The play, “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde was written in 1895, in the year 2002, Oliver Parker re-created this in a film. Both exhibit a comedy of manners and much criticism of the upper class in that society. The play was originally directed towards middle/upper class people of the Victorian era, making this hard for them to find amusing as it was them that he made fun of, unlike Parker, who has an intended audience of people from the 21st century. To hold their attention there had been alterations to some of the small parts of the film, by adding more comedy amongst a historical setting to create humor to suit the culture while still recognizing key themes from the original play.
Both Gwendolen and Cecily are portrayed to
…show more content…
The continuous chirping of birds creates the appearance of a perfect setting, this is combined with the use of vibrant colours to enhance this effect of a beautiful day. Music is played in the background throughout general conversation, it begins stopping and starting throughout arguments to allow the audience to focus on the spiteful comments towards each other. The only point where this music is predominant is when the scene changes to Jack rehearsing what he is going to say in front of the mirror and Algernon escaping the carriage when he was supposed to be leaving the house. This was a key part of the scene in the film but was not present in the play, this was used to create humor within a serious scene. In the play, the surroundings of the table are not described, but in the film many displays of wealth are shown through inanimate objects within the scene. One of these displays include the marquee located in the background of the scene, it is grand and filled with various foods. These alterations in the film are made to create the scene in such detail without changing too much from the original …show more content…
In both the play and film, not long after Gwendolen first meets Cecily, she mentions that her “father is Lord Bracknell”, giving her the opportunity to develop on her social standing through general conversation. She then leads on to talk about how her mother has brought her “up to be extremely short sighted” since “it is part of her system”. This is used as a double meaning for her being unaware of things that are irrelevant to her and literally having poor vision, however this part of the scene is only found in the play. Gwendolen also rises frequently in the play when she feels as though she is under threat to regain all power over Cecily at any point during the scene, the first being when she discovers that Cecily is Mr. Worthing’s ward. One depiction of social standing found only on the film is the smoking of cigarettes, Gwendolen seems to be quite experienced in this area, where she is classily smoking without a fuss. However Cecily is mimicking everything Gwendolen does, showing that she has not had much experience with this before, this is also shown when she beings coughing and struggling to maintain the same sophistication as Gwendolen. Social classes are depicted in both the film and the play in ways that are best for the style of which the writer/producer can create the scene and it can be clearly presented to the
Throughout much of the play and especially the beginning, Wilde satirizes the setting in which both the characters as well as his audience live in. This satirization specifically requires that the audience be thoughtful whenever Wilde makes a joke, resulting in the thoughtful laughter which makes a true comedy. “The Importance of Being Earnest” is set during the late 20th century in Britain, a time period known as the Victorian Era, in which the British Empire was at its absolute peak. The dominance of Britain in world affairs resulted in a sense of
Every line, every character, and every stage direction in The Importance of Being Earnest is set on supporting Oscar Wilde’s want for social change. The Importance of Being Earnest was written during the late period of the Victorian era. During this period social classification was taken very seriously. It could affect working and living conditions, education, religion, and marriage. Wilde explores the issues of social class and turns it into a comedic play. He humorously criticizes Victorian manners and attacking the society of the luxurious life. The audience becomes self-aware as the characters reflect on themselves. Plays such as this become successful because of the backgrounds the writers come from and the experiences they have had.
This letter is being written in response to your FT R/W Support Teacher opening. I presently hold a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science and I am currently pursuing a Masters’ Degree in Urban Affairs at Hunter College with an expected graduation date of 2016. Below are a few highlights of my qualifications.
Oliver Parker’s (2002) film adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s play ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ is sadly completely consumed by the romantic comedy style, masking Wilde’s key concerns and detracting from important comic elements of the play. This can be observed through the varying representations of characters, the film’s lack of contextual jokes, the more prominent sub-plot between Dr Chasuble and Miss Prism, the addition of music and the way in which dialogue, while remaining true to the play, has lost meaning in the film.
