The Importance of Being Earnest: Context: The Victorian Melodrama

Historical & Social Context

The Victorian era, spanning from 1837 to 1901 and marked by Queen Victoria’s reign, was a period of significant societal transformation, particularly in terms of morality, gender roles, and class structure.
Melodrama was a dominant form of theatre during the Victorian era. It involved heightened emotions, simplistic moral distinction between good and evil characters, and sensational dramatic action.
While the upper classes enjoyed opera, ballet, and classical music, the lower classes typically preferred the excitement and moral certainty of melodrama.

Victorian Values in ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’

Wilde’s satire in ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ challenges many revered Victorian values, such as duty, respectability and sincerity, by presenting them as superficial social constructs.
Through the manipulation of melodramatic conventions, Wilde criticises Victorian norms. His characters engage in duplicity and deception to maintain social facades.
While Victorian melodrama depicted clear moral values, Wilde’s play subverts these expectations, highlighting the fickleness and moral hypocrisy of high society.

Wilde’s Satirical Subversion of Melodrama

Wilde’s use of dramatic irony, sarcasm, parody, and farce, all elements of comedies, are utilised to subvert the serious tone and moral prescriptions of the melodrama.
This parody of melodrama allows Wilde to expose the absurdity of Victorian values as he questions social norms and identities.
Wilde also subverts the melodramatic ‘virtuous maidens’ trope through his female characters. Both Gwendolen and Cecily defy Victorian expectations for women, exhibiting manipulation, wit, and independence.

Language and Style

Wilde provides a comic twist to the earnestness typically associated with melodrama. This inversion is reflected in the character’s language, filled with witty and irreverent dialogue.
The continuous use of epigrams, or cleverly phrased remarks, offers a playful undercutting of the sentimental and moralistic language typical of Victorian melodrama.
Wilde’s clever wordplay adds multiple layers of meaning to the dialogue, challenging the audience’s perception and expectations of his characters.