Due to the controversial ideas of Wilde about social structures and how it should be condemned, Beerbohm was influenced even more. Beerbohm followed the same style as Wilde because he was intrigued by the use of satire in order to express the realities of society. Wilde's bold style served as an incentive for the young author to flourish in freedom of speech and expression and become liberated from the obvious restrains of society.
In 1893, Beerbohm had the opportunity of meeting Oscar Wilde and this further enhanced his fascination with the author. In fact, it became inevitable to fall in the same literary movement as he began to embrace degenerate art. The primary purpose for Beerbohm adopting aestheticism in his writings was for the fact that he saw it as a satirical device which he admired from Wilde.These perspectives in mind, modeled Beerbohm into an exemplary prodigy from Oscar Wilde's writing style.
However, with time Beerbohm deviated in ambitions and developed his writing into a more conventional style unlike Wilde. Beerbohm maintaned the elaborate use of imagery, satire and sarcasm, as part of his success as an author as a result of Oscar Wilde's influence. Although he was greatly influence by Wilde, it became obvious that they did not hold similar social outlooks.
Wilde's contempt for social aggravated Beerbohm who still held views that condemned drinking and dishonesty. This disparity allowed Beerbohm to be his own unique author though to a great extent influenced by Oscar Wilde. His admiration for Wilde was kept at a safe distance so as to not engage in the contrary social outlooks that plagued Wilde. In other words, he glorified Wilde for his ingenious writing technique in portraying humor and subtle mockery while at the same time respecting societal ideals of morality.
Some examples of Wilde's work on satirical condemning of social standards is found in the works of the Importace of Being Earnest. This work is very important because Wilde depicted most of the social strains that existed during his time period. Issues that were considered were marriage, love, status, and religious beliefs among others.
In the Importance of being Earnest, Wilde is able to demonstrate the evils that society places on its members. He emphasizes on the symbolism in order to demonstrate the emotion. He also uses other symbols in order to demonstrate the emotional state of the character. This style of writing is what has influenced other writers to follow his style.