Funny things

The language and plot and pretty much everything about The Importance of Being Earnest contributes to its label as a comedy. My favorite point of humor is found in Act II with the banter between Gwendolen and Cecily. They both believe themselves to be engaged to Earnest, and so begins an outrageously polite argument on something as prominent as marriage. The funniest part, to me, isn't what they say, however. What's funny is the way they actually say it.

The following is an example (Note: I omitted the dialogue):

Cecily: (Rather shy and confidingly)

Gwendolen: (Quite politely, rising)

Cecily: (Very politely, rising)

Gwendolen: (Meditatively)

Cecily: (Thoughtfully and sadly)

Finding out that someone else is supposedly engaged to your fiancee...that's something you'd expect to come with melodramatic gasps and traumatic faints. Wilde manages to make this utterly hilarious by having these two women keep their composure with an odd extremity, and adds a dash of sarcasm of his own by putting in excruciating detail on their actions before each of their statements as shown above

PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO. SOMEONE GOT A COOKING INSTRUCTION VIDEO AND OVERLAPPED IT WITH REALLY SAD MUSIC AND OH MY GOD I'M CRYING

Also, I don't really know what sense of humor I have, but this video also brings tears to my eyes