论文部分内容阅读
The Importance of Being Earnest is a play composed by Oscar Wilde， an Irish playwright in the 19th century. This play is most representative of Wilde’s skillful use of artistic language in drama writing. It is widely acknowledged that Wilde’s dramas are famous for their artistic language rather than of their romantic plots. Therefore， a good understanding or interpretation of The Importance of Being Earnest is inseparable from the analysis of its language characteristics.
Language is the carrier of a writer’s thoughts. As is said by René Wellek （1949）， a writer’s use of， attitude towards， and loyalty to a particular style of language is vital for the understanding of his works and literary art. Oscar Wilde specializes in using paradoxes in his plays to produce comedic and sarcastic effects， reveal truths， and attract readers. This feature is also remarkable in The Importance of Being Earnest. A paradox usually involves two logically opposite or contradictory ideas in one statement， which sounds absurd in the common sense but actually conveys a truth. Oscar Wilde employs numerous paradoxes to create the characters’ dialogues in The Importance of Being Earnest， aiming to produce a unique dramatic effect and meanwhile criticize implicitly the hypocrisy of the upper class in Victorian Britain. For example， in the first act ， when Algernon is chatting with Lady Bracknell about Lady Harbury， whose husband has just died. Algernon says， “I hear her [Lady Harbury’s] hair has turned quite gold from grief.” It is easy to find a paradox in this saying because grief would most probably make a person’s hair grow white rather than gold in the common sense. Algernon’s paradoxical words sound ridiculous but give a special implication， with which Oscar Wilde intends to unveil the marital problem existing in the upper class - noble ladies and gentlemen are tied together not for the sake of love but for something else， like social status and wealth. Another interesting paradox can also be noticed in the dialogue between Algernon and Cecily in the second act of the play， when Algernon requests for a look at Cecily’s diary. Cecily rejects him and answers， “it is simply a very young girl’s record of her own thoughts and impressions， and consequently meant for publication. ”This reply is paradoxical. Cecily considers her diary as something personal and insignificant on the one hand， but she plans to have it published on the other hand， which reveals Cecily’s contradictory character and unrealistic mind.
Language is the carrier of a writer’s thoughts. As is said by René Wellek （1949）， a writer’s use of， attitude towards， and loyalty to a particular style of language is vital for the understanding of his works and literary art. Oscar Wilde specializes in using paradoxes in his plays to produce comedic and sarcastic effects， reveal truths， and attract readers. This feature is also remarkable in The Importance of Being Earnest. A paradox usually involves two logically opposite or contradictory ideas in one statement， which sounds absurd in the common sense but actually conveys a truth. Oscar Wilde employs numerous paradoxes to create the characters’ dialogues in The Importance of Being Earnest， aiming to produce a unique dramatic effect and meanwhile criticize implicitly the hypocrisy of the upper class in Victorian Britain. For example， in the first act ， when Algernon is chatting with Lady Bracknell about Lady Harbury， whose husband has just died. Algernon says， “I hear her [Lady Harbury’s] hair has turned quite gold from grief.” It is easy to find a paradox in this saying because grief would most probably make a person’s hair grow white rather than gold in the common sense. Algernon’s paradoxical words sound ridiculous but give a special implication， with which Oscar Wilde intends to unveil the marital problem existing in the upper class - noble ladies and gentlemen are tied together not for the sake of love but for something else， like social status and wealth. Another interesting paradox can also be noticed in the dialogue between Algernon and Cecily in the second act of the play， when Algernon requests for a look at Cecily’s diary. Cecily rejects him and answers， “it is simply a very young girl’s record of her own thoughts and impressions， and consequently meant for publication. ”This reply is paradoxical. Cecily considers her diary as something personal and insignificant on the one hand， but she plans to have it published on the other hand， which reveals Cecily’s contradictory character and unrealistic mind.