Remind yourself of the extract at the end of Act I, between Lord Illingworth and Mrs Allonby. What is the importance of this extract in the context of the whole play?
Remind yourself of the extract at the end of Act I, between Lord Illingworth and Mrs Allonby. What is the importance of this extract in the context of the whole play? 'A woman of no importance' is a social comedy written in 1893. Wilde explores themes such as sexual politics, social hypocrisy and discusses gender roles in a nineteenth century context. It could be argued that all of the characters in "A Woman of No Importance" embody certain elements of Oscar Wilde's ideology and indeed the main themes and allusions of the plot, sexual politics, class systems and reputation, seem to be based on the themes in Wilde's own life. Hester portrays some of the Puritanical views and represents a state unbound by class barriers which is an idea which appealed to Wilde. Her American heritage also links to the American culture and way of living which Wilde loved so much. Kelvil also holds views on society similar to those of Wilde who also seems very sympathetic and aware of the lower classes in a socialist perspective. This socialist attitude extends to his appreciation of woman's equality with men and like Wilde, seems to be almost a male Feminist. Other characters such as Lady Caroline seem to be deliberately juxtaposed to the morality of Wilde. Wilde uses the seemingly predictable character of Lord Illingworth, to go beyond simply convention, as through him he discusses the issue
What sort of society and values does Oscar Wilde present in “Importance of being Earnest”?
What sort of society and values does Oscar Wilde present in "Importance of being Earnest"? In the days when the play was set, people were spilt into three different classes. There were the Upper class people, who lived in an aristocrat society, who mainly invested from lands. Then, there were the tradesmen, who had "new wealth" which they made from their businesses. Finally, you would have the lower class people, who were the servants of the upper classes. The characters in the play are leading a comfortable life. They live in a sophisticated life style, where everything for them is a breeze, they have servants to do all the work for them, while they sit and relax. They lead a superior life style, everyone under them has to look up to them. The lower classes are expected to respect them. In act 1, when Lady Bracknell visits Algernon, he had eaten all the cucumber sandwiches, which were especially made for her. As a good and loyal servant should do, Lane lies to get his master out of trouble, which is what all good servants should do. Algernon quotes, "...if the lower orders don't set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them?" This shows what they thought of the lower classes as being their "guide to life". Lady Bracknell quotes, "Nor do I approve in anyway of the modern sympathy with invalids" when speaking to Algernon about Mr Bunbury. She says this with
Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
James Wright 4jrp 11.01.06 Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray Coursework Essay "Whatever my life is, he had more to do with the making or marring of it than poor Harry has had. He may not have intended it, the result was the same." (Dorian to Alan Campbell, chapter 14). Consider who is most to blame for Dorian's moral decline. Make close reference to two or three key episodes in your answer. The Novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is a tale of meddling with the devil and a pursuit for pleasure to satisfy one's own needs. The downfall of Dorian Gray is the main occurrence during the novel which is the most intriguing of all. The first time Dorian Gray is introduced to the reader is by Basil Hallward admiring him, whilst chatting with Lord Henry or Harry. Basil presents Dorian as a beautiful, caring, charitable and loving creature with extreme popularity. Dorian Gray is a charming young man from Basil's perspective. In this first chapter Basil says he admires Dorian Gray like he is one of his prized possessions. "Dorian Gray is my dearest friend.... He has a simple and a beautiful nature". Basil thinks Dorian is of a caring nature. Dorian appears to be human capable of no harm. The first time Dorian Gray meets Lord Henry is at Basil's residence. As they are conversing Lord Henry says "There is no such thing as influence, Mr Gray. All influence is
How does 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde use paradox to explore its aesthetic standpoint
How does 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde use paradox to explore its aesthetic standpoint? By Oliver Walsh In the 'Picture of Dorian Gray' Wilde uses paradox throughout the novel to express, explore, question and test the philosophy of aesthetics. The characters in the book are seen through the eyes of Wilde's moral standpoint, and the fates of individuals are all steeped in opposite dualistic meanings. Wilde is writing about aestheticism in a Victorian era where it flourished partly as a reaction against the materialism of the burgeoning middle class, assumed to be composed of philistines (individuals ignorant of art) who responded to art in a generally unrefined manner. In this climate, the artist could assert himself as a remarkable and rarefied being, one leading the search for beauty in an age marked by shameful class inequality, social hypocrisy, and bourgeois complacency. Wilde weights his argument heavily on the benefits of aestheticism and plays down its negative aspect, like the lack of morality, until the end of the novel when Dorian is confronted by the painting which dramatically illustrates and exposes his corrupt soul and the darker side of pursuing a hedonistic lifestyle. The character of Henry Wotton is constructed as the philosophical idea of aesthetics. He includes in most conversations linguistic paradoxes, contrived in epigrams which
What are the main stages of the battle of the wits between Gwendolen and Cecily in act two? Who seems to win?
