What are some examples of irony in Act 2 of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde?

Act 2, like all of , contains many examples of . I will cite a few
of these and discuss how they contribute to the humor of the play.

One early
example is when Cecily is telling Algernon about her diary. She tells him she can't read the
diary because "it is simply a very young girl's record of her own thoughts and impressions,
and consequently meant for publication." This is an example of verbal irony because Cecily
describes her diary, which is a document people use to record their private, secret thoughts, as
something Algernon cannot see because it is "meant for publication." This is the
opposite of what we expect to hear about diaries in general, and also opposite of what we expect
Cecily to say given the beginning of her statement. Both Cecily and Gwendolen use their diaries
as "proof" of their engagements, so they are ironically referred to as public
documents at other points in the play.

Cecily also talks to Algernon about
his name, which he...