Read the excerpt from Act I of The Importance of Being Earnest. Jack. I have lost both my parents. Lady Bracknell. To lose one p
arent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness. What effect does the pun have on this scene? It makes the scene more humorous. It makes the scene more serious. It makes the scene confusing. It makes the scene boring.
"The Importance of Being Earnest" is a play by Oscar Wilde in which the characters pretend to be someone else to escape social obligations they consider heavy or boring.
<u>In this particular excerpt, we have a typical example of the type of humor Wilde would develop in his stories. While Jack is speaking of losing his parents in the sense of losing them to death, Lady Bracknell is talking of losing as one would lose a wallet in the street. The seriousness of Jack's words is erased by the pun, which most likely surprises as well as entertains the audience.</u>
