The Importance of Being Earnest

Finally something that is not dark themed and gloomy! (Excluding Alice and Wonderland of course).

I really like Oscar Wilde’s writing style, and enjoy reading his work. This was also not my first time to read The Importance of Being Earnest, and probably not the last. My favorite part is the muffin scene.  In general I find the play to be very lighthearted and funny (which was probably one goal for the play).  I think Oscar Wilde’s main goal, however, was to make a satire of Victorian society, even the title of the play serves a mocking paradox and joke. Both the name “Earnest” (which was popular and thought to be given to respectable men) and the act of being earnest (grim/humorless nowadays; jumping between social classes in Victorian days) are used to mock the traditions and customs, along with courtship and marriage. All of the characters are over the top in some way or another and represent some value of Victorian society as well. For example, Lady Bracknell embodies all rules and social rituals. She is very materialistic and locks onto even the smallest/ most unimportant details of Jack and his back ground. Gwendolen and Cecily also both represent the purist of love and marriage as different angles. The men both follow the customs of courtship too, but their actions are extremely ridiculous and over the top. Cecily’s medieval romance fantasies also further fuel and point out the fascination the Victorian society had with medieval poems, stories, and art. Victorian society is clearly being mocked, and I think that is what makes each character so funny and the story lighthearted.  This play is defiantly a hit for me.