Asked by maribel
Read the passage from The Importance of Being Earnest.
Algernon. I really don't see anything romantic in proposing. It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal. Why, one may be accepted. One usually is, I believe. Then the excitement is all over. The very essence of romance is uncertainty. If ever I get married, I'll certainly try to forget the fact.
In the passage, Wilde uses
to achieve an aesthetic impact.
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Wilde uses paradox (epigrammatic statements) to achieve an aesthetic impact.
His witty contradictions — e.g. “The very essence of romance is uncertainty” and “If ever I get married, I'll certainly try to forget the fact” — produce surprise and intellectual pleasure, satirize conventional ideas about love and marriage, and define Algernon’s clever, irreverent voice.
His witty contradictions — e.g. “The very essence of romance is uncertainty” and “If ever I get married, I'll certainly try to forget the fact” — produce surprise and intellectual pleasure, satirize conventional ideas about love and marriage, and define Algernon’s clever, irreverent voice.
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