Essay on Satire in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde makes use of satire in The Importance of being Earnest to ridicule the social norms of marriage, love, as well as the mindset that were inflexible in the Victorian era. Since it utilizes satire to criticize these systems, it portrays nonconformity from the social order when he makes ludicrous the concepts of values, manners, and ethics. Nonetheless, the use of satire is only impactful depending on the audience and changes from one group of viewers to another. It is even fascinating that Wilde makes use of his play to satirize his potential viewers. Through this play, Wilde intends to impart some societal morals and conformation knowledge into his viewers. Regardless of the audience type, the author integrates satire in the play as a tool for social criticism and, at the same time, as a means of portraying conventional seriousness, humor is intended for correcting the judges. Therefore, it should invoke positive responses in the onlookers.

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Despite the humor in the play, the incidental purpose of the presentation is meant for social criticism. The author makes use of his comedy to reveal the affluences and adversities of two Victorian Englishmen in the upper-class, who evolved fictitious beings in the pursuit of escaping the wearisome communal and family responsibilities. Consequently, this comical play is a representation of the Victorian morals and etiquettes, which Wilde critiques the disguises of the Victorian society, and through such ridicule, the evils of that time are revealed to the community. Furthermore, as humor is incorporated into the play, it comes with embedded criticism on the moralities of the Victorian community. A sense of security is created as the tired, familiar words roll out and then suddenly comes the jolt (Jordan 101). As he explores the morals of Victorian society, Wilde presents Jack and Algernon who dubiously change their names to Ernest to acquire a different social class in the chase for a hand in marriage with women from the upper class. "There is something in that name that seems to inspire absolute confidence. I pity any poor married woman whose husband is not called Ernest" (Wilde 556). Wilde satirizes the tradition of marriage as one of the values that have lost their initial places, as it does not depend on love anymore, rather on more futile insincere criteria. In this regard, the audience of this play is the group of change to receive the criticism.

More importantly, Wilde uses satire as a means of portraying conventional seriousness when conveying a message to his audience. Focusing on the audience in the play as the source of his satire involves them as part of the participants, thus simplifying the process of having his information attain its intended purpose. In the play, satirization to Ernests solemnity is the bridge to the humor; therefore, Wilde explores fun as the mechanism of portraying conventional seriousness. Kupske and Souza denote, The author mockingly uses ceremonious and dignifying moral language to frivolous actions (119). In this perspective, the Victorian era is identical to the primness and extreme authoritarianism where even the furniture legs were regarded to be sexually evocative. Therefore, mocking this eras events serves a significant purpose in educating the audience on the importance of critical thinking when it comes to evaluating the societal perceptions. The viewers in this case, therefore, are mocked as the contemporary society that has an obligation to outpace these beliefs.

Lastly, satire is meant for correcting judges; similarly, it is expected to invoke positive responses in the audience. However, the use of satire in these plays should not be expressed with mere criticism but should have an in-depth purpose towards activating the dormant potential within the viewers. Goodrich quotes, If satire has the power to wake the judge up, this should be for ethical ends and explicitly in the service of justice (50). Hence, Wildes use of satire intends to invoke some changes in the whole spectrum of audiences having access to his comedy. In his play, he sarcastically portrays Lady Bracknell as the enforcing power of The Importance of Being Earnest with the representation of the female gender in the Victorian upper class with the perception that persons in this class must be the ones in authority. She is less informed on the idea on those without power titles, or monetary possessions, at the same time considers the upper-class society as a closed group. As a means for countering these inferior and cruel perceptions, Wilde intends to invoke responses from the audience using satire that causes discomfort. However, it is unnecessary to mock the society when it is not for ethical value, which would raise a negative response from the viewers.

The society is a critical place that faces potential destruction if there are no critiques to counter some of the depravities and unethical happenings. However, this criticism has to adopt a better way before being expressed to the society to convey the message to the audience and also ensure that it accomplishes its anticipated purpose. Oscar Wilde is one of these good critiques who incredibly make use of satire and fun to criticize these occurrences in the society. In a nutshell, the play exposes the major evils of the society generated through beliefs and punitive authorities. In the long run, this implies a positive response from the targeted contemporary society.

Works Cited

Goodrich, Peter. "The Importance of Being Earnest: Satire and the Criticism of Law." Social Semiotics, vol. 15, no. 1, 2005, pp. 43-58.

Jordan, Robert J. "Satire and Fantasy in Wilde's 'The Importance of Being Earnest.'" ARIEL: A Review of International English Literature, vol. 1, no. 3, 1970, pp. 101-109.

Kupske, Felipe Flores and Marcia de Souza. "Marriage, Religion and Respectability in the Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde: A Brief Analysis on the Masks of Victorian Society." E-Scrita, vol. 6, no. 1, 2015, pp. 117-125.

Wilde, Oscar, "The Importance of Being Earnest." The Harbrace Anthology of Literature. Eds. Jon C. Stott, Raymond E. Jones, and Rick Bowers. 4th ed. Toronto, ON: Nelson, 2006. 527- 575.