A satire is a work of art that pokes fun at society’s problems, vices and other bad behavior. In a well-developed and supported essay, (that means quotes to support your view) discuss Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Ernest as satire. You much include the devices of satire in this essay and demonstrate how they are used in the play.

                        Using satirical devices such as irony, travesty, sarcasm and farce to ridicule the state of society and the behavior of people in society is often quite successful in questioning the values and morals of the citizens under observation. In Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Ernest, Wilde is successful in mocking the Victorian structure of society in Britain, and the rules it followed in the 1800s. Each separate character is used as tool by Wilde to satirize the society on such topics as marriage, morality, intelligence, and the appearance versus the nature of something.

            Wilde often satirizes the Victorian society in which he lived in through the idea of marriage. Victorian society sees marriage as a business arrangement, as shown when Lady Bracknell questions Jack to determine if he is suitable for Gwendolen, providing a set list of bachelors that have been predetermined. Additionally illustrating the attitude on marriage, Algernon’s speech often criticizes the way that married couples behave towards one another by using sharp wit and sarcasm. The quick repartee between Algernon and Jack expresses marriage as a travesty, as Algernon additionally mocks the entirety of marriage through cynicism regarding the nature of romance in marriage. Jack contrasts Algernon’s views, as he romantics his proposal as much as possible, despite how the surrounding characters respond.

Algernon: My dear fellow, the way you flirt with Gwendolen is perfectly disgraceful. It is almost as bad as the way Gwendolen flirts with you.

Jack: I am in love with Gwendolen. I have come up to town expressly to propose to her.

Algernon: I thought you had come up for pleasure? … I call that business.

Jack: How utterly unromantic you are!

Algernon: I really don’t see anything romantic in proposing. It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal. Why, one may be accepted. One usually is, I believe. Then the excitement is all over. The very essence of romance is uncertainty. If ever I get married, I’ll certainly try to forget the fact.

(Act 1, 30)

            Adding to his witty dialogue, Algernon also comments on the façade of the Victorian society, which lives according to rules and regulations and the sense of morality the people pretend to follow. The name “Ernest” is supposed to be associated with kindness, sincerity and intense conviction, but instead both Jack and Algernon lie by using the name to obtain what they want. By using this name to describe themselves, they become hypocrites, which parallels to people in society to this day, as most people will do whatever they must to obtain their desires.

            Furthermore, the morality of society is supposed to be earnest, but instead Wilde paints it as truly irreverent, simply masked behind good appearances and excellent manners. By opening Jack’s cigarette case, Algernon acts ungentlemanly and therefore acts against what is polite according to the standards set by the time period, which additionally breaks the barrier of morality, as in the society in which he lives which adheres to the standard of what is moral is always polite and what is impolite is always impious. Criticizing this norm, Algernon argues that’s “More than half of modern culture depends on what one shouldn’t read.” (Act 1, 32)

            Because good appearances are kept up in Victorian society, intelligence is not necessary. Although wit can be useful for conversation, the way of life in the time period required a complete adherence to the standards set without question and without a particular ignorance, this cooperation is impossible, as expressed by Lady Bracknell. Through burlesque comedy, she expresses that if education tampers with the unquestioning obedience of the society, there would be outrage and disorder and it is best to be submissive and ignorant.

I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone. The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever. If it did, it would prove a serious danger to the upper classes, and probably lead to acts of violence in Grosvenor Square. (Act 1, 45)

            The particular topics of social life used to satirize Britian in the Victorian era by Oscar Wilde in The Importance of Being Ernest, such as marriage, morality and intelligence are mocked through situational irony and repartee throughout the entirety of the piece. Each character is used to ridicule the state that society is in and morals that the Victorian era followed. Wilde is successful in satirizing Britian through sarcasm, wit and cynicism in the hopes of getting his opinion of society across.