Oscar Wilde's Humorous Manipulation of Discourse with "Elaborate Politeness" in The Importance of Being Earnest.

Abstract

In this article we intend to demonstrate that Oscar Wilde’s humorous discourse in The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) relies mainly on the combination of comicality and what the author calls “elaborate politeness,” which is a phrase used in a stage direction at the end of act II. The effectiveness of Wilde’s humour is significantly achieved through this type of discourse, which is also used as a formal strategy to convey ideological subversion. We will explore Wilde’s humorous strategy of “elaborate politeness” within the frame of discourse analysis, with the support of some theoretical approaches to humour both classical and contemporary, and bearing in mind Victorian theories of comedy.