The Importance Of Being Ernest Comparative Analysis

Have you ever looked at a painted portrait only to find out what you saw was not exactly as things were? At times there are vast differences between a painted portrait and a photograph of the same scene. A painted portrait is a perception from the painter’s point of view, which is not always the reality. Yet, the viewer, unless actually there to see the exact scene, cannot tell the difference. This is also true for various types of literary works. In the play, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” Stuart Burge expanded the use of cynical comedy to help further develop the characters and their relationships with one another. Unless Burge’s play lines and Oscar Wilde’s lay side by side, no one would know the difference.
Reading a play and watching

This is carried out, of course, in both works. This also shows the shallowness of the women. They are more concerned with the physical name, Ernest, of their future husband instead of the person having a sound, moral name and being earnest. This type of humor is where both the reader and viewer need to understand what is truly happening otherwise it could easily be lost in the work. Both Wilde and Burge take a word, Ernest/Earnest, and use it in such a way the reader/viewer has to stop and think about it.
The words Wilde chose in many scenes were ambiguous at best. This certainly adds to the wit and humor. Wilde appears to intentionally allow the readers to formulate two different scenes in their minds but Burge does not always do this. Burge omitted lines, which showed this type of ambiguity. It did not take away from Burge’s play. For example, in Act 2 Burge leaves out the line when Algernon says, “I haven’t heard anyone call me.” The setting was where Algernon and Jack were having a conversation after Algernon makes a surprise visit to the