Tristram kenton for the guardian w ildes play used to be seen as a secondrate melodrama festooned with dazzling epigrams. An ideal husband by austin shakespeare ctx live theatre. Some critics say that this isnt as good a play as wildes the importance of being earnest. Wildes third play, an ideal husband makes use of the witty banter known as epigrams to reveal the darker side of victorian values in atongueandcheek fashion. It is entirely composed now of beautiful idiots and brilliant lunatics act i, p. Their overabundance appears at first to hinder the plays bid for cleverness. Shiogjiri discusses how even these seemingly simple quips hone an ideal husband s overall wit. This guide will focus upon wildes an ideal husband, listed for study in a level component 01. Like it takes great deal of courage to see the world in all its tainted glory, and still to love it. Learn all about how the characters in an ideal husband such as sir robert chiltern and lady chiltern contribute to the story and how they fit into the plot. Judging by all the signs, we were a perfectly successful couple and john was an ideal husband for me rich, blond, tall, sensitive, ad nauseam. Oct 16, 2010 his prominent works include the picture of dorian gray, salome, an ideal husband, and the importance of being earnest.
Drama and poetry pre1900 for a level component 01, section 2 students study one drama text and one poetry text. Fantastic foxes offer a wilde west end delight in an ideal. A technicolor of oscar wildes play of the same name, alexander kordas an ideal husband is definitely gorgeous. This is a story set in the upper echelon of british society. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Its the most modern and entertaining version of an oscar wilde play on film. Delivery guide for ocr asa level english literature. Although its riddled with mediocrity, the staging cant obscure the. Mabel chiltern and lord goring have just announced their engagement, and lord cavershamemblematic of an older generation of london societyissues the threat. A summary of motifs in oscar wildes an ideal husband. When were first introduced to sir robert chiltern, he appears. The marriage and the political career of a distinguished english aristocrat gets in trouble, when a woman from the past appears.
Maybe an ideal husband is really two plays going wilde at the stratford festivals avon theatre this summer so looking at it that way, when oscar wildes an ideal husband opened on thursday may 31, the preintermission play turned out to be a masterpiece theatredownton abbey 85minute or more slice of late 19thcentury. Wilde s drama an ideal husband pictures husbands, their wives and politics in london s society in the 19th century. Across london last night politicians waited anxiously to hear their fates, and things were no different at the vaudeville theatre, where the ongoing oscar wilde season took a topical turn with an ideal husband colliding drawingroom comedy and victorian melodrama, the play is at worst uneven, but at best it has a violence that sets the bone china rattling. Learn all about how the characters in an ideal husband such as sir robert chiltern and lady. An ideal husband is a wilde time at stratford festival. An ideal husband will introduce children to the artistry of oscar wilde and to upper crust english society at the turn of the 20th century. The vision that an individual has for themselves often plays a part in how their life occurs. Many elements of the story a woman with the past, a political intrigue, a problemsolving friend will be familiar from a million hollywood movies. Although an ideal husband adopts these motifs, it also parodies them through the play. Nov 10, 2010 an ideal husband at the vaudeville, london. Apr 08, 2019 all for one productions 3901 south wayne avenue fort wayne, in 46807. An ideal husband theater pittsburgh pittsburgh city. An ideal husband everyman palace theatre, cork although spiced with witticisms and memorable epigrams, an ideal husband is not a comedy. There will be six questions, each with a different thematic or literary focus.
The conventional staging of oscar wilde, within the frame of a proscenium, gives us a bright window into the highly mannered scene of londons victorian upper classes. An ideal husband is full of snappy dialogue based on epigrams, such as this exchange between mabel chiltern and lord goring in act 4. His brilliant epigrams and shrewd social observations brought him theatrical success in the early 1890s with the importance of being earnest, lady windermeres fan, a woman of no importance and an ideal husband. Such speeches reflect more conventional dialogue from the victorian popular stage. An ideal husband for proof that its hard to ruin oscar wilde, just look to jambalaya prods. An ideal husband is a vivid portrait of a bygone world and age. An ideal husband act iii summary and analysis gradesaver. In an ideal husband wilde builds the plot around a blackmail letter, as well as highly recognizable piece of stolen jewelry. Five years after the 1895 success of this play, he had been disgraced, judged, jailed and was dying at the age of 46, an exile in paris. Epigrammatic turns of speech are short and sweet, and they are somehow surprising or witty. Aug 19, 2010 an ideal husband premiered in 1895, an eventful time for the playwright, to put it mildly, as it was also the year when earnest premiered and wilde was put on trial, eventually being sentenced to prison for two years for engaging in gross indecency.
Mabel chiltern tells lord caversham, who complains about the decline of society, that it is, on the other hand, perfect. In contrast to its witty, epigrammatic banter, an ideal husband also makes extensive use of the melodramatic speech. An ideal husband dover thrift editions kindle edition by. Under the surehanded direction of karen macdonald, with an adaptation by daniel morris, a handsome set by julia noulinmerat, and elegant period costumes by molly trainer, gloucester stage companys new production of an ideal husband is faithful to wildes insouciant but penetrating spirit. For austin shakespeares an ideal husband in the long centers rollins theatre, the audience surrounds the stage. The whole play is an epigram of sorts, exemplifying the imperfections of the victorian bourgeois by mockingly portraying the inefficacy of their incorporation into. Wilde used his words his plays and his epigrams as his masks. Wilde, the son of an impoverished irish aristocrat, an extravagant selfpromoter, longed to secure a place in that world. This tremendous ensemble cast fired away with a continuous volley of epigrams. In an ideal husband, sir robert chiltern must maintain a certain public. The play is amusing with nice epigrams but sometimes it is too serious.