What are the main stages of the battle of the wits between Gwendolen and Cecily in act two? Who seems to win? Targets: * Refer closely to the text * Quote often but briefly * Refer to the story in the present tense * Use expressions such as; but, however, perhaps * Come to a clear conclusion There are five main stages in the battle of the wits between Gwendolen and Cecily. While they battle they use a number of weapons that include: rhetoric questions, patronage, epigrams, sarcasm, deliberate disobedience and bragging. From the very beginning when Gwendolen and Cecily first meet there seems to be an apparent grating of personalities. As soon as Gwendolen enters the scene she straightaway goes to shake Cecily's hand, which is quite a dominating action. It gives the impression that Gwendolen is taking charge and that Cecily in the extreme, is almost powerless to stop her. "Moving to her and shaking hands". Gwendolen goes on to use command like sentences, which fortify the dominating characteristic that has already presented itself: "I may call you Cecily, may I not?...And you will call he Gwendolen, wont you?...Then that is all quite settled, is it not?" As soon as they meet, they have apprehensions of each other; this seems to add to the already accumulating fuel that will feed their battle. This leads on to the second stage where Gwendolen and Cecily begin to
Importance of Being Earnest Passage Analysis
This scene, found at the end of Act 3, features all of the major characters together at the end. They have just heard Miss Prism's story of how she switched the baby and the manuscript into the hand-bag and perambulator, respectively. The scene begins with Jack questioning Lady Bracknell about his identity. He discovers his Moncrieff lineage and relations to Algernon (his true brother), Lady Bracknell (his aunt), and transitively, Gwendolen (his cousin). In this passage, each of the characters' dialogue and actions serves to help define their characters and roles in the play. Jack's calm, unruffled demeanor and lines, even in the face of discovering his true origins, illustrate the traditional societal values that he represents. He is very smart and quick to think of checking the Army Lists for his father's name. However, we see that when he is on the brink of finding his name, he gets excited and acts melodramatically. Algernon, on the other hand, is much more epicurean and informal with addressing the other characters, calling Jack, "old boy." He cannot even recall his own father's Christian name, using his premature death as an excuse. Lady Bracknell is stiff and mostly speaks indirectly, embellishing answers to Jack's questions. She also remains calm and meditative in the face of Jack's personal discovery. She generally seems to disapprove of all actions the other
The Importance of Being Earnest
A protagonist is described as the main character in the story. The story line revolves around this one character and the events in his/ her life. In the Importance of Being Earnest, Jack Worthing is the protagonist of the play because it is his character that dominates the narrative. His pursuit to marry Gwendolen, and the conflicts and struggles he goes up against to reach his ultimate goal, are traits which develop his character into being the protagonist. For a character to take on the role of protagonist, there always needs to be conflict. Jack Worthing's first conflict is getting the approval to marry Gwendolen from her mother, Lady Bracknell. In the beginning of the story when Jack, also referred to as Ernest, proposes to Gwendolen, but is denied the ability to marry Gwendolen until he has passed Lady Bracknell's series of tests; what she sees as a suitable husband for her daughter. This is shown through her statement of: "I fell bound to tell you that you are not on my list of eligible young men...however, I am quite ready to enter your name should your answers be what a really affectionate mother acquires" (Wilde,1438). Earnest informs her that he does not know anything from his childhood, including who his parents are, and why he became an orphan; and now is thought to be unacceptable suitor to marry her daughter, Gwendolen. Lady Bracknell reinforces to
Discuss the importance of the Christening in The Importance of Being Earnest
