... reason that Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest has endured as one of the greatest and most popular works of literature to emerge from Victorian England is its brilliant wit, which conveys both humor and social satire. This wit is the key to Wilde's own aesthetic style, which simultaneously scoffs at the uselessness of art and trumpets that uselessness as art's greatest value; as an aesthete influenced by such men as ... society struck Wilde as dry, stern, conservative, and so "earnestly" concerned with the maintenance of social norms and the status quo that it had become almo...

• Word Count: 946
• Approx Pages: 4

... Throughout Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest- various different literary devices are very effectively and skillfully used. Most of these literary devices create a sense of comedy in the book. One that especially puts a light hearted tone into the reading is the inverted logic, which almost every character is guilty of using at one time or another. Just when you think you know what a character is going ... huge role in creating the comedy in "The Importance of Being Ernest-. Another character that embraces inverted logic as though it was a way of life is Algernon Moncrieff. ...

• Word Count: 1133
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School