Oscar Wilde Introduction
About
• Witty style of writing
• Clever and funny
• Bi-sexual
• Died in France
• Exiled from society after imprisonment
Comedy of Manners
• Generally witty and brainy
• Famous dialogue over physical action
• Satirises society - social standards and conventions
• In Victorian times:
• Social behaviour - demanding rules
• Morally trivial
• Doesn’t matter but can make or break one’s reputation
• Mistaken identity - Wilde runs with this
Farce
• Laugh from your stomach
• Utterly ridiculous
• Exaggerated character types
• No close details or character sketches
3 Stereotypes
1. Dandy:
(Oscar himself) young man obsesses with fashion
Amazing taste in style
Algernon (sarcastic about Jack’s sense of style)
2. Innocent:
Una ected girl from the country (Cecily)
3. Sophisticated:
(Gwendolyn from the city)
Now slow repartee
Has to be witty and fast (do not have to think about anything)
Speed as with comedy of manners
Actions is very fast
- people get engaged before they have even met or even before being asked
Dialogue very fast and short
However Alge can take is time
- food (always time for the last mu n)
- Time for the elegancy of life
ff ffi
About
• Witty style of writing
• Clever and funny
• Bi-sexual
• Died in France
• Exiled from society after imprisonment
Comedy of Manners
• Generally witty and brainy
• Famous dialogue over physical action
• Satirises society - social standards and conventions
• In Victorian times:
• Social behaviour - demanding rules
• Morally trivial
• Doesn’t matter but can make or break one’s reputation
• Mistaken identity - Wilde runs with this
Farce
• Laugh from your stomach
• Utterly ridiculous
• Exaggerated character types
• No close details or character sketches
3 Stereotypes
1. Dandy:
(Oscar himself) young man obsesses with fashion
Amazing taste in style
Algernon (sarcastic about Jack’s sense of style)
2. Innocent:
Una ected girl from the country (Cecily)
3. Sophisticated:
(Gwendolyn from the city)
Now slow repartee
Has to be witty and fast (do not have to think about anything)
Speed as with comedy of manners
Actions is very fast
- people get engaged before they have even met or even before being asked
Dialogue very fast and short
However Alge can take is time
- food (always time for the last mu n)
- Time for the elegancy of life
ff ffi
