Importance of Being Earnest - Theme and Characterization

            Oscar Wilde satirizes Victorian society in his play The Importance of Being Earnest.  He uses irony, hyperbole and juxtaposition to create a droll atmosphere and emphasize the issues of the Victorian society.            In act one, the arguments between Algernon and Jack contain plenty of irony.  Algernon tells Jack not to eat any of the cucumber sandwiches and proceeds to eat some, himself.  He advises Jack not to delve into literary criticism specifically because he has been to university, as opposed to those who “do it so well in the daily papers.”  He also tells Jack to be serious about meals, yet Algernon could not be considered serious about anything.  These events characterize Algernon, and he continues to present irony in this way throughout the play.  Irony is not the only important device in Act one, however.  Juxtaposition is used several times both in this act and others to compare marriage to unhappiness (or divorce to happiness).  Hyperbole is also present in Algernon and Jack’s discussion about their alternate identities, saying that they will (or won’t, in Algernon’s case) kill them, but the characters never even existed.  The play’s tone is established well through constant use of irony and juxtaposition, and neither the characters nor the play itself can be taken at face value.            Act two presents all of these devices again, especially when Algernon enters as Ernest, Jack’s younger brother.  Immediately, it is ironic that Ernest is presented to Jack’s acquaintances in this way, as Ernest never truly existed.  Cecily’s discussion with Algernon about marriage contains absurd amounts of irony: she intends to marry Ernest, having never met him, she has only now met Algernon, and Ernest never actually existed.  Her statements about marriage and why she broke off their engagement enforce the idea that marriage is neither serious nor pleasant.  Cecily and Gwendolyn are then juxtaposed in argument, showing that they have exactly the same problem and highlighting the ways in which they are similar and different.  This is also dramatically ironic, as they are arguing over Ernest, who the audience knows was never real.            The final act reveals the fact that due to the loss of Miss Prism’s bag Jack was separated from his parents; he is actually Algernon’s brother named Ernest.  The irony here (as well as in Ernest’s last line) is overwhelming, as the Ernest that the audience thought was imaginary and Cecily assumed had been real was actually Jack all along.  Gwendolyn knew him as Ernest, but he’d genuinely told her that it was merely an alternate identity.  Algernon and Ernest had also intended to be christened, but now, ironically, do not need to be.  There is no small amount of hyperbole in this act, either.  Lady Bracknell provides verbose passages full of this, stating at one point that the air must be drugged for so many engagements to take place.
            Every character in the play served a specific satirical purpose.  Whether they contributed to the play with ironic statements or whimsical behavior is irrelevant.  Through the use of these devices, Oscar Wilde created a play that cannot be taken seriously.