Which statement best explains the paradox in this line? No one would agree that doing nothing is hard work, so the statement is
clearly meant as a joke. Algernon thinks that doing nothing is hard work, but he does not actually know what hard work is like. Doing nothing seems like it should be quite easy, but sometimes it really can be difficult to do nothing.
<u>The Importance of Being Earnest</u> is a trivial comedy play directed and written by Oscar Wilde. It revolves around the lifestyles of the English upper class, class, marriages and social expectations.
Doing nothing seems like it should be quite easy, but sometimes it really can be difficult to do nothing explains the paradox.
<h3>What is a paradox?</h3>
The paradox is a literary device that contradicts to indicate a more in-depth definition behind a disclaimer. It is contradictory or opposed to ordinary meaning and ultimately is possibly accurate.
In the lines being unrestricted can be seen as hard work but it is quite hard to never work as humans are assumed to function and perform certain tasks by nature.
This is an example of the Romantic idea of intuition. Romanticism placed emphasis on the elements of human nature that cannot be explained through reason. This was a reaction to the Enlightenment period and its focus on rationalization. Intuition was considered an inner voice that informs our lives and directs our actions. This is employed in this passage as the character feels a cold chill of loneliness.