Comedic Devices And Elements In The Importance Of Being Earnest 393h4c

Comedic Devices and Elements in The Importance of Being Earnest Farce: a light dramatic composition marked by broadly satirical comedy and improbable plot. Farces are composed of three acts, often involve changes in identity, have stock characters, and revolve around some misunderstanding between lovers. Satire: wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly. Wildean satire, however, focuses more on criticizing an institution or character as a whole, rather than an exclusive aspect of society. Parody: any humorous, satirical, or burlesque imitation; a mimicry of an established concept, idea, or a person Irony -

Verbal irony: irony in which a person says or writes one thing and means another, or uses words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of the literal meaning. Examples: o sarcasm o hyperbole

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Situational irony: irony involving a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended, so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected. Irony of reversal: incongruences between tone and content, especially when dealing with morality. Examples: o paradox o “The amount of women in London who flirt with their own husbands is perfectly scandalous. It looks so bad. It is simply washing one’s clean linen in public.” (7)

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Irony of comparison: irony where different objects are placed at a distance to facilitate evaluation of their relationship. Examples: o overstatement o understatement

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Irony of truth: irony that may take form as a simplified generalization while still revealing truth to some extent. o “An engagement should come on a girl as a surprise, pleasant or unpleasant, as the case may be. It is hardly a matter that she should be allowed to arrange for herself.” (13)

Comedy of Manners: Witty, ironic form of drama that satirizes the manners and fashions of a particular social class or set. Comedies of manners were usually written by sophisticated authors for of their own social class, and they typically are concerned with social usage and the ability or inability of certain characters to meet social standards, which are often exacting but morally trivial.