Politicians, power players, businessmen, and ladies intermingle with mrs. Mabel chiltern tells lord caversham, who complains about the decline of society, that it is, on the other hand, perfect because of its extremes. Detailed analysis of characters in oscar wildes an ideal husband. It is an eloquent plea for individual expression in the. His epigrams are a play on words by means of a clever rhetoric. Notable examples include lady chilterns plea to sir robert at the end of act i, their confrontation in act ii, and reconciliation in act iv. I realize this is afterthefact, but i wanted to include our thoughts on this production here, for the edification of other theaters who may want to produce this work. An ideal husband also owes something to the popular melodramas of the 19th century. Cate blanchett elizabeth, oscar and lucinda, julianne moore short cuts, boogie nights, minnie driver grosse pointe blank, big night, jeremy. Some of his most famous oneliners include, life is never fair. An ideal husband, oscar wildes 1895 comic melodrama, originally presented an audience with just such a conundrum and a hero, lord goring, who.
Of course he doesnt need to be a gentlemanthats where the story comes in. An ideal husband, oscar wildes 1895 comic melodrama, originally presented an audience with just such a conundrum and a hero, lord goring, who pleads for women to love men and forgive them. He made use of literary devices like irony, paradox and hyperbole to get different meanings from a simple statement. This staging inthesquare gives us a visual kaleidoscope of witty epigrams, paradoxes, brilliant costumes and. But an ideal husband is a more ambitious and, i would argue, a more interesting play.
One of the plays ironies is that the happy ending relies on sir roberts corruption remaining hidden from public view. Instead of adopting a conventional wildean posture and tossing off epigrams like a selfsatisfied fop ostentatiously strewing flowers from his buttonholes, mr. Political corruption dominates the plot in an ideal husband. Like morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people we personally dislike. An ideal wife is any woman who has an ideal husband. The marriage and the political career of a distinguished english aristocrat gets. Epigrams are what give his plays the edge which they are so famous for. An idealistic person holds high standards for their future.
An ideal husband by dramaturg cathleen sheehan marin. A sterling production that balances the spry epigrams only dull people are brilliant at breakfast with a surprising depth of feeling and boasts double the foxy charm. Laura cheveley paulette goddard out like a sore thumb. A play like oscar wildes an ideal husband works because it takes place in a society bound by inflexible rules and social inhibitions. There is such an abundance of epigrams in an ideal husband it is easy to forget that sometimes characters can still speak directly, as mrs. An exploration of different conceptions of love and. An ideal husband study guide contains a biography of oscar wilde, literature essays, a complete etext, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Fantastic foxes team up for a wilde west end delight. The most basic form of irony within an ideal husband appears in wildes epigrams.
The title phrase, an ideal husband, appears in the penultimate dialogue of act iv as the last joke of the play. To this day, its hard to graduate from high school without having been assigned to read his novel in an english class. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Oscar wilde is also famous for his intellectual humor and witty epigrams. Ideal husband presents a marriage of wildes wit and. For truly clever dialogue and a smartly structured plot, you cant go wrong with oscar wilde. His brilliant epigrams and shrewd social observations brought him theatrical success in the early 1890s with the importance of being earnest, lady windermeres fan. The most arresting aspect is how this play prefigures earnest in the character of lord goring. An ideal husband is what we spend the whole play learning not to want.
An ideal husband dover thrift editions kindle edition. Oliver parkers film of oscar wildes an ideal husband demonstrates that wildes epigrams have lost none of their witty sting, and that his observations on society remain as profound and sagacious as they were more than a hundred years ago. His prominent works include the picture of dorian gray, salome, an ideal husband, and the importance of being earnest. Sir roberts flawless career is threatened by the corruption of his youth. But even worse, it seemed as if our most intimate conversations were based on what we were supposed to be saying, and what we were supposed to be. At the time of his death, wilde left behind a trove of enduring works, including such frequently performed plays as the importance of being earnest and an ideal husband, and the novel, the picture of dorian gray. The movie contains several positive moral messages and one important moral dilemma. An ideal husband abounds with oscar wildes famous epigrams, but thats the only thing separating it from a run of comedies penned in the playwrights day. Here is a story in which a marriage, a romance, a fortune and government policy all rest on such foundations as a mans obligation to act like a gentleman. Wildes audience would be familiar with plays that used physical detail linked to characters pasts. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of an ideal husband and what it means. Societal customs and mores may have changed enormously, but human nature has not. Risteard coopers lord arthur goring is a mite too languid with the epigrams and mrs marchmont claudia carroll and lady basildon elizabeth. Mabel chiltern and lord goring have just announced their engagement, and lord cavershamemblematic of an older generation of london societyissues the threat quoted above to his dandified son.