In “The Importance of BeingEarnest” humor functions through the use ofCharacterization and the socialsatire of the Victorianperiod.Characterization
is the method an author uses to reveal ordescribecharacters and their various personalities.Satire is a literarytone used to ridicule or make fun of human vice orweakness, often withthe intent of correcting, or changing, the subject of thesatiricalattack. These two comicaldevices are part of the nature of humor, whichis the concept that a person’sflaws are funny. An example is if apersonwas to stand on stage and one was to point out their physicalandphysiological flaws in front of a big crowd.Of course everyone inthe crowd would be laughing because that is thenature of humor. This iswhat the wholeplay, “The Importance of Being Earnest” is based around.The
play also works perfectly on how it issetup in the beginning andbrought through to become a very funny play in theend.Oscar Wilde’s useofCharacterization is primarily shown through the character LadyBracknell. Lady Bracknell is a very stubborn characterwho is a littleoverprotective of her daughter Gwendolen. Lady Bracknell’s character issignificantlyexposed when she is questioning Jack before he is allowedby her to engageGwendolen, “I feel bound to tell you that you are notdown on my list of eligibleyoung men…however, I am quite ready to enteryour name, should your answers bewhat a really affectionate motherrequires.” (Pg. 12) By using thecharacterization of Lady Bracknell,Oscar Wilde creates a larger comedic affectin the play. In “TheImportance of Being Earnest,” Oscar Wilde usesthe character Algernon todepict Satire.Algernon is a very arrogant, self-centered, andhypocritical characterwho puts blame on anyone but himself.Thesatirical affect of his character is placed blatantly on his problemofover-eating. If Algernon has eatensomething that he was not supposedto, one of his servants takes him right outof trouble by making anexcuse. HereAlgernon is being hypocritical by telling Jack not to eat acucumber sandwichand then eating one himself. “Please don’t touch thecucumber sandwiches. They are ordered specially for AuntAugusta.
” By using the satire of Algernon, OscarWildeconstructs a much more comical play.The double life is thecentralmetaphor in the play, epitomized in the notion of “Bunbury”or“Bunburying.” As defined by Algernon, Bunburying is the practice ofcreating anelaborate deception that allows one to misbehave whileseeming to uphold thevery highest standards of duty and responsibility.Jack’s imaginary, waywardbrother Ernest is a device not only forescaping social and moral obligationsbut also one that allows Jack toappear far more moral and responsible than heactually is. Similarly,Algernon’s imaginary invalid friend Bunbury allowsAlgernon to escape tothe country, where he presumably imposes on people whodon’t know him inmuch the same way he imposes on Cecily in the play, all thewhileseeming to demonstrate Christian charity. The practice of visitingthepoor and the sick was a staple activity among the Victorian upperandupper-middle classes and considered a public duty. The differencebetween whatJack does and what Algernon does, however, is that Jack notonly pretends to besomething he is not, that is, completely virtuous,but also routinely pretendsto be someone he is not, which isverydifferent. This sort of deception suggests a far more serious andprofounddegree of hypocrisy. Through these various enactments of doublelives, Wildesuggests the general hypocrisy of the Victorian.Moralityand the constraintsit imposes on society is a favorite topic ofconversation in The Importance of Being Earnest. Algernon thinkstheservant class has a responsibility to set a moral standard for theupperclasses. Jack thinks reading a private cigarette case is“ungentlemanly.” “Morethan half of modern culture depends on what oneshouldn’t read,” Algernonpoints out. These restrictions and assumptionssuggest a strict code of moralsthat exists in Victorian society, butWilde isn’t concerned with questions ofwhat is and isn’t moral.Instead, he makes fun of the whole Victorian idea ofmorality as a rigidbody of rules about what people should and shouldn’t do.The very titleof the play is a double-edged comment on the phenomenon. Theplay’scentral plot—the man who both is and isn’t Ernest/earnest—presentsamoral paradox. Earnestness, which refers to both the quality of beingseriousand the quality of being sincere, is the play’s primary objectof satire.Characters such as Jack, Gwendolen, , Miss Prism and Dr.Chasuble, who put a premium on sobriety and honesty, are eitherhypocritesor else have the rug pulled out from under them. What Wildewants us to see astruly moral is really the opposite ofearnestness:irreverence.Throughout the play, Oscar Wilde uses SatireandCharacterization to make the comical affect work perfectly. Thesatire in the play would not workcorrectly if Oscar Wilde did not makethe characterization of each characteraccurate. If Algernon was notarrogantand snobby, then there would be no satire on his part. If LadyBracknell was not over-protective andmulish, then there would be nosatire on her part. The play would not work correctly if thesetwocharacters were not portrayed precisely and were not satirical. Alongwith satire and characterization, the witof Oscar Wilde formulates animmense humor affect throughout the play. If Oscar Wilde did not haveAlgernonover-hear Jack and Gwendolen talking about where Jack’s countryhouse islocated, then the play would not work out at all. It is OscarWilde’s wit that makes “TheImportance of Being Earnest” work superiorly.