The Importance of Being Earnest

Intro:

As a member of the Victorian upper class, one must respect and adhere to all unwritten,
often unspoken rules of the rich and powerful without question. One was expected to behave
appropriately according to the regulations of their parentage at all times. Obviously, one must
always remain prudish, vain, and compliant. To reiterate, anyone blessed enough to be
considered a member of the utmost class of people must refrain from all fun of any kind. That is,

they must ​appear ​to. The truth is, any man with an estate was also a frequent burlesque show

attendee. Any woman with a dowry hid a journal of personalized erotica under her pillowcase.
The perfect modesty of the class was a complete and utter fallacy. And Oscar Wilde knew it all
too well.
Thesis: In ​The Importance of Being Earnest​, Oscar Wilde employs satire, hyperbole, and

situational irony to ridicule the immense absurdity, hypocrisy, and judgemental nature ever
present in British high society.

Topic One: Throughout the play, Wilde highlights the hypocrisy of the upper class through
satirization of the cultural norms relating to marriage and courtship.

Topic Two: Additionally, Oscar Wilde points out the absurdity of upper class melodrama

through utilization of comedic hyperbole in detailing both extreme sides of Gwendolyn and
Cecily’s emotions — when expressing their ​love​ for each man they once believed to be Ernest
and​ when expressing their detestation for having been lied to.
Topic Three: Finally, the author includes many scenes of situational irony in order to condemn

the quick, uninformed judgements of one person by another taking place in high society at the
time.