are not too long, I will wait here for you all my life" (Wilde 186).

Farce:
"The gentleman who is now embracing you is my cousin, Mr. Algernon Moncrieff" (Wilde 168).

"My darling Cecily, I think there must be some slight error. Mr. Ernest Worthing is engaged to me" (Wilde 164).

"We can't both be christened Ernest. It's absurd" (Wilde 172).

Satire:
"I am not in favor of this modern mania for turning bad people into good people at a moment's notice" (Wilde 142)

"I am glad to say that I have never seen a spade. It is obvious that our social spheres have been widely different."(Wilde 165).

Using comedy, Oscar Wilde ridicules Victorian society in his play, The Importance of Being Earnest. The main point he makes is that the politeness of the Victorian age is excessive and ridiculous. He often illustrates this by using satire, and his characters often show absurd politeness in the face of conflict. For example, during the farcical situation of Gwendolyn and Cecily believing to be marrying the same man, both women maintain comical poise and polite diction. Another subject Wilde satires is the overbearing importance of status and heritage. To provide contrast to this, Jack Worthing stated that he was born in a handbag, found in a cloakroom.