University of Sarajevo

Faculty of Philosophy
English Department

Irony and Sarcasm in The Importance of Being Earnest

(essay)

Student: Alma Hamza

Mentor: Ifeta iri

November, 2010

The period of the 19th and early 20th century in Britain in cultural terms was usually
portrayed as the long edwardian summer, with ladies in elegant hats and dresses parading on
the lawns of coutry houses.1 The social gap between the upper aristocratic classes and the
lower classes was still evident and directed further social development. Although Britain at
the time was the largest empire in the world and simultaneously the most industrially
advanced nation the whole image was far away from being the picture perfect society.
Therefore, it is no wonder that the political and social differences were also reflected in
theater and drama.
The most common types of the 19th century drama were the well-made play and the
problem play characterized by a closely detailed plot and a proper climax taking place at the
almost end of the play. The concept of the well-made play was designed as to apply to almost
any dramatic form from farce, melodrama to heroic tragedy. Oscar Wilde excercised this
concept in his widely known comedy of manners The Importance of Being Earnest. One of
the simplest definitions says that a comedy of manners is a play concerned with satirising
societys manners.

Comedy of manners was not a 19th century dramatic invention, but a

theatrical genre that came into being during the Restoration period in England with works of
William Wycherley and William Congreve and was undergoing tremendous revival in the
19th century reaching its peak with the works of Oscar Wilde.
The Importance of Being Earnest stands as a textbook example of the comedy of manners
with its witty and harsh ironic representation of the Victorian society. David L. Hirst in his
book Comedy of manners clearly states that: It was Wilde, a contemporary of Meredith and
Shaw, who was to satirize the hipocrisy of his own age by exploring the dichotomy between
word and deed. Fundamental to his plays as to those of the late seventeenth century is the
rigorous rejection of the Puritan values. His command of the language and his ironic expos
of the maners of society was a return to the form and subject of post-Restoration comedy... 3
It was not just any part of the versatile Victorian society but the crme de la crme - upper
class that had to endure harsh criticism. Moreover, irony is only the first stage, progressing to
sarcasm and culminating in pure satire. Although the language itself is simple the utterance is
highly elevated for the purpose of expressing the character of values in question, the overall
impression is artificiality and snobbery. The focus is on the behaviour of each and every
character and their personal perception of the social norms, which are subverted as to achieve
a desired objection. However, apart from testing behaviour the comedy of manners seeks to
1

Adrian Barlow (ed.), Twentieth Century British Drama, Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom, 8
http://www.thedramateacher.com/comedy-of-manners/, last accessed November 28, 2010
3
David L.Hirst, Comedy of Manners, Methuen & Co Ltd, United Kingdom, 111,112
2

expose hipocrisy, obsession with money, class status and institutions such as marriage or
family.
The irony in The Importance of Being Earnest starts with the identity problem of the upper
class representatives. The first person showing the symptoms of a misleading identity is Mr.
Ernest Worthing. He happens to be good friends with Algernon Moncrieff who is convinced
that Ernest is his real name. But as the play develops further on Algernon realizes that he is
terribly mistaken and that Ernest's real name is infact Jack/John. In the first act the two of
them got into an elaborate discussion regarding his name which caused major confusion for
the characters within the play itself and also exposed the social segment of changing one's
identity for the purpose of either personal satisfaction or social requirement. For Jack the
explanation is as simple as to say: ...my name is Ernest in town and Jack in the country... 4
Ernest is an imaginary troublemaking brother, who is Jack's double life excuse. At this point
Algernon introduces a particular concept of bunburying simultaneously characterizing and
accusing Jack of being a Bunburyist. The concept represents a useful, very cunning and
simple solution to all the demands brought upon by the society. It allows every individual to
bypass social norms and proceede with their own vision of life as it should be. At the
beginning of the play Algernon Moncrieff scolds Jack for his inappropriate behaviour
forgetting that he has a game of his own not much different from Jack's. Therefore, Algernon
openly says that he has: ...invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury, in order
that I may be able to go down into the country whenever I choose. Bunbury is perfectly
invaluable.5 This idea of alternating identities and presenting yourself as whosoever is not in
line with the Victorian rigidity and the prescribed gentlemen's behaviour. Scams, either secret
or obvious, were considered as shameful and inappropriate acts of behavior unfit for the upper
class getlemen and ladies. Wilde uses the concept of a double lif employed by the members of
the high class to ridicule them and discard the infallability trait regularly attached to them, and
more importantly to emphasize that hipocrisy is a trait common to all classes.
Like so many writers before him, Wilde decided to pour harsh criticism on the institution
of marriage. The Victorian period was perfectly suitable to portray both the mental image of
the people and the social construct of the age. To be an independent woman in Victorian
society was a matter of unattainability, since it was still a male ruling world. Women had two
relatively possible options either to remain spinsters or to attain certain degree of

