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Flouting Maxim as Social Criticism: Rhetorical Manifestations in Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest

Rainbow: Journal of Literature, Linguistics and Culture Studies · Vol. 15 No. 2 (2026) · pp. 63–74

DOI
10.15294/rainbow.v15i2.57513
ISSN
2721-4540, 2252-6323
Published
2026-08-03
Publisher
Universitas Negeri Semarang
Language
eng
License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Abstract

Language is not always used literally; speakers often communicate meanings that are not explicitly conveyed. This study investigates how flouting Grice's maxims functions as a pragmatic strategy generating social criticism in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). Previous research has treated Wilde's satire and irony as literary devices without examining maxim flouting as the underlying pragmatic mechanism, leaving a gap between pragmatics and literary studies. This study identifies flouting of the four Gricean maxims and examines how their rhetorical realization through irony, repetition, hyperbole, and simile contributes to criticism of Victorian norms on class, marriage, morality, and identity. Data were collected through close reading and analyzed in four stages: identifying flouting, examining rhetorical realization, decoding implicature, and categorizing social criticism. Findings show the quantity maxim is flouted most frequently, mainly through exaggeration, repetition, and irony, followed by relevance and manner, with no quality flouting found. Linking maxim flouting to rhetorical realization, this study offers a sociopragmatic model illuminating pragmatic deviation as a literary device, contributing to interdisciplinary work bridging pragmatics and literary criticism. The study concludes that Wilde's humor is a deliberate linguistic strategy exposing the falsity of Victorian aristocratic norms, rather than mere entertainment.

Keywords

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8 authors · 13 co-authorship links

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Co-authorOrganisationJoint articles
Yuliati YuliatiAffiliation unknown1
Ummi Nur Laila SulistyaniAffiliation unknown1
Aditya Rangga Putra CahayaAffiliation unknown1
Nira AmaliaAffiliation unknown1
Farrel Maulana AzhaniAffiliation unknown1
Naura Makiya FailyAffiliation unknown1

Affiliations come from OpenAlex; journal OAI-PMH metadata carries none. Authors without an OpenAlex ID are matched by name, which can merge or split people.

Metadata source: OAI-PMH (metadata jurnal) https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/rainbow/oai, first harvested 6 Nov 2026, last seen 8 Nov 2026.
Original metadata (oai_dc) 
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	<dc:title xml:lang="en">Flouting Maxim as Social Criticism: Rhetorical Manifestations in Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest</dc:title>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Rani, Silva</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Utami , Almira Irwaniyanti </dc:creator>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">conversational implicature</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en"> flouting maxims</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Gricean maxim</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en"> rhetorical device</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">social criticism</dc:subject>
	<dc:description xml:lang="en">Language is not always used literally; speakers often communicate meanings that are not explicitly conveyed. This study investigates how flouting Grice's maxims functions as a pragmatic strategy generating social criticism in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). Previous research has treated Wilde's satire and irony as literary devices without examining maxim flouting as the underlying pragmatic mechanism, leaving a gap between pragmatics and literary studies. This study identifies flouting of the four Gricean maxims and examines how their rhetorical realization through irony, repetition, hyperbole, and simile contributes to criticism of Victorian norms on class, marriage, morality, and identity. Data were collected through close reading and analyzed in four stages: identifying flouting, examining rhetorical realization, decoding implicature, and categorizing social criticism. Findings show the quantity maxim is flouted most frequently, mainly through exaggeration, repetition, and irony, followed by relevance and manner, with no quality flouting found. Linking maxim flouting to rhetorical realization, this study offers a sociopragmatic model illuminating pragmatic deviation as a literary device, contributing to interdisciplinary work bridging pragmatics and literary criticism. The study concludes that Wilde's humor is a deliberate linguistic strategy exposing the falsity of Victorian aristocratic norms, rather than mere entertainment.
 </dc:description>
	<dc:publisher xml:lang="en">Universitas Negeri Semarang</dc:publisher>
	<dc:date>2026-08-03</dc:date>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/article</dc:type>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion</dc:type>
	<dc:type xml:lang="en">Peer-reviewed Article</dc:type>
	<dc:format>application/pdf</dc:format>
	<dc:identifier>https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/rainbow/article/view/57513</dc:identifier>
	<dc:identifier>10.15294/rainbow.v15i2.57513</dc:identifier>
	<dc:source xml:lang="en">Rainbow: Journal of Literature, Linguistics and Culture Studies; Vol. 15 No. 2 (2026): Special Issue ; 63-74</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2721-4540</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2252-6323</dc:source>
	<dc:source>10.15294/rainbow.v15i2</dc:source>
	<dc:language>eng</dc:language>
	<dc:relation>https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/rainbow/article/view/57513/10905</dc:relation>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">Copyright (c) 2026 Silva Rani, Almira Irwaniyanti  Utami  (Author)</dc:rights>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0</dc:rights>
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