Summarize the denouement of The Importance of Being Earnest.

The exposition of the play, Act I, introduces the main
character, John Worthing-“Ernest” and presents the major conflict: he wants to marry aristocratic
Gwendolen but her mother does not approve. Furthermore, she loves him because of his name. Here
is the first example of irony. Jack is not really an earnest man, thought he calls himself
“Ernest,” and Gwendolen does not really want to marry an earnest man, but a man earnest is name
only.

The rising action of the plot occurs throughout Act II, and is the
longest part of the plot. During the rising action Algernon complicates the conflict because he
arrives at Jack’s country house and calls himself “Ernest.” This is an impediment because, soon,
Gwendolen arrives, and because Algernon has proposed to Cecily as Ernest, Gwendolen is bound
to-first, not want to marry Jack because of his duplicity, and second, find out that his name is
really not Ernest.

The climactic moment is when the women confront the men
about what they have discovered by talking-they can not both be Ernest Worthing. The men confess
and the women retreat

The women easily forgive the men and the denouement
arises with a surprise ending. The ending can be referred to as “Deus ex Machina”(God from
machine), which is a highly improbable ending. The chance of Jack really being whom he pretended
all along, not to mention Algernon’s brother, not to mention Lady Bracknell and Miss Prism
meeting on this fortuitous occasion-are all unlikely occurrences. Also in the resolution, is an
excellent example of the understatement, which occurs throughout. To Miss Prism, it does not seem
to be a grave occurrence that she switched a baby and her novel, losing both priceless items.

This play is equipped with many, many epithets-paradoxical, witty phrases.
These phrases serve to add to the comedy value of the play. An example if one of these phrases is
when Cecily says to Algernon: “Well, I know, of course, how important it is not to keep a
business engagement.” (Act II). This is humorous, because to Victorians-as well as to
ourselves-it is important to keep business engagements. Yet, this statement is not amusing to the
characters in the play.