A Brief Note about Victorian England A Brief Note about Victorian England Understanding the Setting of Wilde’s Play

*Journal Activity To understand Wilde’s world better, let’s do a little research. 1. Search for “Victorian England” using Google or another search engine. 2. In your journal, answer: What was Victorian England like? Social classes? Roles of women? Marriage? Technology?

Do Your Homework It’s crucial to understand the society that Wilde is mocking. Make sure you understand: - What a woman’s life was like - How much social power she had - The role/power of a husband - How social class affects one’s status in society

A Note about Victorian England It’s important to notice that this era is undergoing change. -Technology is changing rapidly -Religion is affected by the Enlightenment -Women’s rigid roles begin to change toward the end of the era. -The middle class begins to grow so that there is less of a gap between the very poor and the very rich.

Wilde’s Play Think about modern satire: Saturday Night Live Mad TV Scary Movie, Date Movie, etc. The above examples poke fun at modern American life, social conventions, and even film conventions. Essentially, Wilde is doing the same thing with Victorian ideals and Victorian literature.

Wilde’s Play Among other things, Wilde mocks: Victorian hypocrisy Victorian morality Victorian social conventions Victorian literary conventions

Note I strongly suggest watching the movie. Drama is meant to be seen, and watching the movie will help illuminate your reading of the text. The version I like is a recent version called The Importance of Being Earnest and it stars Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon.