Good Old Oscar Wilde

I read The Importance of Being Earnest for AP Literature last year and loved it. Oscar Wilde is a fabulous satirist and never fails to make me laugh when I read his comedies. So when I saw that we were reading a scene from Earnest I was excited to revisit a work I had loved the first time around. It definitely didn't disappoint.

One of the big motifs of Earnest is the hypocrisy and deception found in society,which allows for hilarious instances of hypocrisy among the characters. Wilde really had a talent for displaying the ridiculousness of society during his time. There's so much fantastic word play to be found in this story and so many great lines to laugh at.
Like Algernon's interaction with his butler, for example -

Algernon. Good heavens! Is marriage so demoralising as that?
Lane. I believe it IS a very pleasant state, sir. I have had very little experience of it myself up to the present. I have only been married once. That was in consequence of a misunderstanding between myself and a young person.

I love how they dumb marriage down as being simply "a misunderstanding." Hello understatement of the year!

And let's talk about the cucumber sandwiches -

Algernon. [Picking up empty plate in horror.] Good heavens! Lane! Why are there no cucumber sandwiches? I ordered them specially.
Lane. [Gravely.] There were no cucumbers in the market this morning, sir. I went down twice.
Algernon. No cucumbers!
Lane. No, sir. Not even for ready money.

Lane going along with Algernon's deception makes me smile every time - he's clearly well-versed in the habits of his employer and not at all surprised by his hypocrisy in this situation. Even the stage direction [Gravely] makes me laugh. I can just picture the stone-faced butler delivering the "serious" news to the man he knows actually polished off the sandwiches just moments ago. 

And then of course there's Algernon's Aunt Augusta, who has probably gotten the Bunbury excuse so many times she's no longer fooled by it, so she gives the most wonderfully awful speech about "health."

Lady Bracknell. Well, I must say, Algernon, that I think it is high time that Mr. Bunbury made up his mind whether he was going to live or to die. This shilly-shallying with the question is absurd. Nor do I in any way approve of the modern sympathy with invalids. I consider it morbid. Illness of any kind is hardly a thing to be encouraged in others. Health is the primary duty of life. [...] I should be much obliged if you would ask Mr. Bunbury, from me, to be kind enough not to have a relapse on Saturday, for I rely on you to arrange my music for me.

We all know you can't just ask someone to be healthy on any given date, so is Lady Bracknell being serious here or is she telling Algernon that he can't excuse himself out of Saturday's activities? I would say both, considering that she attacks "the modern sympathy with invalids" (serious) but also suggests that Bunbury should just up and die already. 

If you guys haven't read the whole play, I highly recommend it. It's short enough to read in a day or two and the ending will have you applauding Oscar Wilde for his cleverness.