4
5

The Collected Works of Oscar Wilde, Wordsworth Editions Limited, Hertfordshire, 670
Ibid., p. 672

independence by marriage. In the play we are presented with typical women of the age with
typical manners and mind framework.
On the one hand there is Lady Bracknell as an old-fashioned, traditional and stern advocate
of an opportunistic pre-arranged marriage. Moreover, she exercizes the role of a marriage
match-maker between her daughter Gwendolen and a future eligible son-in-law. The Victorian
age gave rise to a concept called the family claim which stated that: ...women, far more than
men, were regarded as possessions of their families. 6 Lady Bracknell entirely follows this
pattern when her daughter is in question showing that it is not up to Gwendolen to make her
own decisions in this business transaction where parents know best: ...When you do become
engaged to someone, I, or your father, should his health permit him, will inform you of the
fact. An engagement should come on a young girl as a surprise, pleasant or unpleasant, as the
case may be. It is hardly a matter that she could be allowed to arrange for herself... 7 Wilde's
sarcastic tone stands in opposition to the customary pattern and simultaneously highlights that
the idea of woman question is far away from becoming a reality. The inquiry that Lady
Bracknell conducts to see whether Jack is a suitable marriage material are irony and sarcasm
at its best. Apparently she had done it before and it felt quite natural to ask questions such as:
Do you smoke?8 Indeed, the question sounds trivial, but it is purposeful it reveals the
underlying characteristic of the society - idleness. When Lady Bracknell receives positive
confirmation she exudes happiness, but rather in a sarcastic manner: I'm glad to hear it. A
man should always have an occupation of some kind. There are far too many idle men in
London as it is.9 Sarcasm is not a character trait that one should conceal and be ashamed of,
quite contrary. But Lady Bracknell is not all black-and-white character. She might be
perceived as a sweet old lady who wants the best for her daughter, but her sinister and
snobbish traits resurface the moment class status and one's origin comes into the big picture.
Jack, who happens to be a Victoria Station hand-bag foundling, is an undesirable bachelor
since it would be incredibly humiliating for the Bracknells to allow: a girl brought up with
the utmost care to marry into a cloakroom, and form an alliance with a parcel. 10 On the
surface this sounds ironic even ridiculous, but deeper analysis reveals harsh social criticism
that borders with utter satire. Yes, Jack is a foundling indeed and Victorian society lacks both
morality and purity.
6

http://www.victoriaspast.com/LifeofVictorianWoman/LifeofVictorianWoman.html, last accessed November 28,

2010
7
The Collected Works of Oscar Wilde, Wordsworth Editions Limited, Hertfordshire, 677
8
Ibid., p. 677
9
Ibid., p. 677
10
Ibid., p. 679

On the other hand there are the two young women, Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew,
with the Victorian posture and manners and a romantic hopelessness attached to it. The most
obvious instance of romantic hoplessness is the fixation with the name Ernest, for both
characters seem to edge with obsession. Suprisingly, Gwendolen does not express any
coyness, as one might expect, but takes charge to seal the deal all by herself. The character of
Gwendolen is not the genuine prototype of an ironic expression, infact she appears to be
pretty plain. Nevertheless, it is her superstition and fixation on superficiality that the modern
reader finds quite ironic and inappropriate: ...I have known several Jacks, and they all,
without exception, were more than usually plain. I pity any woman who is married to a man
called John. The only safe name is Ernest. 11 Cecily cherishes the same kind of obsession as
Gwendolen. She as a young, respectful, educated woman is entitled to choose a bachelor for
herself. However, the idea of superficiality reemerges once again where triviality, such as
one's name, are deemed more than the character itself.
The title of the play The Importance of Being Earnest is Wilde's word play used as
particular device of social criticism. It operates on two levels the first one being the level of
the name, for indeed the play deals with an individual under that very name, and the second
more metaphorical level of the term earnest. There is nothing earnest in the play the
characters lie, invent, pretend, hide their real motives and give priority to appearance and
superficial displays of behaviour and attitude. The characters are hollow from within,
paradoxical, constantly trying to come to terms with social requirements by doing just the
opposite and that is the bitter irony which pervades almost every sentence. Another instance
of shallowness is presented in the idea of baptism that the two male characters are willing to
undertake. For Wilde this is the utmost social confomity that characters fall victims to. Female
characters may be obsessed with the name Ernest for reasons known only to them, however,
male characters are far worse for even considering the option of changing their identity
because of a woman's whim.
Victorian society seemed perfect only on the outside, but from the inside it was rotten to
the core. Wilde himself led unconventional life and his sexual orientation raised more than
just a few eyebrows. More than anything else he could not bear general hipocrisy and
artificiality which were the underlying features of society he was also a part of. In The
Importance of Being Earnest he exposed and satirized the manners of the upper class which
were quite annoying. It seems that all the characters in the play try to adapt their lives to the
prescribed concept of Victorian morality and purity, but unsuccesfully. Underneath it all the
11

The Collected Works of Oscar Wilde, Wordsworth Editions Limited, Hertfordshire, 676

real character emerges displaying that dark and sinister side we would all like to conceal.
Wilde shows the reversal of the gender roles where women seem to have more power at their
disposal it is Gwendolen who proposes to Jack and not vice versa. The idea of a double life
was not an adventure but an actual lifestyle enjoyed by many well-off individuals, who
disobeyed the Victorian rules. Family background and social status determined the overall
relations. All of this provoked such intense reaction on the part of Wilde that he had to use
ironic, sarcastic and even satiric undertone as to bring forth the real image of the upper class
society, which judged everything by appearance and never bothered to scratch deeper under
the surface and see the essence.

Bibliography:
Adrian Barlow (ed.), Twentieth Century British Drama, Cambridge University Press,
United Kingdom, 2001.
David L.Hirst, Comedy of Manners, Methuen & Co Ltd, United Kingdom, 1979.
The Collected Works of Oscar Wilde, Wordsworth Editions Limited, Hertfordshire, 1997.
Internet sources:
http://www.thedramateacher.com/comedy-of-manners/, last accessed November 28, 2010
http://www.victoriaspast.com/LifeofVictorianWoman/LifeofVictorianWoman.html,

last

accessed November 28, 2010

http://chuma.cas.usf.edu/~dietrich/britishdrama1.htm#WellMade, last accessed November 28,
2010
http://www.thedramateacher.com/comedy-of-manners/, last accessed November 28, 2010