Trivialization and Exquisite Sensationalism: <i>The Importance of Being Earnest</i>

Yang Yu

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijll.20200801.17

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Trivialization and Exquisite Sensationalism: The Importance of Being Earnest

Yang Yu

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 8, Issue 1)

Received: 26 January 2020 Accepted: 17 February 2020 Published: 26 February 2020

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Abstract

It is commonly recognized that Oscar Wilde’s main contribution to the late-Victorian drama is his dramatic dialogue. The present paper attempts to explore the linguistic features of Wilde’s social comedy The Importance of Being Earnest, which is summed up here as trivialization and exquisite sensationalism. It shows that Wilde’s special skill of trivialization was in fact formed in his journalistic career during the 1880s under the influence of “New Journalism”. “Trivialization” helped Wilde to come close to the theatrical audience in a most comprehensible way. Besides, Wilde was also innovative in using a sort of refined and elegant linguistic articulation. His dramatic dialogue possessed a special exquisiteness which enabled him to get rid of the vulgarity of the journalistic trivialization and to create a dramatic discourse of his own. I use the term “exquisite sensationalism” to reveal this feature in contrast to the “vulgar sensationalism” of the late-Victorian journalism and to show that in the theatre Wilde’s linguistic paradox was geared towards the most indulgent and sophisticated end. Contextually speaking, the spectacular theatre’s commitment to fashion and respectability provided a historical occasion for Wilde to exhibit his exquisiteness. The perfect combination of triviality and exquisiteness in his epigrammatic dialogues not only produced great sensations on stage but also met the need of social elevation of the theatre of the time.

Published in	International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 8, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijll.20200801.17
Page(s)	50-59
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Wilde, Trivialization, Exquisite Sensationalism, Theatre Publicity

References

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[2]	Craft, Christopher. “Alias Bunbury: Desire and Termination in The Importance of Being Earnest.” Critical Essays on Oscar Wilde. Ed. Regenia Gagnier. New York: Hall, 1991: 119–37.
[3]	Gonçalves, Lourdes Bernardes. “Bakhtin’s Concept of Heteroglossy as an Instrument of Humour in The Importance of Being Earnest.” Estudos Anglo-Americanos 19-24.1 (1995): 13–19.
[4]	Lalonde, Jeremy. “A ‘Revolutionary Outrage’: The Importance of Being Earnest as Social Criticism.” Modern Drama 48.4 (2005): 659–675.
[5]	Poulain, Alexandra. “‘False Impression [s]’: Writing in The Importance of Being Earnest.” Études Anglaises, 67.3 (2014): 290-301.
[6]	Lewinsohn-Zamir, Daphna. “The Importance of Being Earnest: Two Notions of Internalization.” The University of Toronto Law Journal, 65.2 (2015): 37–84.
[7]	Wilde, Oscar. Selected Journalism. Ed. Anya Clayworth. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004: ix-71.
[8]	Stokes, John. “Wilde’s World: Oscar Wilde and Theatrical Journalism in the 1880s.” Wilde Writings: Contextual Conditions. Ed. Joseph Bristow. Toronto: Toronto UP, 2003: 41-58.
[9]	Varty, Anne. Introduction. The Plays of Oscar Wilde. Ware, UK: Wordsworth, 2002: v–xxviii. 11.
[10]	Cohn, Elisha. “Oscar Wilde's Ghost: The Play of Imitation.” Victorian Studies, 54.3 (2012): 474–485.
[11]	Wilde, Oscar. Collins Complete Works of Oscar Wilde. Ed. J. B. Foreman. London: Collins, 1986: 294-979.
[12]	Bowlby, Rachel. Shopping with Freud. London: Routledge, 1993: 7-8.
[13]	Mason, Stuart, ed. Bibliography of Oscar Wilde. London: Laurie, 1914: 433.
[14]	Beckson, Karl, ed. Oscar Wilde: The Critical Heritage. London: Routledge, 1970: 190-295.
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[17]	Raby, Peter. “Wilde’s Comedies of Society.” The Cambridge Companion to Oscar Wilde. Ed. Peter Raby. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997: 143–60, 161-177.
[18]	Guy, Josephine M. and Ian Small. Oscar Wilde’s Profession: Writing and the Culture Industry in the Late Nineteenth Century. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000: 102-130.
[19]	Wilde, Oscar. The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde. Ed. Merlin Holland and Rupert Hart-Davis. London: Fourth Estate, 2000: 98-677.
[20]	Chalaby, Jean K. The Invention of Journalism. London: Macmillan, 1998: 90-95.
[21]	Gracht, Nieuwe. “Paradise Lost nor Regained: Social Composition of Theatre Audiences in the Long Nineteenth Century.” Journal of Social History 38. 2 (2004): 471–512.
[22]	Arnold, Matthew. Culture and Anarchy. The Complete Prose Works of Matthew Arnold. Ed. R. H. Super. Vol. 5. Ann Arbor, MI: U of Michigan P, 1990. 85–229.
[23]	James, Henry. Henry James: Letters. Ed. Leon Edel. Vol. 3. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 1980: 514-516.
[24]	Hampton, Mark. Visions of the Press in Britain, 1850-1950. Urbana, IL: Illinois UP, 2004: 83.
[25]	Wilde, Oscar. The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde. Ed. Bobby Fong, et al. vol. 2. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000: 162.
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Yang Yu. (2020). Trivialization and Exquisite Sensationalism: The Importance of Being Earnest. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 8(1), 50-59. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20200801.17