Discuss the importance of the Christening episode at the end of Act 2. How Important is this episode to the themes and concerns of the play as a whole? Oscar Wilde's play "The Importance of Being Earnest" touches upon a lot of social problems and issues that occurred and were dominant during the end of the nineteenth century period. Throughout the course of the play the audience realizes the view form which the play was written and that is Oscar Wilde's view of Englishness as he himself was Irish. All the characters in the play are satirised in a way so that they seem comical at certain times through which Wilde is mocking the higher class of the English society. As the audience finds out very soon from the beginning of the play, the importance of names is very significant as the two main characters Algernon and Jack both have other names so that they can escape form the normal life they live and step into a different world where they pretend to be someone else who doesn't exist in reality. Algernon's character is called Bunbury and Jack's character is called Ernest. By having another character Algernon can escape form the busy city life into the countryside and vice versa Jack becomes Ernest. At the start of Act one it is the first time that the audience realises about the double identity of the characters and also in this act Wilde is ridiculing how important names have
General Structure of Comedy with reference to the Importance of Being Earnest
General Structure of Comedy: * Things start out badly and end well * The deeper aim is broadly social: the kingdom or other city space is at first badly ruled or in turmoil for some reason--perhaps the values and institutions of the citizens and/or rulers are in need of some re-examination. * Next, the main characters leave (willingly or otherwise) the city setting and wind up in the countryside, in a pastoral setting. This setting allows for the necessary re-examination of values and social roles. * Magical transformations of characters occur; they are put in situations that could not occur in the city or the kingdom; the forest or countryside's magic opens up new possibilities to them. * After this reappraisal and readjustment period has been completed, the main characters come together--the young by marriage, the foundational institution of the civil order and its only hope for regeneration. * Finally, the characters return to the "kingdom" proper or are about to return when the play ends. Comedy of Manners: This kind of comedy is the one that best describes The Importance of Being Earnest. English comedies deal with "the relations and intrigues of men and women living in a polished and sophisticated society, relying for comic effect in great part on the wit and sparkle of the dialogue--often in the form of repartee, a witty conversational give-and-take which
A Comparison Between The Characterisation Of UncleErnest And Miss Havisham
A Comparison Between The Characterisation Of Uncle Ernest And Miss Havisham Social outcasts should be stamped out. This is the law which society has and contniues to rule us with, one which both authors challenge with equally powerful pieces. Personal tribulations have frozen time and sense of progress for the two main characters, thus creating a 20th century parallel to a prejudice society. The difference between what the author tells us about the character and what he implies about them founder a much more complex sort of characterisation. This statement applies more obviousley to Uncle Ernest, where in several areas the audience are presented with parts of description which could be interpretted for their sinister connotations. In effect, we ourselves are made to wonder the intentions of Ernest. For example, noticeably on the first line he is described as a "middle-aged man wearing a dirty raincoat" which is certainly no crime but has connotations which present him as a seedy, sinister character. This is implied and we are made to feel in such a way towards him. He also emerges from a "public lavatory", certainly not painting a picture of a normal person who the reader would instantly warm to. Throughout the story what is implied constantly hangs doubt over his intentions, escpecially with the two girls who he gained "great satisfaction from" from watching eat. At the