... set in the Victorian Age at around the 1890s. This book takes place in London England. The Importance of Being Earnest has many major characters. Jack Worthing is a friend of Algernon; he loves Gwendolen and believes his name is Earnest. Algernon Moncrieff is a good friend of Jack and a nephew of Lady Bracknell; he also falls ... both Algernon and Jack find out they are named Earnest because their father in the military was named Earnest. The play ends on a peaceful note and they live happily ever after. One major theme in The Importance of Being Earnest is the use of satire. Throughou...

• Word Count: 525
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... the maker of beautiful things. With his emphasis on beauty, Wilde spent little time cataloguing the gritty details of industrializing England, as did so many of his contemporaries. The Importance of Being Earnest, like so many of his works, focused on the elite, and while making fun of their absurdities and excesses, it also reveled in their witty banter and rambunctious lives ... , and so "earnestly" concerned with the maintenance of social norms and the status quo that it had become almost inhuman. In the figure of Lady Bracknell in particular, The Importance of Being Earnest lightly s...

• Word Count: 946
• Approx Pages: 4

Algy In Oscar Wilde's classic play, "The Importance of Being Earnest", the reader is introduced to an importantly funny man by the name of Algernon. Algernon, a free speaker, makes his opening appearance by asking his servant, Lane, if she had heard ... ...

• Word Count: 486
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Oscar Wilde uses his play, The Importance of Being Earnest, as a way of showing how ridiculous the Victorian era's views were, especially its views on marriage. In his play, Wilde shows how the Victorian Era aristocracy ... may cause some sort of societal back lash. The women themselves are also preoccupied with collective standards that they couldn't even imagine themselves marrying anyone other then a person named Earnest. This shows that the women are more concerned with the futility of a name then with what really needs to matter in a marriage, love. Wilde uses their characters to ... for...

• Word Count: 627
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

The Importance of Being Earnest is a famous play by Oscar Wilde. It describes a story of two young men who get tired of their daily lives ... accidently the same as they plan in the end, they learn that it is always important to be earnest. The whole play is full of great humor, and Wilde tries to express the importance of being earnest through different ways in the play. In this essay, I try to explore what different attitude each ... . As time goes by, it gradually becomes mature. At first, their visions of love are ideal. Cecily falls in love with a person named "Earnest" although she nev...

• Word Count: 1058
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... all the trivial things of life seriously and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality." This essay investigates how far "The Importance of Being Earnest" reflects this view on life. Oscar Wilde subtitled his play "A Trivial Comedy for Serious People". The play is a comedy of manners satirising the ... young upper class ladies, who in turn desire only to marry men named Ernest. The play is one of dual meanings throughout. Earnest of the title is an adjective describing seriousness. Jack and Algernon are characters who lie in order to be Ernest, but in doing so t...

• Word Count: 2564
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... on severe ethical standards. He became well known for his wit and humor in his poems, plays, and novel. In The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde did not disappoint. In this comedy and satirical drama of manners, "The Importance of Being Earnest," makes fun of everything the Victorian society seems to consider sacred and essential for life. The play is narrated in three different ... have endured through time. Throughout the play, there are countless areas of criticism Oscar Wilde brings to light that exist in the society; however, one may maintain that The Importance of Being Earnest i...

• Word Count: 963
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography

The great play The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, can be described as a timeless play because many of its context can be related to today's world. People these days are not saints, they lie about things ... mine- comes in play here because when people do that, they often do not think about the long term consequences and how it can affect other people. Overall, The Importance of Being Earnest can be tied to today's life in more then one way. By reading this story people can also see that not much is changed, and even though people laugh ... ...

• Word Count: 1242
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... attitudes and viewpoints of various characters reflect different reasons as to why marriage was so important. Marriage is a central theme in this text emphasizing its importance. This theme is evident from the very beginning of the novel. The opening line states, It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single ... for economic purposes only, rather than love. The minimal choice and the significant impact of marrying made love to be considered irrelevant. The importance of marriage extended beyond the couple and had a great impact on the entire family. Mrs Bennet was obsessive with m...

