Stylistic Features of Oscar Wilde’s Wrightings

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

away with her?” (p.99)

In this example the pun is realised in the remark of the second person. The first meaning of the expression “to run away with” – is “not to be aware of what you are speaking”, and the second meaning is “to make off taking something with you”. The first meaning is figurative and the second is direct. In some cases the pun is realised in the remark of one and the same person, as in the following examples:

e.g. “Mrs. Allonby: the one advantage of playing with fire is

that one never gets even singed.

It is the people who do not know how to play with it

who get burned up”.(p.100)

Here the first meaning of the expression “to play with fire” – “to singe” is direct, and the second “to spoil one’s reputation” is figurative.

e.g. “Jack: as far as I can make out, the poachers are theonly people who make anything out of it.” (p.297)

The first meaning of the expression: “to make out” – “to understand” is figurative, and the second – “to make benefit from something” is direct.