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Yang Yu. Trivialization and Exquisite Sensationalism: The Importance of Being Earnest. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2020, 8(1), 50-59. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20200801.17

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Yang Yu. Trivialization and Exquisite Sensationalism: The Importance of Being Earnest. Int J Lang Linguist. 2020;8(1):50-59. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20200801.17

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20200801.17,
  author = {Yang Yu},
  title = {Trivialization and Exquisite Sensationalism: The Importance of Being Earnest},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {8},
  number = {1},
  pages = {50-59},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20200801.17},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20200801.17},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20200801.17},
  abstract = {It is commonly recognized that Oscar Wilde’s main contribution to the late-Victorian drama is his dramatic dialogue. The present paper attempts to explore the linguistic features of Wilde’s social comedy The Importance of Being Earnest, which is summed up here as trivialization and exquisite sensationalism. It shows that Wilde’s special skill of trivialization was in fact formed in his journalistic career during the 1880s under the influence of “New Journalism”. “Trivialization” helped Wilde to come close to the theatrical audience in a most comprehensible way. Besides, Wilde was also innovative in using a sort of refined and elegant linguistic articulation. His dramatic dialogue possessed a special exquisiteness which enabled him to get rid of the vulgarity of the journalistic trivialization and to create a dramatic discourse of his own. I use the term “exquisite sensationalism” to reveal this feature in contrast to the “vulgar sensationalism” of the late-Victorian journalism and to show that in the theatre Wilde’s linguistic paradox was geared towards the most indulgent and sophisticated end. Contextually speaking, the spectacular theatre’s commitment to fashion and respectability provided a historical occasion for Wilde to exhibit his exquisiteness. The perfect combination of triviality and exquisiteness in his epigrammatic dialogues not only produced great sensations on stage but also met the need of social elevation of the theatre of the time.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Trivialization and Exquisite Sensationalism: The Importance of Being Earnest
AU  - Yang Yu
Y1  - 2020/02/26
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20200801.17
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20200801.17
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 50
EP  - 59
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20200801.17
AB  - It is commonly recognized that Oscar Wilde’s main contribution to the late-Victorian drama is his dramatic dialogue. The present paper attempts to explore the linguistic features of Wilde’s social comedy The Importance of Being Earnest, which is summed up here as trivialization and exquisite sensationalism. It shows that Wilde’s special skill of trivialization was in fact formed in his journalistic career during the 1880s under the influence of “New Journalism”. “Trivialization” helped Wilde to come close to the theatrical audience in a most comprehensible way. Besides, Wilde was also innovative in using a sort of refined and elegant linguistic articulation. His dramatic dialogue possessed a special exquisiteness which enabled him to get rid of the vulgarity of the journalistic trivialization and to create a dramatic discourse of his own. I use the term “exquisite sensationalism” to reveal this feature in contrast to the “vulgar sensationalism” of the late-Victorian journalism and to show that in the theatre Wilde’s linguistic paradox was geared towards the most indulgent and sophisticated end. Contextually speaking, the spectacular theatre’s commitment to fashion and respectability provided a historical occasion for Wilde to exhibit his exquisiteness. The perfect combination of triviality and exquisiteness in his epigrammatic dialogues not only produced great sensations on stage but also met the need of social elevation of the theatre of the time.
VL  - 8
IS  - 1
ER  -

