discuss the ways in which Wilde presents the characters of Jack and Algernon in the opening of Act One

Discuss the ways in which Wilde presents the characters of Jack and Algernon in the opening of Act One in 'The Importance of Being Earnest' In the opening act of 'The Importance of Being Earnest', Oscar Wilde initially introduces the reader to the two main characters, Jack and Algernon. Their behaviour and personality are a key focus within this first scene as well as revealing what kind of language they use when in conversation with each other and with the other characters. The first act overall has little action within it, but Wilde manages to keep the play interesting through the emphasis he places on specific language features. Wilde also builds up an atmosphere which is full of trivialities and also nonsense. These two main topics are referred to on a frequent basis by the characters in the play. But ultimately it's how Wilde presents the two main characters to the audience that strikes up an element of importance, and within these characters lies Wilde's true messages to certain subjects like social class, and this will prove to be crucial in order to understand the key concepts of the play. Straight away we know that Algernon is of a high social class with a wealthy background. The fact that he is in his 'Morning-Room' at the start of the scene suggests this as not many people even today would have a certain room, which could only be used in specific times of the day.

  • Word count: 1454
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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In the play 'The Importance of Being Earnest", Oscar Wilde Presents a Society That is Far from 'Earnest'

In the play 'The Importance of Being Earnest", Oscar Wilde Presents a Society That is Far from 'E(a)rnest' As people learn to 'Bunbury' more and more they find that life becomes easier to live with so long as they remember the untruth that makes up their alter-egos. The infamous 'Bunbury' is utilised for the least selfish of charitable purposes; he saves the feelings of the arrogant and improves the diet and social life of all of his friends. As he lies on his death bed, he is a true friend who has the good grace to fall ill at your whim and the good humour not to join you at the Savoy for a steak dinner (or expect you at his house when you profess a desire to visit to your aunt). No, all he asks is for you to remember him and change how he is feeling (unlike some people you won't have a nasty shock about your being his namesake) when it suits you... you wouldn't want to miss your chance to DJ a proper Victorian get together would you? Or people might not listen to your tales of cucumbers and 'ready money'. Lane seems to be one of the more interesting cameos in the play, he will back his master trough any lie or misfortune as long as he still receives his wage - you never get the impression that he would not leave his master if 'Agly' fell completely from the good graces of Lady Bracknell and into the dreaded disrepute of poor health becoming unable to provide wage. Lane

  • Word count: 1391
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Reread An Extract From Chapter Sixteen, Which Begins, "A Cold Rain Began To Fall, And The Blurred Street-Lamp Looked Ghastly In The Dripping Mist" as Far As, "... Said Dorian, Turning On His Heel, And Going Slowly Down The Street." Discuss How Wilde Prese

Reread An Extract From Chapter Sixteen, Which Begins, "A Cold Rain Began To Fall, And The Blurred Street-Lamp Looked Ghastly In The Dripping Mist" as Far As, "... Said Dorian, Turning On His Heel, And Going Slowly Down The Street." Discuss How Wilde Presents Dorian Gray In This Extract And At One Other Point In The Novel. Oscar Wilde wrote the novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray", in 1891. When first published in, "Lippincott's Monthly Magazine", it was criticised for being immoral and provoked a response in Britain. It follows the story of young, Dorian Gray, who undertakes a journey into darkness. In Chapter Sixteen, Dorian is travelling to an opium den, in which he further indulges in his sins. It is at this point in novel in which his past catches up with him, but being the devious character that he is, he manages to lie his way out of the perilous situation. In it the first time in this chapter in which Dorian is presented in an abnormal surrounding, one which is unlike any of the other exquisite environments in which he has been portrayed previously. This change in environment indicates to the reader that we will be seeing a different side to Dorian. Previously, he had been surrounded by luxury and beauty, but now in this real raw environment, it indicates to us that Wilde will be unearthing the façade that is Dorian Gray, depicting another viewpoint of the main

  • Word count: 1331
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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How is the role of love dealt with in "An Ideal Husband"?

