Gwendolen and Cecily are fighting over who is actually engaged to the man with the name of Earnest. This is ironic because as the audience, we know neither of them is really named Earnest.

What is the irony in The Importance of Being Earnest?

The majority of the humor in The Importance of Being Earnest stems from dramatic irony: the audience is always aware that Ernest does not exist and that Jack and Algernon are both pretending to be him, but the other characters are not. This dramatic irony is at its most palpable during the two parallel proposal scenes.

What is the satire in The Importance of Being Earnest?

Satire, in the time and context of the novel The Importance of Being Earnest, refers to a comedic style in which the behaviors and beliefs of a particular social class are made fun of. In The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde pokes fun at the upper class by showing them to be fickle, dishonest and snobbish.

What is ironic about Cecily's double life comment?

Analysis: Cecily says this to Algernon as she suspects something is going on with his identity. This quote is ironic because she talks about a double life about different behavior, like trying to have a reputation but being a completely different person.

How does the description of Ernest create irony in the text as a whole?

Wilde takes advantage of the name Ernest and makes it a pun, as both women have the logic that a man named Ernest must be earnest. Wilde ensures the audience knows this and uses this pun to create irony, as many times Algernon and Jack are presented as morally askew, and not at all earnest.

The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde - So You Haven't Read

What are the irony in the story?

Irony is a literary technique that storytellers use to contrast expectations and reality. There are primarily three types of irony: dramatic, situational, and verbal.

What is irony in the chapter?

Irony is a technique in which an unexpected situation is revealed either in terms of speech or incident. In other words, an ironical situation is never expected or anticipated. It happens and comes as a shock or surprise.

Why does Cecily fall in love with Earnest?

Cecily Cardew

Like Gwendolen, she is obsessed with the name Ernest, but she is even more intrigued by the idea of wickedness. This idea, rather than the virtuous-sounding name, has prompted her to fall in love with Jack's brother Ernest in her imagination and to invent an elaborate romance and courtship between them.

Why does Cecily marry Algernon?

Algernon proclaims his undying affection while Cecily copies his words in her diary. Algernon asks Cecily to marry him, and she agrees. In fact, she agrees readily because she has made up an entire romantic story of their courtship and engagement. She has even written imaginary letters to herself from Ernest/Algernon.

Why is Cecily obsessed with the name Earnest?

The name of “Ernest” comes to symbolize different things for different people. For Gwendolen and Cecily it “inspires absolute confidence” but also symbolizes the ideal husband/ lover. For Jack, “Ernest” is an alter ego, an identity through which he can court Gwendolen and cavort in the pleasures of city life.

What was Lady Bracknell's famous line?

LADY BRACKNELL. I am please to hear it. I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone.

What is the main message in The Importance of Being Earnest?

Oscar Wilde. “[The Importance of Being Earnest] is exquisitely trivial, a delicate bubble of fancy, and it has its philosophy… That we should treat all the trivial things of life very seriously, and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality.”

What is a parody in The Importance of Being Earnest?

The most obvious example of parody in Wilde's play is the anagnorisis that removes the obstacles standing in the way to wedded bliss for Jack and Gwendolen. The first of these obstacles is a lack of respectable relatives on Jack's part.

What is an example of satire in The Importance of Being Earnest?

Two examples of satire in "The Importance of Being Earnest" include Algy's explanation for missing a business appointment in London, highlighting the upper class's disdain for business, and Lady Bracknell's approval of Jack's smoking habit, which mocks the idleness of the upper classes and their misguided views on ...

What is controversial about The Importance of Being Earnest?

Oscar Wilde was gay in a society stifled by social conventions and governed by very tough laws on homosexuality. Nevertheless, some critics have argued that the playwright dared include homosexual connotations in the text.

Why is Lady Bracknell questioning Jack?

Lady Bracknell returns to the room, and Gwendolen tells her she is engaged to Jack. Lady Bracknell then interviews Jack to determine Jack's eligibility as a possible son-in-law.

Does Algernon fall in love with Cecily?

Algernon falls madly in love with the beautiful Cecily, who has long been enamored of the mysterious, fascinating brother Ernest.

What gender is Algernon?

Algernon as a boy's name is of Old French origin, and the meaning of Algernon is "wearing a mustache".

Who never do girls marry according to Algernon?

According to Algernon, "girls never marry the men they flirt with" because "girls don't think it right." This shows that the types of men women marry are different from the type of men they flirt with.

What name is Gwendolen obsessed with?

Gwendolen is in love with Jack, whom she met in London and knows only as Ernest. She is utterly pretentious and fancies herself as sophisticated and fashionable. She is obsessed with the name Ernest and says she can only love a man with that name.

Why did Algernon lie to Cecily?

When Cecily asks Algernon why he deceived her, he tells her he did it in order to have the opportunity of meeting her, and this is the truth. Algernon really didn't have any other reason for pretending to be Ernest.

Why does Lady Bracknell suddenly like Cecily?

Algernon's Engagement to Cecily

At first, Lady Bracknell does not approve, but she has a change of heart when she realizes that Cecily has money. After this discovery, she says, ''Miss Cardew seems to me a most attractive young lady, now that I look at her.

What was ironic in the story?

Irony occurs when a moment of dialogue or plot contradicts what the audience expects from a character or story. In other words, irony in literature happens when the opposite of what you'd expect actually occurs.

What are the three ironies mentioned in the story?

What is ironical about the ending of the story?

The irony about the ending is that LENCHO who had immense faith in God is not satisfied with the behavior of human beings and his faith in GOD turns to be more powerful when Lencho gets the envelope from the post office which had money in it .