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Author Information

Yang Yu

English Department, School of Foreign Languages and Literature, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China

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Yang Yu. (2020). Trivialization and Exquisite Sensationalism: The Importance of Being Earnest. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 8(1), 50-59. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20200801.17

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ACS Style

Yang Yu. Trivialization and Exquisite Sensationalism: The Importance of Being Earnest. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2020, 8(1), 50-59. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20200801.17

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AMA Style

Yang Yu. Trivialization and Exquisite Sensationalism: The Importance of Being Earnest. Int J Lang Linguist. 2020;8(1):50-59. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20200801.17

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20200801.17,
  author = {Yang Yu},
  title = {Trivialization and Exquisite Sensationalism: The Importance of Being Earnest},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {8},
  number = {1},
  pages = {50-59},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20200801.17},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20200801.17},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20200801.17},
  abstract = {It is commonly recognized that Oscar Wilde’s main contribution to the late-Victorian drama is his dramatic dialogue. The present paper attempts to explore the linguistic features of Wilde’s social comedy The Importance of Being Earnest, which is summed up here as trivialization and exquisite sensationalism. It shows that Wilde’s special skill of trivialization was in fact formed in his journalistic career during the 1880s under the influence of “New Journalism”. “Trivialization” helped Wilde to come close to the theatrical audience in a most comprehensible way. Besides, Wilde was also innovative in using a sort of refined and elegant linguistic articulation. His dramatic dialogue possessed a special exquisiteness which enabled him to get rid of the vulgarity of the journalistic trivialization and to create a dramatic discourse of his own. I use the term “exquisite sensationalism” to reveal this feature in contrast to the “vulgar sensationalism” of the late-Victorian journalism and to show that in the theatre Wilde’s linguistic paradox was geared towards the most indulgent and sophisticated end. Contextually speaking, the spectacular theatre’s commitment to fashion and respectability provided a historical occasion for Wilde to exhibit his exquisiteness. The perfect combination of triviality and exquisiteness in his epigrammatic dialogues not only produced great sensations on stage but also met the need of social elevation of the theatre of the time.},
 year = {2020}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Trivialization and Exquisite Sensationalism: The Importance of Being Earnest
AU  - Yang Yu
Y1  - 2020/02/26
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20200801.17
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20200801.17
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 50
EP  - 59
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20200801.17
AB  - It is commonly recognized that Oscar Wilde’s main contribution to the late-Victorian drama is his dramatic dialogue. The present paper attempts to explore the linguistic features of Wilde’s social comedy The Importance of Being Earnest, which is summed up here as trivialization and exquisite sensationalism. It shows that Wilde’s special skill of trivialization was in fact formed in his journalistic career during the 1880s under the influence of “New Journalism”. “Trivialization” helped Wilde to come close to the theatrical audience in a most comprehensible way. Besides, Wilde was also innovative in using a sort of refined and elegant linguistic articulation. His dramatic dialogue possessed a special exquisiteness which enabled him to get rid of the vulgarity of the journalistic trivialization and to create a dramatic discourse of his own. I use the term “exquisite sensationalism” to reveal this feature in contrast to the “vulgar sensationalism” of the late-Victorian journalism and to show that in the theatre Wilde’s linguistic paradox was geared towards the most indulgent and sophisticated end. Contextually speaking, the spectacular theatre’s commitment to fashion and respectability provided a historical occasion for Wilde to exhibit his exquisiteness. The perfect combination of triviality and exquisiteness in his epigrammatic dialogues not only produced great sensations on stage but also met the need of social elevation of the theatre of the time.
VL  - 8
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download