"An Ideal Husband" by Oscar Wilde

Many forms of drama deal with the social and political issues of a particular society. In comedies such as Oscar Wilde's nineteenth century play, An Ideal Husband, the author often makes fun of such issues, or presents them in a different way than what the audience might usually see them. These issues might include such aspects as the relationships between the sexes in a particular class, or certain comical habits that were not usually accepted …

…this play was written, such as gender relations, the type of humor, what is considered acceptable by society and what is not, and even what society is has changed. The result is that many of the statements that the characters make take on a whole new meaning when applied to our modern society. This means that a modern day audience will have difficulty relating to such aspects to the same extent as the original audience.