Discuss Wilde's use of Epigram in The Importance of being Earnest.

In the play The Importance of Being
Earnestauthor Oscar Wilde satirizes upper Victorian society through the use of
literary devices such as the application of epigrams to the
dialogue.

The purpose of the epigram is three-fold: First, it brings
irony to a discussion by making a contradictory or conflicting statement in a funny and seemingly
innocent way.

The second purpose is to keep the audience "awake",
that is, to maintain the audience on edge with the knowledge that, at any moment, the character
will produce an epigram that will, in turn, bring out the comedic character of the play.

Additionally, Wilde uses his epigrams to disguise his insults to
the intended target. He detested the snobbery and hypocrisy of Victorian society. Therefore, what
would be a better idea than to disguise an attack in the form of a
joke?

A good example of an epigram would be when Jack and Algernon
discuss the topic of women, and they conclude that:

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All women become like their mothers; that is their
tragedy. No man does; that's
his.

Wilde also took a swing at the
ignorance and petulance of Victorians when Lady Bracknell, the epitome of both characteristics,
says:

To lose one
parent may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both looks like
carelessness!

Marriage is one of the
most targeted topics in the play of which Algernon, clearly mirroring Wilde's own feelings about
it, says:

I really
don't see anything romantic in proposing. It's very romantic to be in love but there's nothing
romantic about a definite proposal. Why, one might be accepted. One usually is I believe. Then
the whole excitement is over. The very essence of romance is
uncertainty.

Therefore, the use of
epigrams in the play The Importance of Being Earnest, as well as in Wilde's
works in general, has the goal of entertaining the audience, adding spice and comedy to the
dialogue, and disguising the inner thoughts of the writer himself.