• Word Count: 1702
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography

... fight a lot and we don't compromise on stupid little things. But there are moments when you feel broken and used and only family can help you escape that solitude. The importance of family is surreal. Without family, we would truly live in solitude and desperation. Now I know we have heard this all before. Be nice to your siblings or respect your ... ...

• Word Count: 624
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality." Oscar Wilde1 While it is possible to declare Oscar Wilde's play "The Importance of being Earnest" as pure nonsense with the only aim to entertain, a closer look reveals its sobriety. Oscar Wilde wrote a comedy of manners, ... reader or the audience, who know all along that both girls have fallen in love with men who exactly aren't "Ernest" nor "earnest". In that context Wilde addresses the Victorian assumptions of love, romance and marriage. Lady Bracknell is the stereotype of a Victorian aristocrat, who ... 20 After all th...

• Word Count: 1589
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... author. Wilde studied the classics at Trinity College, Dublin, with distinction (from 1871 to 1874), and at the Magdalen College in Oxford, (1874-1878).He wrote "The importance of being Earnest- in 1985. "The importance of being Earnest- can be regraded as a comedy although it has more serious and dramatics themes. In the play nine actors take part: John "Jack" Worthing: Jack is the ... , but in one scene he and another servant force the bickering Gwendolen and Cecily to maintain supposedly polite conversation. After talking one by one about the characters on "The importance of being Ear...

• Word Count: 3629
• Approx Pages: 15
• Grade Level: High School

In The Importance of Being Earnest, Pride and Prejudice, and "The Rape of the Lock", they are all told from different prospectives and social classes, but in contrast all share the ... women's minds as young children, which grew and developed as the young lady matured and approached to the direction of marriage. In The Importance of Being Earnest, initially, Lady Bracknell is in control over Jack/Earnest and Gwendolen's relationship. In Gwendolen's opinion, her mother watches over her and treats her like a young child, trying to protect her ... As a result of Lady Bracknell using her influenc...

• Word Count: 783
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... ways to produce humor was through puns. Pun is a play on words which is uses to keep the audience alert and interested. For example, in the play, the word earnest has double meanings. Earnest is an adjective describing seriousness, sincerity, and confidence; on the other hand, it's also use as a male name. The plot is twists by Jack's and Algernon's lies in ... at all through the fact that Jack christen named is Earnest and Algernon is Jack's brother whose named is Earnest. Jack said, "I always told you, Gwendolen, my name was Earnest, didn't I? Well, it is Earnest after all. I mean it ...

• Word Count: 469
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... parents on 1854. Like Ibsen, Wilde wrote satirical pieces about society but his talent was comedy. Wilde is best known for his comedy The Importance of Being Earnest that was written in 1895. It was a comedy of manners. John Worthing (who prefers to call himself Jack) and Algernon Moncrieff (Algy) ... to be the profligate brother Ernest. This novel gives insight to class conflict during the late 19th century. He died on 1900. Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest and Ibsen's A Doll's House display similar characterization and themes of dual identity and mask's of manners. The major tar...

• Word Count: 1539
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde uses irony, puns, and humor to show the readers of the follies and social incapability of the acceptance of others different from themselves. Wilde's wit makes itself quite apparent through puns and irony. In the first few chapters Wilde introduces a two characters of extreme importance ... of British society which criticized much of Wilde's work as liberal and mush whereas Wilde saw them as too conservative up tight, and earnest and really more concerned with statues quo's a social normality than any form of art that he had thought that it had bec...

• Word Count: 1280
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... or to improve one's political connections. Never before have so many people chosen to marry because of the ridiculous notion of love. In the Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde shows a surprisingly late 20th century view of marriage. Marriage, as the couples in the book would have it, should be based ... was. And that was their reason. Love. Another uncommon reason in the early 1900's but almost the only reason in the late. This is where Earnest comes in. There are two marriages in this play. Each shall be dealt with separately. First, Algernon and Cecily. They, of course, decide ....

