The Importance of Being Earnest is used by Oscar Wilde as a vehicle for wit and an opportunity to satirise the culture and prejudices of the time. It also allows Wilde to convey his opinions concerning important life events; he does this by trivialising them. The scene that looks at Jack arriving home is a perfect example of this.

It is the situation of this scene that allows comedy. There is a dramatic switch of mood from the flirtatious behaviour of Miss Prism and Chasuble, to Jack in a sombre mood after the supposed death of his brother. This gives the scene a sense of irony from the very beginning, leaving it wide open for moments of comedy. The irony is added to by the dramatic arrival of Jack and the seriousness of the tone, which quickly changes to christenings and a carefree manner. The situation allows Wilde to mock religion through funerals and christenings.

Dramatic irony is also present in this scene in that although Jack announces that his b

Much of this scene is comprised of absurdity and ridiculous behaviour. Wilde uses bathos to make many of the characters, especially Miss Prism and Chasuble, appear rather ridiculous. Chasuble’s comments concerning the death of Ernest trivialise the whole event “ I myself am particularly susceptible to chills”. When discussing the christening, Jack says bathetically “ I am very fond of children”, and then continues to arrange the christening and so causes the affair to appear very trivial. Wilde uses colloquial language such as “trot round” when jack is referring to the Christening, again making it seem very trivial, when in fact it is a major life event. Miss Prism continually says absurd things such as “ What a lesson for him! I trust he will profit by it”- this is illogical because Ernest is dead and so cannot possibly profit by it.

This scene also emphasises the farcical actions of the characters. The quick and sudden switches of conversations and opinions cause the characters to look rather ridiculous, “Ah that r

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