In film adaptations, making a theatrical statement can be hard since making films will limit your options. “A handbag?” happens to be remembered very well in British films and plays. Making a movie gives you a limited amount of time to both make and present it to your audience (plays on the other hand are much more flexible with the amount of time it has to be made and how long it takes to present it), it is very understandable how films are like a shorter summary of a rather long play. When an actor acts in a play, there is no way for them to redo a mix up and thus no way making the play into perfection, unlike when you are acting in a film where you can redo the scene until you feel you have gotten it right. The earlier 1952 film version of the Importance of Being Earnest gave Oscar Wilde’s play a new golden opportunity for the 1900s. Before the 1952 film version of the story, it was performed on stage for over 50 years for it was one of Oscar Wilde’s most well known and best plays. No doubt about it, all of the films for the Importance of Being Earnest are made in each director’s view and perception of this memorable play. It is important to know of the culture and historical origins of one of Oscar Wilde’s most infamous
In the play, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, there is a lot of humor that can be found. Specifically, developed behind the characters in this play that display many instances of irony and how important it was to fit into the “status quo” of this time period. There are specific behaviors from the characters of Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen, and Algernon that portray Wilde’s opinion of society during the Victorian Age. The attitude of these characters is snobbish and their manners display double standards and superiority. The play’s use of mockery and irony of these satirical situations is meant to publicly ridicule the self- loving attitude of the upper class while exposing their true absence of intelligence which causes their absurd social behaviors
AThe Importance of Being Earnest a play written by Oscar Wilde is set in England in the late Victorian era. Wilde uses obvious situational and dramatic irony within the play to satirize his time period. According to Roger Sale in Being Ernest the title has a double meaning to it and is certainly another example of satire used by Wilde. With a comedic approach, Wilde ridicules the absurdities of the character’s courtship rituals, their false faces, and their secrets. (Sale, 478)
Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest (.1993.) is an enlightening epitome of social class in the Victorian era. The satire is driven by the frivolous behaviour, superficial lives and artificial norms within the Victorian aristocracy. Incorporating his own opinion into the play, Wilde continually attacked and mocked their hypocrisy, views on marriage, and their mannerisms. Throughout the play, Wilde used an abundant range of literary techniques to reinforce his opinion. Irony, paradox and hyperboles, as well as witty epigrams and aphorisms were used astutely and were ubiquitous throughout the play. This contributed to the satirical style and tone of the text, and enabled Wilde to effectively communicate his critical perspective on social class in Victorian England.
Elinor Fuchs sees the play as a world that passes in front of the critic in ‘time and space’; one that has elements that must be understood (Fuchs, 2004, p 6). These elements closely resembles Aristotle’s six elements of a play- plot, character, thought, diction, music and spectacle- elements that are clearly identifiable in Oscar Wilde’s 1895 play ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’.
The The Importance of Being Earnest, written by Oscar Wilde, is a play set during the Victorian Era. It is about the lives of characters named Jack Worthing, Algernon Moncrieff, Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen Fairfax, Cecily Cardew, Miss Prism, and Rev. Chasuble that lived during that time period. One of the main topics discussed in The Importance of Being Earnest is marriage. Overall, Wilde portrays marriage differently throughout the play for the upper and lower classes of society.
Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is truly a satire. In The Importance of Being Ernest, Wilde mocks the society in Britain, and the rules it followed in the 1800s. He uses satire in the description of every character and other themes like marriage, intelligence, morality, and lifestyle primarily aimed at the upper class of the time. At the turn of every page the use of satire proves again and again to be ideal when questioning the morals and values of people.
Both The Importance of Being Earnest, a comedy play written before 1900, and The Middle, a contemporary comedy about a weird family which attempts to get together despite incredible differences and challenges, use comedic techniques to get the reader or viewer more interested. These strategies work in that one is more likely to continue viewing or reading while laughing and relating to the information as well. In The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde takes the reader on very wild ride through his land of craziness. Ridiculous plot lines and weird findings lead to awkward situations which somehow get resolved by an unlikely source. The Middle pertains to people who are interested in seeing a dysfunctional family try to get along and survive in their unusual home.
This reflective journal will focus on authentic leadership and its role in establishing an empowering work environment. I had realized there were patient safety concerns at the moment of handoff for many years. Once I took on a leadership role it became even more evident that nurse to nurse handoff is a critical point where errors can happen. As part of my daily routine, I round to get a feel for the department, staff, and patients. I began to notice that my first round of the day was always the longest and filled mostly with complaints from staff about how patients were left or issues about the previous shift. I also noticed that as a Clinical Flow Coordinator I would receive multiple calls throughout the day from either staff or management about how patients arrived at the floors. There were incident reports filled out, calls to management, and many emails about these various issues.
A person’s name and position in society are significantly important for the upper class, due to the fact that if one were to marry into the family, a key member of the family would judge the person by their social class and the family name they carry to see if they are worthy to being a part of their lineage. In the play, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” a person's social class is highly admired. The main characters are high in society and are falsely appearing to live up to great expectations. In Oscar Wilde’s play, the theme of the social class is extensively explored through the characters, although they are living double-lives.
Management is a user of financial analysis. Which of the following comments does not represent a fair statement as to the management perspective?