What is the role of love in ‘An Ideal Husband’ by Oscar Wilde? An Ideal Husband revolves around many themes, none more important than love. The whole play is the result of the diversity of love and its different viewpoints. Wilde deals with many of these viewpoints through his characters. Sir Robert’s selfless, unconditional love; Lady Chiltern’s love of an ideal, perfect, morally upright husband; Lord Goring’s love of life, his complete love for Mabel Chiltern and his past love for Mrs. Cheveley; and Mrs. Cheveley’s love for money and political and social standing. Each love differs from the other, though each creates an impact in the lives of the character and the course of the play. Sir Robert’s love is one which is strong and can bear the test of time, selfless and unconditional. His love is predicated on the idea of human imperfection and he accepts Lady Chiltern for her faults. According to him, love is a healing force, one that can heal any wound, pardon any sins, except any against itself, and make life infinitely better, as he states in his melodramatic speech at the end of the second act. However, his definition of love is a bit gender-biased. When he claims man’s love to be more human and accepting than a woman’s, he sets up a ground with which most wouldn’t agree. Though the rest of his speech deals with love as a highly exaggerated

  • Word count: 1113
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Discuss how Wilde presents the relationship between Dorian and Basil Hallward here and at one other point in the novel

Discuss how Wilde presents the relationship between Dorian and Basil Hallward here and at one other point in the novel The twelfth chapter, although seemingly unimportant- yet a necessary reintroduction of Basil Hallward- in fact reveals a great deal about the way in which he sees Dorian. ‘Sin is a thing that writes itself across a man’s face. It cannot be concealed’ is a clear example of traditional Victorian values of aestheticism and a perfect representation of Basil’s views concerning Art and morality. It is at this moment Basil reveals how strongly he believes that ethical goodness has a relationship to aesthetic goodness, especially when it comes to Dorian. As we have seen earlier in chapter one, Lord Henry Wotton describes Dorian as ‘some brainless, beautiful creature’, a statement which Basil seems to pass over as if it were true but his intelligence is unimportant in comparison to his beauty as Basil states that ‘his beauty is such that Art cannot express’. Basil reveals to us in the twelfth chapter that he has always seen Dorian as nothing more than a beautiful piece of Art and with that comes moral purity as within the realms of aestheticism how is it possible for there to be anything more than the beauty of the piece itself? It is this which Basil and Dorian’s relationship has always been based upon. Basil describes Dorian in chapter twelve as

  • Word count: 1064
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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How does Oscar Wilde exploit Victorian ideas of good manners to comic effect in the opening of "The Importance of Being Earnest"?

The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde - How does Oscar Wilde exploit Victorian ideas of good manners to comic effect in the opening of the play? The opening scene of The Importance of Being Earnest establishes a, unrealistic world in which no one talks the way ordinary people talk and very little seems to matter to anyone. Algernon and Lane, as well as most other characters in the play, are both literary constructs. They have almost no life or significance apart from the way they talk. Their language is sharp, brittle, and full of elegant witticisms and ironic pronouncements. This shows an emphasis on how much it matters on what you say, not who you are, which was uncommon in Victorian times as stature was an important part in having your voice heard. This adds to the establishment of an unrealistic world in a more explicit way, since it directly contrasts Victorian life. Lane’s first line, for example, regarding Algernon’s piano playing, is an insult coated in polite, elegant language. We can see the play’s lack of realism in the way Algernon and Lane behave over Lane’s inaccurate entry in the household books. Lane has entered considerably more wine than was actually drunk to cover the fact that he himself has been drinking huge amounts of expensive champagne on the sly. Algernon shows no more concern over the stealing than Lane does over its having been

  • Word count: 590
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Oscar Wilde

REALISM Great economic and political changes started in the beginning of the 19th century. Trading class began to struggle for radical political changes. As the political power was placed in the hands of the property - owning class, labor became cheep and living conditions grew worse. Disappointed and haggard working class decided to fight for their rights. People held uprisings, strikes, mass meetings and demanded more democratic reforms to improve their own conditions. All this stimulated the growth of realism and in the presentation of reality Romanticism became too abstract and symbolic. The realistic novels became the most important and most popular genre (7). Realism in literature is an approach that attempts to describe life without idealization or romantic subjectivity. Although realism is not limited to any one century or group of writers, it is most often associated with the literary movement in 19th-century France, specifically with the French novelists Flaubert and Balzac. George Eliot introduced realism into England, and William Dean Howells introduced it into the United States. Realism has been chiefly concerned with the commonplaces of everyday life among the middle and lower classes, where character is a product of social factors and environment is the integral element in the dramatic complications (13). In the drama, realism is most closely associated

  • Word count: 5747
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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