Concetti Chiave
- Wilde's comedic brilliance is showcased through a rapid series of misunderstandings and witty dialogues, exemplified in conversations like that between Cecily and Gwendolen.
- His humor is rich in irony, sarcasm, nonsense, puns, and paradoxes, creating a sparkling wit throughout his work.
- The humor stems from the characters' delivery, maintaining an unflappable demeanor regardless of the absurdity of their statements.
- Wilde employs a technique of contraries, treating serious matters with triviality and absurdities with seriousness, highlighting the superficiality of the English upper class.
- In Wilde's world, comical situations like missing babies and false identities are amusing without moral repercussions, fitting the genre of "artificial comedy."
What is Wilde's comedic brilliance?
It is the best-known of Wilde’s comedies. It is based on a breathtaking succession of misunderstandings, discoveries and revelations, all given through a superbly brilliant dialogue, as can be seen in the dialogue between Cecily and Gwendolen.
Wilde’s sparkling wit abounds in irony, sarcasm, nonsense, puns and paradoxes.
The humor derives from what the characters say and how they say it, in a absolutely imperturbable way.
Wilde's technique of contraries
There is also Wilde’s technique of contraries with which he treat all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality, and the most irrelevant and absurd things with seriousness: this highlights the superficiality of the English upper class.
Wilde creates a world where missing babies and false identities can be wonderfully funny and hurt no one, he suspends the necessity of moral judgment, so painfully present in real life.
It belongs to that genre was called “artificial comedy”.
Cecily and Gwendolen's encounter
In the passage we read Cecily and Gwendolen, who meet for the first time, exchange information on their family background. Gwendolen is the Lord Bracknell’s daughter and when Cecily says that she is Mr Worthing’s ward (Jack), she discovers with surprise that Earnest Worthing has got an elder brother.
In the first part the language is elegant and witty, full of Wilde’s exquisite paradoxes, puns and nonsenses; but in the second one there is a sudden change of attitude between the two girls, the language loses in politeness, as if the girls had thrown away the mask, due to the fact that they think they are both engaged to the same man (Earnest Worthing).
Domande da interrogazione
- What is the essence of Wilde's comedic brilliance in his best-known comedy?
Wilde's comedic brilliance lies in his use of a breathtaking succession of misunderstandings, discoveries, and revelations, all delivered through superbly brilliant dialogue. His sparkling wit is rich with irony, sarcasm, nonsense, puns, and paradoxes, creating humor from both what the characters say and how they say it.
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