Oscar Wildes comedy The Importance of being Ernest is entwined around the concept of mistaken identity Essay Example For Students

Oscar Wildes comedy The Importance of being Ernest is entwined around the concept of mistaken identity Essay Oscar Wildes comedy The Importance of being Ernest is entwined around the concept of mistaken identity. It shows the irony of a group of friends, within a Victorian society, meddling with the truth to make themselves more appealing to each other. Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff are good friends of an upper class society. Jack is known in the town as Ernest and in the country by his real name Jack. He is in love with Gwendolen Fairfax, who only knows him by Ernest. In the country he is known as Jack and said to his ward Cecily Cardew there that Ernest is his mischievous brother in the town. Algernon too is in the game of deception. He brought to life a character called Bunbury that no one has met, whose health seems to be declining, to excuse him from engagements he has made. He also disguises himself as Jacks brother Ernest when he goes down to the country, where he falls in love with Cecily, who also only knows him as Ernest and not by his true identity. Both men pretend to be called Ernest and both women want to be in love with a man called Ernest. The concept of identity is important in this satire as it brings humour to the play by mocking the intelligence of these upper class characters, but on the serious side exploits the irony and narrow mindedness of society. Both women in the play admire the name Ernest as it brings to mind someone whose is earnest and honest, yet both men are far from it. Jack and Algernons preoccupation with the name Ernest is driven by their love for Gwendolen and Cecily who also are preoccupied with the name Ernest believing that it prescribes the men earnest nature, my ideal has always been to love someone of the name of Ernest. There is something in the name that inspires confidence. The moment Algernon first mentioned to me he had a friend called Ernest, I knew I was destined to love you. Wilde mocks them by showing how deep their love really is. The too women are only in love with the name, a superficial detail, before they have even met the men, and the men are willing to change theirs to impress! Algernon fabricated his invaluable permanent invalid friend Bunbury to escape engagements in the town to visit him in the country. Lady Bracknell, his aunt, invites him to dine with her but he tells her he cant as Bunburys condition is getting worse and needs to visit him in the country. However, adding to the humour, Lady Bracknell answers with the ironic I think that its high time that Mr Bunbury made up his mind whether he going to live or dieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I should be obliged if you would ask Mr Bunburyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ to be kind enough not to have a relapse on Saturday, for I rely on you to arrange my music. As if his illness is far less important than her reception. In Act I Jack proposes to Gwendolen. Jack is truly in love with her and she accepts his proposal but to his dismay exclaims My own Ernest as if she is only accepting him on the basis that he is called Ernest. She knew she was destined to marry a man called Ernest before she had even met him. Jack is alarmed by this and uncertainty runs through his mind, you mean to day that you couldnt love me if my name wasnt Ernestà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I think Jack, for instance, a charming name, the fact that he does not find insulating her un-satisfaction with the name Jack and preoccupation with the name Ernest adds to the humour ad further mocks the ignorance of the characters. Gwendolen assures that names actually bear some weight with regard to the determination of character forcing the audience to reassess whether she really loves Jack. Once Jack and Gwendolens engagement was announced to her mother Lady Bracknell she found it to interrogate Jack to check his suitability for her daughter. In this scene Wilde explore the absurdity of the institution of marriage. It gives the impression that society only marries for status rather than love. Lady Bracknell is a good example of Oscar Wildes cutting satire at work. How to Write a Controversial EssayFinally in Act III Lady Bracknell arrives. Once again her interrogation of suitability continues as the conflicts that arose before are recalled regarding the issue of consent to marry and the importance of the name Earnest. She disapproves of Jack and Gwendolens engagement yet approves of Cecily and Algernons after she hears of Cecilys small fortune in funds as very few girls of the present day have any really solid qualities, any of the qualities that last, and improve with time. This once again mocks the concept of marriage as it seems to absurdly be based on status and wealth rather than love. Wilde deliberately satirizes the entire institution. And when Algernon dismisses this idea as Cecily is the sweetest, dearest, prettiest girl in the whole worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and doesnt care twopence about social possibilities Lady Bracknell warns him not to disrespect society as only people who cant get into it do that. In this epigram Wilde portrays stereotype of the aristocracy of the Victorian society and their snobbish behaviour. However, Jack refuses to give consent for Cecily to marry Algernon if Lady Bracknell does not consent for Gwendolen to marry him. In the squabble it is found that it was Miss Prism that lost the bag in which Jack was found as a baby. In fact it is revealed that he is he Lady Bracknells sisters son. This is very ironic as at the beginning Lady Bracknell was disgraced at the fact that Jack was lost as a baby when in fact it was her own sister that had lost him! Jack finally finds out who he is and from whom he has come from. It is exposed that his Christian name really is by chance Ernest so the truth is he was earnest throughout after all. Throughout this play Wilde has used numerous devices to add to the humour of the play. Wildes humour is fundamentally based on a particular dramatic irony, one in which the audience knows that the characters are ridiculously absurd, but the characters themselves are not aware of the fact at all. He mocks the principles of upper class Victorian society and their fashions. Especially on the tone of marriage by indicating that marriage is capriciously subject to all sorts of social factors rather than love. Wilde also uses epigrams as a means of humour. Sarcastic and witty lines, delivered mostly by Algernon and lady Bracknell, mocking the world around them. If I ever get married, Ill certainly try to forget the fact; divorces are made in heaven; you dont seem to realize that in marriage, three is company and two is none are example of some the manipulated clichÃÆ' ©s. Most of the epigrams abound in the dialogue are reversed conventional phrases, such as Marriage is made in heaven and two is company three is a crowd. They are manipulated traditional clichÃÆ' ©s that provide intellectual entertainment by showing how empty those clichÃÆ' ©s are. Wilde uses them to satirize the excess of the elite, but at the same time the ideas Algernon comes up with are not always far off reality. Jack presents us with a pun on the word earnest in the last line of the play as he says, Ive now realized for the first time in my life, the Importance of Being Earnest. The simple pun on being earnest and the name Ernest has been used throughout the play. It is important for Jack obviously to be Ernest as Gwendolen otherwise will not want to marry him. However, at the same time that it is important to be earnest in nature. Ernest and Algernon were rewarded with marriage in the end. And although the play unwinds with neither meaning to act earnestly, they were in fact being completely honest the whole time. Ernest was Ernest and Algernon was Ernests dashing brother. The final line of the play suggests to the audience that there is a different kind of earnestness, different from the stuffy arrogance of Lady Bracknell, an earnestness that allows for the inconsistencies and whims that inhibit mankind.