Text 20 - The importance of being earnest

Text 20 - The importance of being earnest

1. Contexts of production

   • Cecily and Gwendolen are having afternoon tea in the garden of Cecily's house. They both believe (Mistakenly) that they are in love with the same man
   • Audience are fance of Oscar Wilde's work or of literature and plays
   • At the start the girls are polite to eachother, although still filled with bitterness, this then moves onto tauning eachother and revealing their true hatred
   • Play script
   • The purpose is to entertain its audience

2. Form and Structure

   • Italics at the beginning of the text give the text a sense of place and formality, shows a higher class setting

3. Word choice and Grammar

   • The long pause written in italics as a stage dircetion highlights the akwardness between the women
   • The interjection and excplamation mark shows Cecily's suprise in gwendolins lack of knwledge about the countryside
   • Stage directions show how she speaks aside to the audience, important as it is unnaturalistic
   • Use of second name basis show they are not personal friends