Love in The Importance of Being Earnest Essay - 879 Words

Love in The Importance of Being Earnest Love is perhaps the most actively sought moral objective of ones life. And though marriage is often thought to be the logical consequence of love, it is Oscar Wildes contention in his satire, The Importance of Being Earnest, that love begets bliss and marriage thwarts this course of bliss. Algernon Moncrieff spends very little time falling in love and the rest of the time striving toward engagement. Wilde demonstrates through him that once one becomes intent upon achieving a goal, the individuals motivation becomes a matter of action rather than truth. Algernon is no longer driven by a moral objective; instead, he becomes intent upon achieving a societal standard. The truth is rarely pure,†¦show more content†¦Upon initially hearing about Cicely, Algernon is intrigued. She is no more than a name on a cigarette case. After intense probing, Jack discloses Cicelys identity. Algernon then tells Jack, I would rather like to see Cicely (51). She suddenly becomes more of a name to Algernon, and he begins to pursue her as more than a person; she becomes his moral objective. When Jack reveals to Gwendolen his address in the country, Algernon secretly writes the address on his shirt-cuff (53) in hopes of going to meet Cicely. Shortly after his first encounter with her, he reveals to Jack, I am in love with Cicely, and that is everything (71). This newfound love is his truth. He admits to her, Cicely, ever since I first looked upon your wonderful and incomparable beauty, I have dared to love you wildly, passionately, devotedly, hopelessly (73). Yet Algernon quickly abandons the truth imbedded in love, his moral objective, and instead opts for convention. I dont care for anybody in the whole world but you. I love you, Cecily. You will marry me, wont you? (74). The irony displayed through Algernons self-contradiction is the pivotal progression that eventually results in Wildes intended resolution of the play Algernon reveals he simply wanted to be engaged to Cecily (88) to Jack, who quickly dismisses him. There isShow MoreRelatedThe Importance of Being Earnest, Love and Marriage762 Words   |  4 PagesThe Importance of Being Earnest â€Å"The Importance of Being Earnest† is a play written by Oscar Wilde in the late 1800s. The story takes place in late Victorian England, where two young gentlemen take on the same pseudonym â€Å"Earnest† in order to escape reality when needed and to satisfy their lovers. It is a humorous story about how the fake personalities clash with each other and cause complications. A central theme and topic in the play is love and marriage. It is a primary force motivation the plotRead MoreThe Importance Of Being Earnest759 Words   |  4 PagesThe Importance doesn’t Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde is a satire, comedy play of the Victorian Age. The Importance of Being Earnest follows two main characters, Earnest and Algernon, who live double lives. During his play Wilde makes fun of some of the standards and the way of life during that time. One of the common traits of the time was deception. Wilde’s play has a common occurrence of deception through the play†™s plot line, trivial lies, and a character’s point of view on deception. Wilde’sRead MoreEssay on The Comedic Element in The Importance of Earnest582 Words   |  3 Pageshave more importance in the world than they do. On any given night if someone were to watch the news or read the newspaper they would see just how dire and depressing the world actually is. It is important to take the time now and then and have a good laugh to ease the tension that the news can cause. Oscar Wildes The Importance of Being Earnest is a witty and amusing comedy which conveys real life everyday themes such as real love as opposed to selfish love, religion, marriage, being truthful andRead MoreTo what extent do you think The Importance of Being Earnest is only a comedy of manners?1475 Words   |  6 PagesThe importance of Being Earnest is a comedy of manners, as it explores codes of upper and middle class society. For example,I dont play accurately - any one can play accurately - but I play with wonderful expression.. However, The Importance of Being Earnest has other types of comedy, such as, comedy of humours and farce. Comedy of humours focuses on a character of range of characters, who have an over riding trait or humour that dominates their personality. For example, Algernon’s greed. FarceRead MoreOscar Wildes the Importance of Escape759 Words   |  4 Pages The Importance of Escape Oscar Wilde’s play entitled â€Å"The Importance of Being Earnest† illustrates the concept of dual personality, fantasy, love, and lies. Jack, Algernon, Gwendolyn, and Cecily all live in lies. They are manipulated by their fantasies and desire for perfect relationship and love. Jack, the protagonist in the play, is the root of lies because of his imaginary brother named Earnest. Algernon uses the name to win Cecily, while Gwendolyn and Cecily are both fascinated by thisRead More The Double Life in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde1347 Words   |  6 PagesThe Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest appears to be a conventional 19th century farce. False identities, prohibited engagements, domineering mothers, lost children are typical of almost every farce. However, this is only on the surface in Wildes play. His parody works at two levels- on the one hand he ridicules the manners of the high society and on the other he satirises the human condition in general. The characters in The Importance of Being EarnestRead More The Importance of Being Earnest Essay1376 Words   |  6 PagesOscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is a timeless comedy of manners in which two young, light-hearted men, pretend their names are ‘Ernest’ in a bid to impress their love interests, who both believe the name Ernest bestows magical qualities on the possessor. Throughout the play, Wilde uses a mix of social drama, melodrama and farce to appeal to the audience. Through his gentle use of parody Wilde is able to ridicule his contemporaries and a ttack the values and attitudes of Victorian societyRead MoreThe Importance Of Being Earnest By Oscar Wilde1438 Words   |  6 PagesThe Importance of Being Earnest was one of the best comedy manner plays I have read thus far. The play was written by Oscar Wilde, which happened to be the best masterpiece he has ever written out of all four of his stage comedies. The Importance of Being Earnest was first published in 1899. This play was a self-parody and unreliably explanation on the dramatic farce genre for Wilde. This play is a comedy of manner during the Victorian Age. The Victorian Age was a period of peace and sensibilityRead MoreThe Double Life in the Importa1372 Words   |  6 Pagesin The Importance of Being Earnest The Importance of Being Earnest appears to be a conventional 19th century farce. False identities, prohibited engagements, domineering mothers, lost children are typical of almost every farce. However, this is only on the surface in Wilde#8217;s play. His parody works at two levels- on the one hand he ridicules the manners of the high society and on the other he satirises the human condition in general. The characters in The Importance of BeingRead MoreThe Influence Of Victorian Society On Relationships And Marriage1642 Words   |  7 Pagesof Victorian Society on Relationships and Marriage Marriage was of utmost importance during the 1830’s to the 1900’s. The â€Å"ideal† relationship had been searched for by both men and women using the standards that the commonwealth had created. When reading Oscar Wilde’s â€Å"The Importance of Being Earnest† and associating it to society’s expectations for both genders throughout the Victorian era, people are depicted as being very effected and influenced by the set rules and boundaries. Using the theme