Comedy, Romance, Satire and Parody
It's the genre that will never die: the romantic comedy. How many romantic comedies hit the movie theaters every year? How many real-life happy endings start as awkward first dates at said romantic comedies?
Wilde comes out with the melodramatic language (See "Writing Style") to crack open a few heavy ideas about the value of empathy and forgiveness, but let's face it, it's a comedy. And it's a comedy that makes fun of people's faults and bad habits – which makes it a satire. It's filled with fun and zany characters and ends in marriage. And, thanks to Wilde's way with words, it's funny as heck.