Irony is an important literary element that writers often use to engage and capture the reader's attention. Instead of blatantly stating something, it is essential to emphasize a point by contradiction. There are three distinct forms of irony used in Oscar Wilde's play “verbal, situational, and dramatic irony." In "The Importance of Being Earnest," specific instances of irony impacts the reader's' perceptions of plot and character development; the entire wit and meaning of the play is captured by the irony. Situational irony involves a situation when an outcome is different than what you might anticipate; when a character finds him or herself in a situation that is the antithesis of what he or she expected, situational irony has occurred. For example, Lady Bracknell does not want her daughter Gwendolen to marry Ernest, even though he is affluent and has a commendable reputation. Instead of Lady Bracknell focusing on Ernest's attainments and high social position, she turns her focus to his family background. However, Lady Bracknell is in high spirits for Algernon and Cecily's marriage engagement when she discovers that Cecily is wealthy, despite being Jack's ward. Later in the play, Jack states that he never plans to have a brother, and in the end discovers that Algernon is his brother by Lady Bracknell as she says, "You are the son of my poor sister, Mrs. Moncrieff, and consequently Algernon's elder brother' (Wilde 149). Jack believed that he could never truly be in a position of having a brother, despite making up a detailed story about having one. Ironically, in the end, it turns out that Algernon, his fake brother, turned out to be his biological brother, landing him in a position he would have never expected to be in. Readers often find what the characters are saying as a mistake, and thus differentiate between words and truth. Unexpected situations occurring within Wilde's novel adds suspense and keeps the readers reading to