e.g. “Oh, I love London Society! I think it has immensely

improved. It is entirely composed now of beautiful

idiots and brilliant lunatics. Just what Society

should be.” (p.175)

“And in England a man who can’t talk morality

twice a week to a large, popular, immoral

audience is quite over as a serious politician.”

(p.210)

“All women become like their mothers. That is

their tragedy. No man does. That is his.” (p.300)

These examples show that irony is a mode of speech in which the opposite of what is said is meant. The speaker of the first example, Mabel Chiltern does not really think that it is good for London Society to consist of “beautiful idiots and brilliant lunatics”. Wilde’s method of ironical usage is mostly direct: he speaks of the decomposition of people, their ideals and values. The effect of irony lies in the striking disparity between what is said and what is meant. This is achieved through the intentional interplay of two meanings, which are in opposition to each other.

e.g. “No woman should have a memory. Memory in a

woman is a beginning of dowdiness”. (p.144)

“My father told me to go to bed an hour ago. I

don’t see why I shouldn’t give you the same

advice. I always pass on good advice. It is the

only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to

oneself.” (p.197)

“I knew we should come to an amicable

agreement.” (p.194)

The context is one most important things when we use irony. The word “advice” is suggested for acceptance if it is good and for rejection if it is not good, but not for passing on it. In fact, Lord Goring, the speaker of this phrase, is a serious person, who knows that a good advice may be very useful. As for the last example, here the word “amicable” is contrary to the word “blackmail” with the help of which this agreement was achieved by Mrs. Chevely. Mrs. Chevely is an “immoralist” of English Society.

e.g. “People are either hunting for husbands or hiding

from them” (p.181)

“Oh, I like tedious, practical subjects. What I don’t

like are tedious, practical people.” (p.189)

The remarks of this “Lady” characterise her brilliantly. We can clearly see a scheming woman, an adventurer, who stops at nothing in gaining her filthy aims. She does not show her real face, she always disguises it. But her cynical remarks betray her. Another example of irony used by O.Wilde:

e.g. “Lord Goring: I adore political parties. They are

the only place left to us where people do not talk

politics”. (p.184)

The members of political parties must talk politics, it is their duty. They must be very serious and honest people and they must work for people’s well being, but instead of it they do not do anything for people. During their political parties they pronounce some absurd, cynical words and discuss rumours and gossips.

e.g. “Oh, we all want friends at times” (p.25)

Lord Darlington, saying this phrase, hides his love for Lady Windermere behind the word “friend”, but she does not accept his version of “friendship” in such kind and does not want to be with him. Oscar Wilde considers the word “friend” to have different meaning: people always need friends, not only for temporary period of time. The meaning of this word conveys a constant quality.

The specific, cynical quality of Wilde’s irony is manifested in his manner of writing. This device allows Wilde to reveal incongruity of the world around him and to show the viciousness of the upper - class society.

Pun is the next stylistic device used by Oscar Wilde in his plays.

According to Professor Sosnovskaya V.B., pun (paronomasia, a play on words) is a figure of speech emerging as an effect created by words similar or identical in their sound form and contrastive or incompatible in meaning.

According to Prof. Galperin I.R., the pun is a stylistic device based on the interaction of two well-known meanings of a word or phrase. It is difficult to draw a hard and fast distinction between zeugma and the pun. The reliable distinguishing feature is a structural one: zeugma is the realisation of two meanings with the help of the verb which is made to refer to different subjects or objects. The pun is more independent. There need not necessarily be a word in the sentence to which the pun-word refers. This does not mean. However, that the pun is entirely free. Like any other stylistic device, it must depend on a context. But the context may be of a more expanded character, sometimes even as large as a whole work of emotive prose.

Thus, the title of one of Oscar Wilde’s plays, “The Importance of Being Earnest”, has a pun in it. But in order to understand this pun we must read the whole play, because the name of the hero and the adjective meaning “seriously-minded” are both existing in our mind.

Pun is based on the effect of deceived expectation, because unpredictability in it is expressed either in the appearance of the elements of the text unusual for the reader or in the unexpected reaction of the addressee of the dialogue.

However playful is the effect of pun, however intricate and sudden is the merging of senses in one sound complex, in a truly talented work this unit of poetic speech shares equally with others in the expression of the author’s message. It is a vehicle of the author’s thought not a mere decoration. Pun is one of the most favoured devices of Oscar Wilde. In his comedies there are about twenty examples of pun. In this Chapter we will try to analyse some of them. For Wilde pun is one of the most effective means used for creating wit, brilliancy and colourfulness of his dialogues for criticism of bourgeois morality. At the same time the puns serve for showing the author’s ideas and thoughts.

e.g. “Lord Goring: My dear farther, only people who

look dull ever get into the House of Commons,

and only people who are dull ever succeed

there”.(p.257)

“Lord Darlington: Ah, nowadays we are all of us

so hard up, that the only pleasant things to pay

are compliments. They are the only things we

can pay.”(p.24)

These examples show that the play on words has a great influence on the reader. The speech of the hero becomes more vivid and interesting. The sound form of the word played upon may be either a polysemantic word:

e.g. “Lady Caroline: I believe this is the first English

country-house you have stayed at, Mrs.Worsley?

Have you any country? What we should call

country? Hester: We have the largest country in

the world.”(p.95);

or partial (complete) homonyms, as in the following example:

e.g. “Algernon: You look as if your name was Ernest.

You are the most earnest-looking person I ever

saw in my life”. (p.286)

In this example there are two meanings of the word played upon in the pun: the first – the name of the hero and the second – the adjective meaning seriously-minded.

In case of homonym the two meanings of one word are quite independent and both direct. These two meanings of the pun are realised simultaneously and in the remark of one and the same person. Such examples are comparatively rare in Wilde’s plays. Most of Wilde’s puns are based on polysemy. Such puns are realised in succession, that is at first the word appears before a reader in one meaning and then -–in the other. This realisation is more vivid in dialogues, because in such cases the pun acquires more humorous effect as a result of misunderstanding. In many cases the addressee of the dialogue is the main source of interference. His way of thinking and peculiarities of perception can explain this. Rarely the speaker himself is the source of interference (for example, if he has a speech defect). Almost all Oscar Wilde’s puns based on polycemy are realised in dialogues, in fact the remark of the addressee.

e.g. “Lady H.: she lets her clever tongue run away with her.

Lady C.: is that the only Mrs. Allonby allows to run )