Question

Read the passage from an essay on The Importance of Being Earnest.

Chasuble. . . . Your brother was, I believe, unmarried, was he not?

Jack. Oh yes.

Miss Prism. [Bitterly.] People who live entirely for pleasure usually are.

How is the passage an example of Wilde achieving his overall purpose in writing the play?

Wilde uses realism to instruct the audience so they approve of the marriage.
Wilde uses sarcasm to shame the audience into embracing the social code.
Wilde uses humor to entertain the audience while he comments on marriage.
Wilde uses criticism to instruct the audience about the importance of morality.
Mark this and return

Answer 1

Wilde uses humor to entertain the audience while he comments on marriage.

(Miss Prism’s witty, ironic remark satirizes Victorian attitudes toward pleasure and marriage—comic criticism rather than moralizing or strict realism.)