Annotated Bibliography: The Importance of Being Earnest
Reinert, Otto. "Satiric Strategy in the Importance of Being Earnest." College English 18.1 (1956): 14-18. National Council of Teachers of English. JSTOR, Oct. 1956. Web. 5 July 2015. The main idea in this analysis of Wilde’s satire is to prove that Wilde does not just use satire for the sake of having his play being called a “farce,” rather he uses satirical strategy to enhance the experience of the play and how it differs from “normal” satires. Normal satires refer, in this case, those that outright label themselves as satires. But, Wilde’s play cannot be labeled only as a farce. As Reinert writes, the play requires looking at both the satirical and dramatic counterparts of the play. …show more content…
A. Poague. "The Importance of Being Earnest: The Texture of Wilde 's Irony." Modern Drama 16.3 (1973): 251-257. Project MUSE. Web. 9 Jul. 2014. Web. 5 July 2015. Poague’s essay focuses mainly on the ironic side of Wilde’s play. He jumps right in beginning with the first two lines of the play. He points out that the first two lines act as situational irony as the outcome turns out to be different than what was expected. Reading the first lines, as he points out, a reader expects Lane to be listening and taking interest in Algernon’s play. But it is the complete opposite. Another example he provides is when it is ironically revealed that Jack is in fact Algernon’s older brother and Lady Bracknell’s nephew. It was not expected that Jack and Algernon might actually be related and Poague points out just that. He goes further by even pointing different types of ironies in the play. For instance, the scholar states that there is dramatic irony when both Cecily and Gwendolen believe that their lover’s name is Ernest. While they both think that they are married to the same man and become bitter about it, only the audience knows that it is only a mix-up of names, as the scholar points out. He then goes on providing more examples of ironies in the play. It concludes by providing as many examples of irony as possible. I found this analysis of the ironies in the play to be a little vague. The scholar never critically analyzed the ironies in the play. He just told the readers where and what type of irony they are. I didn’t feel there was a strong enough point in this
Reinert, Otto. "Satiric Strategy in the Importance of Being Earnest." College English 18.1 (1956): 14-18. National Council of Teachers of English. JSTOR, Oct. 1956. Web. 5 July 2015. The main idea in this analysis of Wilde’s satire is to prove that Wilde does not just use satire for the sake of having his play being called a “farce,” rather he uses satirical strategy to enhance the experience of the play and how it differs from “normal” satires. Normal satires refer, in this case, those that outright label themselves as satires. But, Wilde’s play cannot be labeled only as a farce. As Reinert writes, the play requires looking at both the satirical and dramatic counterparts of the play. …show more content…
A. Poague. "The Importance of Being Earnest: The Texture of Wilde 's Irony." Modern Drama 16.3 (1973): 251-257. Project MUSE. Web. 9 Jul. 2014. Web. 5 July 2015. Poague’s essay focuses mainly on the ironic side of Wilde’s play. He jumps right in beginning with the first two lines of the play. He points out that the first two lines act as situational irony as the outcome turns out to be different than what was expected. Reading the first lines, as he points out, a reader expects Lane to be listening and taking interest in Algernon’s play. But it is the complete opposite. Another example he provides is when it is ironically revealed that Jack is in fact Algernon’s older brother and Lady Bracknell’s nephew. It was not expected that Jack and Algernon might actually be related and Poague points out just that. He goes further by even pointing different types of ironies in the play. For instance, the scholar states that there is dramatic irony when both Cecily and Gwendolen believe that their lover’s name is Ernest. While they both think that they are married to the same man and become bitter about it, only the audience knows that it is only a mix-up of names, as the scholar points out. He then goes on providing more examples of ironies in the play. It concludes by providing as many examples of irony as possible. I found this analysis of the ironies in the play to be a little vague. The scholar never critically analyzed the ironies in the play. He just told the readers where and what type of irony they are. I didn’t feel there was a strong enough point in this