Conversational Implicature in Oscar Wilde's the Importance of Being Earnest: a Pragmatic Analysis Based on Grice's Cooperative Principle
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Conversational implicature is an important concept in pragmatics. It explains how people communicate meanings that are not directly stated. In literature, it helps create humour, develop characters, and express social criticism. Although The Importance of Being Earnest has been studied from different literary perspectives, few studies have examined conversational implicature using Grice's (1975) Cooperative Principle. Therefore, this study aims to analyze conversational implicature in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. This study uses a qualitative research design and textual analysis. Eight dialogues from the play are selected and analyzed using Grice's (1975) Cooperative Principle. The study identifies the flouted maxims, explains the implied meanings, and examines their role in the play. The findings show that Wilde frequently uses conversational implicature. All four conversational maxims are flouted, with the Maxim of Quality being the most common. The study also shows that maxim flouting creates humour, develops characters, and criticizes Victorian society. It concludes that Grice's Cooperative Principle is a useful framework for understanding implied meanings and appreciating Wilde's language and social criticism.
Institutions: University of Okara, University of Education
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7217345475