The interpretation that "we should treat all the trivial things in life with seriousness, and all the serious things in life with sincere and studied banality" is broadly applicable to the importance of being serious. The Importance of Being Earnest is a subversive comedy of manners with the intention of providing a satirical portrayal of social and moral conventions and creating humor for the audience. The theme of triviality or lack of seriousness in subjects considered of high value in Victorian society is a predominant theme in the play. It can therefore be argued that the previously expressed statement applies significantly to the work, especially with regards to the themes of marriage, identities that are explored throughout the work. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The topsy-turvy ideas of marriage in "The Importance of Being Earnest" clearly show that "serious" ideas are treated with complete and honest "banality," especially through the exploration of Gwendolen's attitude toward appearances and marriage. Gwendolen and Cecily both doubt Algernon and Jack's intentions regarding their identity change, but both agree that "the wonderful beauty" of Jack and Algernon's response overrides their intentions and is quite self-explanatory as " in matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is important. "the vital thing." Likewise it is the "style" of the work that matters; and this is clearly reflected throughout the book by the flamboyant way by Algernon and his excessive use of flowery words. This sentence easily sums up the play in a nutshell, as it explores the importance of appearances in the play and therefore describes what values ​​were important in Victorian society. Gwendolen speaks in reference to Wilde's views on the aesthetic movement. According to Wilde, what really matters is the surface or appearance of things: beauty for beauty's sake; therefore, everything that is meant to be beautiful, romantic and exquisite must be taken at face value. For most people in today's society, these views would be juxtaposed, with the idea that we shouldn't "judge a book by its cover" and that there is a deeper meaning to most things. So the idea that "serious" things in life should be treated with "trivia" is a major theme in the play through the exploration of appearances involved in marriages and the lack of importance with which honesty was treated. The theme of marriage supports the proposition that "we should treat all the trivial things of life seriously, and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied banality", it is when Lane offers his views on marriage that they are quickly dismissed as not important. This is a key theme in the exploration of the many contradictions of values ​​within Lane's work. Lane is seen by his employer; Algernon as a character who should set a good example; one could almost argue that Lane is being used as a scapegoat by Algernon, so that he can justify himself, his views on the irrelevance of marriage and it could further reflect how Victorian society had their own so refined appearance that they considered themselves almost perfect and attributed every blame their servants for keeping their record spotless. Lane's view on marriage is seen as rather lax regarding the idea of ​​marriage as he claims that his marriage was just a "consequence of a misunderstanding" - so we can see that his view on marriage is flippant and contemptuous,and acts as if it were unnatural to be “married only once”; this seems to be a social norm to a person in today's society, this creates comedy through the use of elements of comedy of manners, just as it seems almost absurd that servants should be taken as role models in society. Lane's observation clearly creates humor as the absurdity and surrealism of the statement are expressed in this way (as seen in the 1964 television episode version of the play directed by Bill Bain, Lane's grave attitude adds even more humor and weight to his comment) in order to challenge and expand the social boundaries of marriage where many people are led to believe that one marriage is the ideal marriage; it doesn't matter how happy he is, or how much/how little financial gain was derived from it. Therefore the idea that "serious" things in life should be treated with "trivia" is an important theme in the play, and is explored through the use of the class system and their contrast in status and attitudes. Identity is another key theme where it can be seen that the uniqueness and singularity of each person is treated without any importance, to the point that honesty has become trivial in the comedy and the lives of Jack and Algernon become subplots compared to the life of their Bunburys who are of a superior standard. interest and therefore of greater importance. It can be clearly seen that Gwendolen and Cecily have no interest in an honest and faithful marriage - instead they are both interested in their future husband being called "Ernest" - to the point that it becomes ironic and somewhat morbid that this is all that they want. they intend to concentrate, and will not agree to marry Jack or Algernon unless they have this name. The play on words is particularly interesting; it could be argued that the play on words emphasizes the strata of Victorian society; the private sphere and the public sphere, and how one layer (Ernest) was built on deception and lies expressed towards others, and in the private sphere it was possible to meet the “serious” person underneath. On the other hand it can be seen that the name links well with the title of the play, "The Importance of Being Earnest" and the play on words is made more complex, and the reader realizes that for both Algernon and It is important for Jack to become "Ernest", however if they had been "Six" from the beginning they would never have faced the problems they faced. This situation further shows how much surfaces and appearances mattered during the Victorian era; and the work gives the idea that not even marriages were of such great importance; they were conducted on the spur of the moment. So the idea that "serious" things in life should be treated with "trivia" is a major theme in the play, and is seen mostly through the character's lack of identity and acceptance of this, or even encouragement of this. On the other hand it can be argued that this play does not encourage the idea of ​​treating "the trivial things of life seriously, and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied banality", but is instead a morality play with a deeper when explored. This comedy embodies the Victorian society of the time and explores its superficial nature through comedy of manners and farce and through the exploration of characters such as Lady Bracknell or Gwendolen. It can be argued that in fact these characters are spokespersons for Oscar Wilde and through their jokes and witty speeches are actually commenting on Victorian society. For example when Gwendolen and Cecily argue about who Ernest's fiancé really is; You can tell they're just frustrated, but Gwendolen only gets really angry when she discovers that "too much" has been added to her tea..