The modern tragedy, Streetcar Named Desire, written by Tennessee Williams,

published in 1947, and the farce, Importance of Being Earnest, published in 1895,
written by Oscar Wilde, use dramatic irony within the play to satirize their time period.
With a comedic approach, Wilde criticizes the absurdities of the character’s courtship
rituals, their hypocrisy, and their deceiving nature. Williams, on the other hand,
employs irony to enrich the plot and provide the reader with insight on Blanches´ past,
in order to create an atmosphere of impending doom. Streetcar Named Desire and
Importance of Being Earnest employ dramatic irony to criticize society through the use
of dialogue.

Williams presents Blanche in the opening scenes of the play as a symbol of

fragility and femininity in contrast to the decaying setting of New Orleans. This is
evidenced when Blanche mentions she took a “streetcar named desire” to “one called
cemeteries” until she arrived at Elysian Fields, where her sister lives. This dramatic
irony foreshadows Blanche´s tragic fate at the end of the play, which is due to her
uncontrollable desires. This is evidenced by the linkage between the concept’s death,
symbolized by the destination “cemeteries”, and desire. The imagery of the “Elysian
Fields” creates an atmosphere of impending doom since it symbolizes the realities of
life, such as pain, desire, love and abuse, which, ironically, contrast with the “heaven”
Blanche thought she would be arriving at. Furthermore, the dramatic irony defines her
impulsive and uncontrollable desires as her tragic flaw, observed in the scene where
Blanche lies to her sister about her drinking problem by claiming that “one is her limit”.
The effect of the irony is to characterize Blanche as an untrustworthy and deceiving
character. It also works to convey hypocrisy since, even though Stella criticizes Blanche
for lying about her problems, such as alcoholism, Stella excuses her husband´s violent
nature by claiming it is sexual passion.
By employing dramatic irony, Wilde portrays the characters in a humorous
light, originating from coincidental situations and satirical dialogue. The title of the play
itself, “Importance of Being Earnest”, is a social satire due to the double meaning
behind the adjective “earnest”. Someone who is “earnest” is honest or sincere with
their intentions, however, ironically, both of the male protagonists deceive the women
they want to marry by claiming their name is “Ernest”. Oscar Wilde criticizes the lack of
morality and deceiving nature of the upper class through the characters. For instance,
through the character Algernon Moncrieff, Wilde exposes the lavish lifestyle of the
upper class. Algernon created a fictional character named “Bunbury” to save himself
from obligations and duties, seen in the dialogue between Lady Bracknell and Cecily,
where Lady Bracknell reveals that, “Algernon has nothing but his debts to depend
upon”. Algernon lives comfortably, however his bills are overdue, therefore the irony
serves to show he lacks integrity, for even in poor conditions he shows off his
extravagant lifestyle. This illustrates a critique on aristocratic Victorians whose
appearance and style were more important than substance.
 Wilde´s use of irony also incorporates religion as a topic of satire, seen through
the minor character Reverend Canon Chasuble´s dialogue. He is the symbol of religious
faith in the novel since he is part of the clergy, and Wilde uses him to show how
Victorians were not preoccupied with reflecting the religious faith they supposedly
followed. As a minister, he had the duty and responsibility to rechristen, marry, and
provide Victorians with a link to God through sermons. However, aristocrats were not
devoutly religious, for even Lady Bracknell mentions that christenings are a waste of
time and, especially, money. Furthermore, when Ms. Prism suggests he may want to
take a wife, Chasuble claims that according to the “ancient church” he cannot marry.
Nevertheless, through dramatic irony it is revealed that he is romantically involved
with her and at the end of the novel he proposes to her. He initially laments the fact he
can’t be wed claiming, "were I fortunate enough to be Miss Prism's pupil, I would hang
upon her lips,” but rapidly realizes he cannot make sexual remarks about her as he is a
reverend, hiding his desires in a metaphor. Wilde's satire here is humorous, exposing a
society for both moral and physical corruptions.
In Streetcar Named Desire, Williams employs dramatic irony to criticize the
artificiality of relationships whose foundations were lust and attraction. The power
dynamics between Stanley and Stella are established through the use of animal
imagery. Stanley is many times referred to as an animal and a pig by Blanche.For
instance, when she describes him as a “proud male bird among the hens”, which is
ironic since Stella is described as a “little partridge”. The irony is used to highlight
Stanley´s overpowering dominance and toxic masculinity. This is also evident in the
scene where Stanley has a poker game and Stella decides to tell everyone to go home,
angering Stanley who “stalks her fiercely” into the bedroom. Williams once again
describes the couple with animalistic traits, such as when they reconnect in “low,
animal moans”, to highlight the fact that sexuality and desire is the root of their
relationship. Furthermore, the relationship between Blanche and Mitch is crucial to
the plot as Blanche descends into madness. Initially, Williams presents Mitch as
Blanche´s financial and emotional savior. He seems to fit into the expectations that
Blanche has created for a potential suitor. However, their relationship is doomed to fail
due to Blanche´s deceiving nature and unrealistic expectations for men, and Mitch´s
pseudo-masculinity. Blanche reveals she could not be with her ex-husband because he
wasn´t “like a man”, clearly alluding to his homosexuality, which was illegal at the time.
The dramatic irony is present when Blanche begins to create illusions regarding Mitch,
portraying him as a manly savior when, from the beginning of the play, Mitch is
indirectly characterized as a “sensitive” man, as he still lives with his mother and
makes remarks about how much he weighs. The illusion continues as Blanche says, “I
can´t stand a naked bulb”, being this a metaphor for her refusal to accept reality. The
irony in the dialogue is that Mitch does not know that her refusal to be in the light is
symbolic of her masking the truth about her age and her past. The dramatic irony
serves to show how Blanche´s desire to marry Mitch led her to create unrealistic
expectations and illusions, making her descend into madness.
 Wilde, by employing dramatic irony, creates a web of familial relationships that
satirizes the upper classes during the Victorian era. Similarly to Streetcar Named
Desire, Wilde criticizes the way Victorian´s viewed marriage and love, for instance
when Algernon comments on the institution of marriage in act one by claiming he
doesn’t “see anything romantic in proposing…why, one may be accepted…then the
excitement is all over.” In this scene, Algernon is mocking Jack for being in love with
Gwendolen, however, Algernon will end up proposing to Cecily. Wilde employs
dramatic irony to suggest that love fades somewhat with marriage since they married
for superficial reasons, not because they were in love. For example, both Cecily and
Gwendolen made very clear that they were marrying these men because their name
was “Ernest”. In this case, the name “Ernest” doesn’t only represent deception, but it
also symbolizes idealism, just like Blanche had idealized a manlier husband, one who
could save her. Cecily and Gwendolen not only fantasize about marrying a man named
“Ernest”, they say that it “inspires absolute confidence”. This idealism reflects their
shallow personalities and the superficiality of these relationships.
In conclusion, both plays have employed dramatic irony with the purpose of
satirizing the reality they observed. Through farcical comedy, Wilde has exposed the
reality of the upper-class Victorian society, mainly criticizing the hypocrisy and
artificiality of relationships among the aristocracy observed through the dialogue. In
Streetcar Named Desire, Williams presents a character whose uncontrollable desires
and emotional instability impact her relationships, leading to her tragic end. In both
plays, irony is used to criticize institutions like marriage who were founded upon lust,
physical appearance and idealisms.