Comedy Comparison practice essay 4
'Misunderstandings and deceptions are at the heart of comedies.' To what extent do you agree with
this view?
Arguably, suggesting that misunderstandings and deceptions are at the heart of comedies
ignores the significance of marriage in the comedic narrative, which often characterises the return to
unity and the resolution of a plot’s central complications. In addition, the impact of male folly on
marital relationships is a key theme explored in Mrs Sisyphus and Tam o’Shanter. Nevertheless,
misunderstandings and deceptions are undoubtedly important in The Importance of Being Earnest
and My Rival’s House, with both texts focusing on the misunderstandings created by what appears
on the surface relative to reality.
Indeed, the obsession of the upper-classes with surface appearances and material customs is
fundamental to Earnest, whose playwright is known for his masterful deceptions on a linguistic level.
The importance of deception to the play’s plot is clearly emphasised by the question of Jack and
Algernon’s names; we are immediately introduced to a dualistic dichotomy in Jack’s personality in
the utterance ‘my name is Ernest in town and Jack in the country’. Wilde demonstrates how ‘Ernest’,
despite connoting honesty and morality, symbolises Jack’s deceitful and wicked character in the city,
as opposed to his respectable and duty-bound ‘good’ side. Likewise, Algernon reveals that he has
‘invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury’ – the adjective ‘invaluable’ suggests that
he depends on his alter-ego, Bunbury, in order to continue enjoying his pleasures, as with both Jack
and Algernon we feel that their deceptive doppelgangers arise as a consequence of their exhaustive
duties as members of the aristocracy in late-Victorian England. The deception about the names
forms the central complication of the play as Gwendolen and Cecily both believe that they are wed
to a man named ‘Ernest’ (Algernon masquerades as Jack’s ‘wicked brother Ernest’ to gain Cecily’s
favour). Their tea scene, perhaps the greatest source of comedy in the play, is rooted in this
deception. Wilde’s use of slapstick comedy in Gwendolen’s utterance ‘You have filled my tea with
lumps of sugar, and though I asked most distinctly for bread and butter, you have given me cake’ is
based on the conflict between the two women about who is really married to ‘Ernest’, as Cecily
purposely does not give Gwendolen what she wants in order to get the upper hand over her. Their
disagreement adds to the disunity expected at this stage in the play – towards the end of Act 2 –
according to the Essential Movement. The two characters themselves can be considered deceitful as
Cecily shuns her lessons with Miss Prism, preferring to use a ‘diary in order to enter the wonderful
secrets of (her) life’. The phrase ‘wonderful secrets’ is perhaps oxymoronic when we consider that
the diary becomes a symbol of Cecily’s fascination with wickedness, on which her marriage to
Algernon is based as his ‘Bunbury’ marks him out as a figure of deception. Given that this is the main
motive for Gwendolen’s union to Jack also, it is possible to suggest that marriage in Earnest rests
upon deception, demonstrating its position at the heart of the comedy.
Nevertheless, the misunderstanding between Gwendolen and Cecily is almost instantaneously
resolved at the start of the final Act as both women quickly reconcile and forgive their lovers for
lying about their names; Cecily accepts their explanation, declaring that it ‘seems to (her) to have the
stamp of truth upon it’. As a result, it could be argued that the deception is not particularly
important and only a very minor aspect of the play’s comic disunity. This view gains credibility when
it appears that the deception about the name was actually truthful all along. Jack ‘finds out that for
'Misunderstandings and deceptions are at the heart of comedies.' To what extent do you agree with
this view?
Arguably, suggesting that misunderstandings and deceptions are at the heart of comedies
ignores the significance of marriage in the comedic narrative, which often characterises the return to
unity and the resolution of a plot’s central complications. In addition, the impact of male folly on
marital relationships is a key theme explored in Mrs Sisyphus and Tam o’Shanter. Nevertheless,
misunderstandings and deceptions are undoubtedly important in The Importance of Being Earnest
and My Rival’s House, with both texts focusing on the misunderstandings created by what appears
on the surface relative to reality.
Indeed, the obsession of the upper-classes with surface appearances and material customs is
fundamental to Earnest, whose playwright is known for his masterful deceptions on a linguistic level.
The importance of deception to the play’s plot is clearly emphasised by the question of Jack and
Algernon’s names; we are immediately introduced to a dualistic dichotomy in Jack’s personality in
the utterance ‘my name is Ernest in town and Jack in the country’. Wilde demonstrates how ‘Ernest’,
despite connoting honesty and morality, symbolises Jack’s deceitful and wicked character in the city,
as opposed to his respectable and duty-bound ‘good’ side. Likewise, Algernon reveals that he has
‘invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury’ – the adjective ‘invaluable’ suggests that
he depends on his alter-ego, Bunbury, in order to continue enjoying his pleasures, as with both Jack
and Algernon we feel that their deceptive doppelgangers arise as a consequence of their exhaustive
duties as members of the aristocracy in late-Victorian England. The deception about the names
forms the central complication of the play as Gwendolen and Cecily both believe that they are wed
to a man named ‘Ernest’ (Algernon masquerades as Jack’s ‘wicked brother Ernest’ to gain Cecily’s
favour). Their tea scene, perhaps the greatest source of comedy in the play, is rooted in this
deception. Wilde’s use of slapstick comedy in Gwendolen’s utterance ‘You have filled my tea with
lumps of sugar, and though I asked most distinctly for bread and butter, you have given me cake’ is
based on the conflict between the two women about who is really married to ‘Ernest’, as Cecily
purposely does not give Gwendolen what she wants in order to get the upper hand over her. Their
disagreement adds to the disunity expected at this stage in the play – towards the end of Act 2 –
according to the Essential Movement. The two characters themselves can be considered deceitful as
Cecily shuns her lessons with Miss Prism, preferring to use a ‘diary in order to enter the wonderful
secrets of (her) life’. The phrase ‘wonderful secrets’ is perhaps oxymoronic when we consider that
the diary becomes a symbol of Cecily’s fascination with wickedness, on which her marriage to
Algernon is based as his ‘Bunbury’ marks him out as a figure of deception. Given that this is the main
motive for Gwendolen’s union to Jack also, it is possible to suggest that marriage in Earnest rests
upon deception, demonstrating its position at the heart of the comedy.
Nevertheless, the misunderstanding between Gwendolen and Cecily is almost instantaneously
resolved at the start of the final Act as both women quickly reconcile and forgive their lovers for
lying about their names; Cecily accepts their explanation, declaring that it ‘seems to (her) to have the
stamp of truth upon it’. As a result, it could be argued that the deception is not particularly
important and only a very minor aspect of the play’s comic disunity. This view gains credibility when
it appears that the deception about the name was actually truthful all along. Jack ‘finds out that for
