I use Oscar Wilde’s drama, The Importance of Being Earnest. It is one of the English stage’s finest comedies written in 1895. I am interested to analyze it
since comedy is rooted more in the events of our daily lives, such as the way we live together in communities. David L Sill International Encyclopedia of the
Social Science vol. 3, 1968: 210 asserts that in comedies of manners, the action is based on the observation of the ways of life of the characters in the play.
Comedy deals with the lighter side of life. Comedy is also usually used as a medium to criticize social phenomena.
For instance, drama that was written in 1960 must be different from the one written in 2000. It is produced in order to draw people’s powers at that time. We
can know and understand the power of a drama from the characters’ dialogues. Hopefully, we could use these findings to communicate interpersonally to others
in real-life situation. We also could understand the characteristics of people through their ways of speaking. Therefore, this study is very important for
researchers, teachers, or students to understand the power of the drama through the appraisal devices used.
1.3 Statement of the problem
This thesis is meant to address the following issue: What appraisal devices are used in the dialogues of Oscar Wilde’s Drama “The Importance of Being
Earnest”.
1.4 Objectives of the study
This thesis is intended to find out what appraisal devices are used in the dialogues, and to find out the power of the drama and of the author through the
appraisal devices used in the dialogues.
1.5 Significance of the Study
The findings of this study are appraisal devices employed by the characters. They are performed in accounts and interpretation as the thesis description. Hopefully,
this study is useful for further researchers, English learners, teachers, and curriculum developers to enrich their knowledge about appraisal devices.
Therefore, they could make better interpersonal communication with their society. People may compare the data to real-life dialogues and select them as resources
for negotiating their ideas and experiences interpersonally.
1.6 Limitation of the Study
This study is limited to the investigation of appraisal devices used by the characters in the dialogues of The Importance of Being Earnest to make it easy to
understand. The analysis focuses on the analysis of the types of the appraisal systems, and the ideology served by the appraisal devices.
1.7 Unit of Analysis
In this study, the unit of analysis is appraisal device.
1.8 Definition of Terms
Based on the title of this thesis, the descriptions of the terms used in this study are defined as follows:
1. According to Martin and Rose 2003: 13, appraisal is a system of interpersonal meaning. People use it to negotiate their experiences, feelings,
and thoughts in a social relationship with others. In a broad scope, appraisal theory is concerned with the linguistic recourses by which texts come to
express, negotiate, and naturalize their inter-subjective and ideological positions.
2. Drama derived from the Greek verb dran meaning “to act” or “to do”. It consists of a set of dialogues to be performed on stage. The Importance of
Being Earnest is one of the greatest English comedies written in 1895. It contains three acts with three different scenes. Set in London, the action
largely takes place in the Manor House; in the garden and in the drawing room, and also in Algernon’s flat.
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CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