• Word Count: 1055
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... writers emphasized literature's rise of modernization and society's feelings of isolation. One example is Jane Austen's traditional classic, Pride and Prejudice. This piece of literature exhibits the time period's life style and significance by giving the readers a feel of what would be of importance to a typical family in relation to the time period. Austen's novel contains many personalities of that ... era, as well as emphasizes the importance of marriage, education, and justice in their society. In contrast, Fyodor Dostoevesky's modern novel, Notes from the Underground, portrays the ...

• Word Count: 1366
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest shows how the lives of the upper class people were boring, only being concerned with manners and customs, and so perfectly earnest that it was almost inhuman. It is being earnest that the play mainly focuses on,which is obvious from the title. Jack, in saying that his name is Earnest, is found to be telling the truth at ... is to make love to her, if she is pretty, and to someone else if she is plain."(1,p16) Oscar Wilde believed people hid their trivial lifestyles by creating an earnest image for themselves, and leading double lives. Mainly focus...

• Word Count: 1139
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... and it almost seems as if she is marrying him because it is safe and because it sounds like the right thing to do for a woman in her position. Dobell notes that her relationship with Edgar was based on "education" or the fact that she knew that marrying Heathcliff would be marrying below her, which she deems dishonorable. While she does ... seem earnest in confessing why she loves Edgar, her decision is a selfish one that will cause many problems because of her conflicting love for the two men. Her opposing love for both ... ...

• Word Count: 1499
• Approx Pages: 6

... can see the differences between Sissy and Louisa. Sissy who was, Extremely deficient in your [her] facts. Your [her] acquaintance with figures is very limited... You [she] are an affectionate, earnest, good young woman-and-we must make that do. (pp. 85-6) And then Louisa who was described, " The lady is quite a philosopher... Her father gives her such a portentously hard-headed ... to each of their hearts. It was through the want of love that both Louisa's and Sissy's characters are defined. They show unrelentless strife to make the person of utmost importance love them. Louisa was stro...

• Word Count: 1265
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... characters. They bring Borachio and Conrade to the their immediate superior the constable Dogberry. Dogberry is a comical figure, a clown who is inept, harbors an over-inflated estimation of his own importance, and, above all, is given to the use of long words that he confuses, mispronounces, or otherwise butchers. With the assistance of his second-in-command, the incompetent Verges, Dogberry ... familiar repartee. But Don Pedro produce a love poem about Beatrice in Benedick's hand and a similar lyric by Beatrice expressing her love for Benedick surfaces. The older pair of lovers are ea...

• Word Count: 1815
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... money and social standing. Austen does this by magnifying the absurdness of heir attitude toward marriage and the customs they practice. As seen in the novel and in the Importance of Being Earnest, many of the characters in the novel marry for the wrong reasons, such as the sake of convenience, wealth, or the spouse's name. For example, the marriage between Charlotte ... ...

• Word Count: 280
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... negotiation, engagement to wedding ceremony. Every step, every action and even every piece of utensil used in the whole work of wedding ceremony in which the families involved attach great importance to are so closely related to social customs, economic development and cultural evolution of the country. Therefore the ritual itself conveys specific historical significance. China has undergone some dramatic changes ... parents would decide their daughter's marriage based on the amount of betrothal gifts, putting a price or material value onto their daughter. Since the principle of free mar...

• Word Count: 9974
• Approx Pages: 40
• Grade Level: High School

Boy meets girl, falls in love and gets married, exemplifying the classic love story that every little girl dreams about. Some young girls even begin to plan their wedding before they receive their first kiss. What is never planned is divorce. One ... rates in the United States was steadily increasing until the 1970's where it jumped from 26% in 1967 to 33% in 1970, then on to 48% in 1975 (Jones). Jones notes that in the 1970's the no-fault divorce was first made available (Jones). "It was also the first time a spouse could cite irreconcilable differences as a reason for divorce, making ... ...

• Word Count: 1256
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography