Humor in The Importance of Being Earnest
Oscar Wilde was obviously a brilliant comedian since he wrote such a funny play incorporating several elements of comedy ranging from the comedy of manners to farce while using the tools of sarcasm and epigram to augment the amusement of the audience. From my point of view, the presence of comedy of manners and farce in the play provoke the biggest reaction from the audience. Although the whole play can be considered a comedy of manners, I particularly enjoyed the beginning of Act I where the dialogue between Jack, Algernon, and Lane mocks the views of upper-class society such as the importance of "ignoring" a conversation that does not concern oneself or the duty to instruct the working classes on how to live their lives so that they can serve as an example of morality. In the case of farce, the alter-egos of both Jack and Algernon are completely ridiculous and the fact that their identities are so clear to the audience only enhances the absurdity. Additionally, certain characters, especially Algernon and Lane, are very sarcastic in nature while others take them completely seriously.
I'm a huge fan of dry humor and/or sarcasm though I do enjoy some examples of slapstick humor from time to time. Saturday Night Live, The Big C, and Modern Family are my favorite TV shows that are comedic in nature. All of these shows are comedies of manners to a certain extent and each contain some elements of farce while sarcasm and exaggeration play a major role as well. I have attached a few clips below for your view pleasure…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE-OCDexYrU
(Favorite SNL clip of all time. Tina Fey as Sarah Palin never gets old and if you have seen the real interview, she plays the perfect role!)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey-mE3ji4mU
(The Big C, a sarcastic comedy about a cancer patient but Laura Linney is always full of wit.. )http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC9fH-4Xzjg
(Modern Family)
Hey Michael! I don't know if you get alerted that you have a comment on your post, so if ya do, fret not! It's only me replying to your post!
ReplyDeleteGosh, this book had me literally guffawing. I'm not sure what it is about Oscar Wilde, maybe his bluntness or the manner in which he organizes his dialogue, but he sure is one for creating humorous scenes. In all honesty, I enjoyed the entire play immensely but if I were forced to pick the one scene that stood out to me as most humorous, it would have to be the scene in which Algernon and Jack are both agitated and in the garden, Act II.
Jack: How can you sit there, calmly eating muffins when we are in this horrible trouble, I can't make out. You seem to me to be perfectly heartless.
Algernon: Well, I can't eat muffins in an agitated manner. The butter would probably get on my cuffs. One should always eat muffins quite calmly. It is the only way to eat them.
Jack: I say it's perfectly heartless your eating muffins at, under the circumstances.
Algernon: When I am in trouble, eating is the only thing that consoles me. ... At this present moment, I am eating muffins because I am unhappy. Besides, I am particularly fond of muffins.
Jack: Well, that is no reason why you should eat them all in that greedy way.
Algernon: I wish you would have tea-cake instead. I don't like tea-cake.
Jack: Good heavens! I suppose a man may eat his own muffins in his own garden.
Algernon: But you just said it was perfectly heartless to eat muffins.
Jack: I said it was perfectly heartless of you, under the circumstances. That is a very different thing.
...
Algernon: Jack, you are at the muffins again! I wish you wouldn't. There are only two left.
Jack: But I hate tea-cake.
Algernon: Why on earth then do you allow tea-cake to be served up for your guests? What ideas do you have of hospitality!
Jack: Algernon! I have already told you to go. I don't want you here. Why don't you go!
Algernon: I haven't quite finished my tea yet! And there is still one muffin left.
Oh, Algy, you never disappoint! The best part of this scene was that in Act III, Jack brought up the muffins again! Ahaha sibling rivalry at it's finest, ladies and gentlemen.
APPARENTLY I write too much and blogger likes to restrict word count on comments. Whatever. -.- Here's the second part of my response.
ReplyDeleteSO, as for my humor, it's weird. I'll just leave it at that... Seriously though, I find amusement in the smallest of things. I love british humor, I love puns, seriously, anything can crack me up. So, I'll just take this as an opportunity to showcase some of my favorite things that always make me giggle. Hopefully you guys don't judge me too much.
OH NO! THIS CAN'T BE! It won't let me post pictures on a comment! Nooooooo!
I guess links will just have to do:(
Friends (Classic): http://www.google.com/imgres?client=safari&sa=X&rls=en&biw=1365&bih=648&tbm=isch&tbnid=U5FBNgLZn92OoM:&imgrefurl=http://weheartit.com/entry/48906261&docid=BYXoE-3R02vSLM&imgurl=http://data2.whicdn.com/images/48906261/tumblr_mg656jpT9C1rs9lpbo1_500_original.gif&w=500&h=357&ei=iPCgUqHuHuGqyAGAhYHYCg&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:39,s:0,i:228&iact=rc&page=3&tbnh=189&tbnw=266&start=31&ndsp=20&tx=141&ty=108
Awkward.: http://wifflegif.com/gifs/358402-awkward-tv-show-jenna-hamilton-gif
New Girl: http://theberry.com/2013/11/12/hilarious-sht-schmidt-says-18-photos/schmidt-quotes-5-1/
Golden Girls (okay, this is where you're not allowed to judge me because I watch tv shows of old ladies. it's funny. i swear) http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lk32puLudr1qb3oks.gif
Oh gosh, I'm sure there's more but I'll move away from tv shows because otherwise we'll be here all night. Here are some of my favorite Youtubers.
Meekakitty (oh my gosh, I adore her. Seriously, check her out): http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m91zhcILp51r1dwda.gif
Julian Smith: http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0wfldxe991qed4cmo1_400.gif
I would go with more because I have been looking at gif's for the past hour and literally cracking up, but it's not as fun without pictures:/ So, i suppose this above will have to suffice for now.