Describe the features of farce
- Complex, confusing and unlikely situations
- Ridiculous coincidences
- Misunderstandings
- Mistaken identities
- Disguise
- Slapstick and visual humour
Describe the features of the Comedy of Manners
- Satirises and ridicules the upper class
- Celebrates the wit and flamboyance of the upper classes
- The contrast between the dull simplicity of the country and the sophistication of the city
- A contrast between public and private, the dual identities of the upper class
- Farce
Describe 3 key features of the Well-Made play.
How is it related to The Comedy of Manners?
The WMP is very similar to the Comedy of Manners, except:
- A series of irrelevant events that happened in the past become relevant at the end
- A set of discoveries are brought about by a newly fond letter or set of papers, which explain many missing details
- One or more of the main characters discover that they are not who they thought they were
What is aestheticism?
An intellectual and artist movement in the late 19th century
- It aimed to escape the ugliness and materialism of the modern world and the stifling morality of Victorian society
- ‘Art for art’s sake’
What is satire?
The use of humour, ridicule or exaggeration to expose and criticize a person/ establishments wrongdoings
What is subversion?
The undermining of power or authority (of an established system or institution)
What does ‘earnest’ mean?
To show sincere and intense conviction; saying what you genuinely feel and believe
What is a repartee?
Speech characterised by quick and witty replies; a quick and clever back and forth between characters
What is a paradox?
- An absurd or contradictory statement
- This may well be true
- A person or thing that combines contradictory features or qualities
What is a stock character?
A stereotypical character who recurs regularly in a particular genre and is therefore quickly recognised by an audience, requiring less development by the writer
Describe the ingenue stock character
- Young woman/ girl
- Innocent, unsuspecting, naive, lacking sophistication and cunning, beautiful and virginal
- Mistakes a womaniser for a hero, leaving her in emotional/ physical pain
- Lives with a male figure (guardian) e.g father
How does Cecily conform to the ingenue stock character?
- “I hope you have not been leading a double life” (to Algy) in Act 2 = naive
- “Well, Cecily is a darling” (Algy to Jack) = Beauty
- Other characters call her “Child” = in the eyes of others Cecily is the ingenue
- “I want you to reform me” (Algy to Cecily) = he sees her as pure
How does Cecily subvert the ingenue stock character?
Give quotes
- “I don’t like novels that end happily. They depress me so much” (Act 2) = values immorality
- “I felt instinctively that you had a headache” = cunning and manipulative
- She doesn’t fall victim to Algy’s womanising. She dismisses him when he says “hopelessly”
= She pre-planned their marriage
= Algernon falls into her trap (not the other way around)
Describe the dandy stock character
- Young man
- Values physical appearance and refined language
- Dismisses the importance of business/ politics etc.
- Enjoys leisurely hobbies –> hedonism
How does Algy conform to the dandy stock character?
- “I don’t play accurately […] but I do play with wonderful expression”
- “Well, I don’t like your clothes”
- “The room is luxuriously and artistically furnished” (His flat)
What is the exposition of TIOBE?
- Algernon playing piano + his interaction with Lane
- Initial conversation with Jack + Algy
What is the complication in TIOBE?
The cigarette case:
- Algy finds that Jack isn’t who he says he is
- Prompts the rest of the confusion
What is the climax in TIOBE?
Cecily + Gwendolen realising that neither man is called Ernest
- They then storm off into the house (end of Act 2)
What is the resolution in TIOBE?
Act 3:
- Miss Prism’s arrival
- Jack discovers his true identity = high enough status to marry Gwen
- Everyone is allowed to marry
What are the 4 principles of Victorian morality?
- Truthfulness
- Economizing
- Strong worth ethic
- Duty + personal responsibility
How were Victorian morality + literature linked?
They believed that literature provided models of correct behaviour where ‘good’ people are rewarded and ‘bad’ are punished
- “The good end happily, the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means” Miss Prism
What are the key features of a comic resolution + happy ending?
- Unions + reconciliations
- Protagonists come to a state of knowledge and understanding + realise their mistakes
- Problems are resolved
How are unions and reconciliations shown in TIOBE?
- Jack + Gwendolen
- Algy + Cecily
- Jack + Algy as brothers
- Lady B + Miss P
- Dr C + Miss P
Exaggerated extent of unions and reconciliations = maybe Wilde is parodying comedy?
