Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Wildes Use of Binary Opposites Is the Key Comedic Element...

Wilde’s use of binary oppositions is the key comedic element in the Importance of Being Earnest. To what extent do you agree with this view? Throughout the play, Oscar Wilde portrays several binary opposites using the characters and themes of the play, such as the town and country, class, age, gender and morals. However I don’t think that the binary opposites are the main source of comedy in the play. The reason I find it comical is from the fact that the play is a comedy of manners as well as Wilde’s satirising of the Victorian morals. Wilde’s depiction of Victorian caricatures also creates amusement for the audience. In the play, trivial things are regarded so seriously and the serious things in life are treated with sincere and studied†¦show more content†¦The lower classes in Earnest are less pretentious and more humble in comparison to the upper class. A major contrast in class is shown through Gwendolen and Cecily when they sit down for tea. After some heated words, they believe the other is trying to steal their love and they show some hostility towards each other. This exchange takes place in Act II. (308-314) â€Å"Cecily: May I offer you some tea, Miss Fairfax? Gwendolen: (With elaborate politeness) Thank you. (Aside) Detestable girl! But I require tea! Cecily: (Sweetly) Sugar? Gwendolen: (Superciliously) No, thank you. Sugar is not fashionable any more. (Cecily looks angrily at her, takes up the tongs and puts four lumps of sugar into the cup.) Cecily: (Severely) Cake or bread and butter? Gwendolen: (In a bored manner) Bread and butter, please. Cake is rarely seen at the best houses nowadays. Cecily: (Cuts a very large slice of cake, and puts it on the tray.) Hand that to Miss Fairfax.† Cecily takes advantage of Gwendolen’s obsession with fashion and appearance to others. To Gwendolen, these choices are important statements on one’s stylishness and reputation amongst peers and to people in society. Here, Cecily takes advantage of her lower birth to insult Gwendolen. Gwendolen is of a high social class and a luxurious upbringing compared to Cecily who lives in the country with Jack as her guardian and under the care of Miss Prism. When

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