The tone of “The Remarkable Rocket” is humorous and ironic. This comes across in the title alone—while the Rocket constantly refers to himself as “remarkable,” Wilde presents him as anything but. Not only is the Rocket the only firework who cannot successfully light at the Prince’s wedding, but, when he finally lights later in the story, no one even witnesses it (and therefore cannot “remark” on his unique majesty). Wilde uses verbal irony here to highlight how the Rocket’s arrogance has made him unable to see reality clearly.
In addition to showing the Rocket in a humorous light, the narrator also uses an ironic tone in relation to the King and members of his Court. Take the following passage, for example, in which the King “rewards” his page for making supportive comments about the Prince and his bride:
“[The Princess] was like a white rose before,” said a young Page to his neighbour, “but she is like a red rose now”; and the whole Court was delighted […] and the King gave orders that the Page’s salary was to be doubled. As he received no salary at all this was not of much use to him, but it was considered a great honour, and was duly published in the Court Gazette.
[…]
“It is quite clear that they love each other,” said the little Page, “as clear as crystal!” and the King doubled his salary a second time. “What an honour!” cried all the courtiers.
In this passage, Wilde has the Page make inane comments about the Princess being “like a red rose” and the Prince and Princess’s love being “as clear as crystal.” Rather than recognizing these statements as simple and somewhat void of deeper meaning, the Court is “delighted” with the Page's insights and the King twice decides to double the Page’s salary.
The narrator’s mocking tone comes across in the way they clarify that the Page has no salary so “this was not of much use to him.” Because of this, all of the characters come across as ridiculous—the King for not realizing that his promise is meaningless, and the Court for decrying it “an honor” for an enslaved person to continue to receive no salary. In this way, Wilde demonstrates how upper-class communities can become unattached to reality, living in delusion about their generosity and kindness toward those with less privilege.
