Trace the farcical absurdities in “The Importance of Being Earnest.”

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Trace the farcical absurdities in The Importance of Being Earnest NU Or In what ways is The Importance of Being Earnest a farcical comedy Oscar Wilde s play The Importance of Being Earnest is full of farcical absurdities Wilde turns serious social issues into comic exaggerations He uses lies mistaken identities and silly rules to mock Victorian society The play shows how trivial concerns dominate the lives of the upper class The Idea of Bunburying One of the funniest absurdities is Algernon s invention of a sick friend named Bunbury He uses this excuse to escape boring dinners In Act I he says If it wasn t for Bunbury s extraordinary bad health for instance I wouldn t be able to dine with you at Willis s tonight This shows the ridiculous way he avoids duties Jack s Double Life Jack also lives a double life In the city of

London he is known as Ernest but in the country he is known as Jack In Act I he says My name is Ernest in town and Jack in the country This creates confusion and comic scenes especially when both identities crash It highlights the silliness of living with false names Love Based on Names Romance itself becomes absurd in the play Gwendolen says in Act I The only really safe name is Ernest She loves Jack only because she thinks his name is Ernest Cecily too imagines she is already engaged to Ernest before meeting Algernon Love becomes a joke about names not true feelings In short Wilde fills the play with absurd lies false identities and trivial love These farcical situations expose the foolishness of Victorian society Wilde makes serious rules look silly while making silly things look serious nbsp

The Importance of Being Earnest

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Trace the farcical absurdities in “The Importance of Being Earnest.”

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Oscar Wilde

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