The Importance of Being Earnest Ashley Holt
October 22, 2005
The witty epigrams of Oscar Wilde in the nineteenth century play,
“The Importance of Being Earnest”
An epigram is a concise statement dealing pointedly and often satirically with a single
thought or event. As a literary device, the epigram captives intellectual reason with the
genuine wit of satire. Often ending with an ingenious turn of thought, the epigram is an
abbreviated extension of knowledge in the seven schools of classical knowledge, such as
philosophy, science, or literature. The nineteenth-century epigram coined by Oscar Wile,
„antiquity is preserved in its abbreviations,' is a direct application of this knowledge.
As a literary device, the epigram differs from logical argument as its subject matter is
treated satirically, as a single thought or event rather than a series of theorems, a system of
logic, or a complex paradigm. The epigram is a literary unit, which if treated as subject
matter, is capable of producing `common' knowledge in the laws of philanthropy, industry,
or perpetuity. The most frequent application of the epigram in literature is the prosodic
constructions of Benjamin Franklin, a brilliant scientist, inventor, and political ambassador in
the eighteenth century. His intriguing epigrams, such as “Haste makes waste” and “A penny
saved is a penny earned,” are brief allusions to the mechanisms of industry, business, and
finance. If one follows these moral precepts, according to Benjamin Franklin, one could
attain a higher level of enjoyment in all areas of life—including society, relationships, and
community. An epigram is not intended to provoke stimulating argument or discussion; it is
a momentary application of humor and an analogy of a much deeper knowledge in a school
of thought or rhetoric. As Oscar Wilde stated in the 1800s, “Ages live in history through
their anachronisms.”
As a remarkable writer in the nineteenth-century, Oscar Wilde articulated the
intrinsic moral truth of epigrams in his play, The Importance of Being Earnest. Because the
epigram is a derivation of knowledge, or a part of the whole, the audience is able to
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October 22, 2005
instinctively respond in adulation or negation without continued argument to its subject
matter. Above all, the epigram is intended to end rhetoric without conversation.
As a notable playwright, Oscar Wilde played the part of the misanthrope in a society
governed by the Augustan conventions of society. The characters in Wilde's play are
aristocrats, and as a group, the characters engage in intellectual and thought-stimulating
conversations about a variety of subjects. More importantly, the characters pay close
attention to social convention. In fact, there are numerous applications of the epigram as an
overruling principle in the schools of grammar and the logic of rhetoric. Miss Prism is the
principal contributor to this style of reasoning. Quintessentially, her status in the play is
signified by her perfection of the literary arts. “Memory, my dear Cecily, is the diary that we
all carry about with us.” (Act II, pg. 776) Essentially, the intricate mechanisms of the mind
are the chronicles that form the moral precepts we each record as the diary of life. When
Miss Prism articulates this short, witty statement she does not intend to entertain; her terse
articulation intends to engage her pupil into a dialectic argument using the former rules of
debate.
In addition, her concise epigrams to her pupil, Cecily, articulate the gravity of her
position as an educator. It is obtrusive that she condones the young student for writing in a
diary; however, the delivery of her supposition is meant to engage the student in a diabolical
argument. The governess is a strict utilitarian; clearly, any “ideal merriment” or “triviality” is
out of place in her conversation.
Miss Prism is a characteristically noble governess, with interesting and intriguing
thoughts. The “moral truth” of her statements is found in the delivery of her speech. She
briefly alludes to a formal testament or a fundamental principle within her lesson. “The good
end happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what Fiction means.” (Act II, pg. 776-778) It is
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October 22, 2005
interesting that Oscar Wilde used her as an instructor or guide to the formal conventions of
social criticism, because she is a woman. In fact, throughout the play, the female characters
dominate conversation, comedy, and social engagement. Oscar Wilde refrains from all sense
of lewdness in his portrayal of women, but he can not refrain from the spontaneous
outbursts that may accompany a woman's scholarly debate. His simple moral truths, “The
well-bred contradict other people. The wise contradict themselves,” is intended to instill the
assiduous necessity for perfection, or the persevering obligation of the playwright to alleviate
superficiality in society. This moral engagement is successful; however, even the most
talented succumb to occasional systems of inaccuracy. For example, Miss Prism falls victim
to a fallacy as she attempts to instruct her pupil, Cecily, in the social environment of
London. Her ambiguity is part of the melodramatic plot to provide the audience with
criticism, contest, and comedy.
Oscar Wilde does not intend to degenerate the status of women in the nineteenth
century; instead, he calls attention to the romantic manner of their argument and opinion.
When the enchanting governess converses with Chasuble, a scholarly physician, she
mistakenly appeals to the doctor with the intellectual “sympathies” of women. Oscar Wilde
contends with female subjectivity on the sense of allusion and irony; as a result, he allows his
characters, such as the seemingly flawless governess, to engage in fallacy. “Maturity can
always be depended on,” Miss Prism states. “Ripeness can be trusted. Young women are
green.” (Act II, pg. 776) Obviously, this is an application of Socratic reasoning, in which the
principle argument attempts to describe two states that are inherently part of the third. The
first principle, “Maturity can always be depended on,” is a loose association of the qualities
dividing youth, age, and experience. This second statement is fostered on the moral precept
of the first, “Ripeness can be trusted.” Essentially, “to depend” and “to trust” require
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October 22, 2005
maturity and conviction. The final statement, “Young women are green,” is a fallacy, an
illogical phrase spoken in adversity with the other two statements. Though Miss Prism
intends to contrast youth and age with the emotions and allusions of botany and plant
science, her argument almost sounds superficial. Hence, a logical explanation, “I spoke
horticulturally.” (Act II, pg. 778) Oscar Wilde instills a sense of absurdity in the
schoolmaster's rhetoric, which contributes to the sense of lightness that he projects in her
manner.
Oscar Wilde seems to satire all of the divergent aspects of sophisticated society. The
play is a melodrama, a suspenseful play that provokes emotion within the audience. Because
the very nature of an epigram is ironically `suspenseful,' the use of the literary device
contributes to the overall continuity of the play. Oscar Wilde delivers new intellectual and
thought-provoking ideas, which build on the basic principles of the melodramatic play:
suspense and emotion. Unlike The Misanthrope, which articulates the seasonal whims of a
youth's love, Wilde's play demonstrates the power of social convention and status in the
nineteenth-century. He writes in the rhetorical device of epigrams, similes, and perception,
and he contends with the explicit bias that accompanies the educated by revealing the
manner of thought, style, and delivery in socially, powerful characters. The regulatory use of
epigrams and logical argument admonishes any sense of conceit or contempt in nineteenth
century society. As a genre, the melodrama is a play that audiences may use for enjoyment,
education, and liberty.
Works Cited
Wilde, Oscar. “The Importance of Being Earnest.” The Bedford Introduction to Drama. 4th
edition. Boston: Bedford, 2001. pgs. 764-791.