I think it is hard to come up with any credible argument
that would suggest this excellent play is a tragedy. The light-hearted, flippant tone of
the play combined with the way that it pokes fun at the norms and values of the day
clearly points towards its status as a comedy. You might want to consider how such
issues such as marriage are presented in the play in a completely irreverent fashion.
Consider the following quote from the beginning of the play, when Algernon talks to Jack
about proposing:
I really don't see anything romantic in
proposing. It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a
definite proposal. Why, one may be accepted. One usually is, I believe. Then the
excitement is all over. The very essence of romance is uncertainty. If ever I get
married, I'll certainly try to forget the
fact.
The way in which
Algernon confidently asserts that he will do his best to forget being married when he is
married obviously suggests the humour and flippancy of what he is half-seriously saying.
There is no sense that this play could be regarded as a tragedy when it goes to such
lengths to expose the hypocrisy of Victorian society and to highlight its various
absurdities.
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