The Importance of Wit

What stood out to me in the first scene of "The Importance of Being Earnest" was the lively and sharp wit of the dialogue. From the very beginning, the characters make little jabs at eachother which not only create the comedic tone, but highlight the underlying tensions between the characters as well as their personalities. Upon entering, Algernon asks Jack what brought him to town to which Jack answers, "Oh, pleasure, pleasure! What else should bring one anywhere? Eating as usual, I see, Algy!" to which Algernon says, "[Stiffly.] I believe it is customary in good society to take some slight refreshment at five o’clock." This first exchange reveals Jack's character as perhaps more flippant than Algernon's because he jestingly talks of his motivation as being pleasure and immediately takes a jab at Algernon's over eating. Algernon's character is seen as more reserved and serious because he becomes defensive towards Jack. This exchange also shows possible tension or antagonism between the characters. I'm not sure this early in the play if their underlying antagonism is deep or if it's just all in good fun, like when best friends are able to make scathing remarks to eachother in good humor and camaraderie. Another priceless comment is where Jack tells Algernon that he is in town because he intends to propose to Gwendolen. To this Algernon says "I thought you had come up for pleasure?… I call that business." He says this because he doesn't "see anything romantic in proposing" because of the "certain" nature of proposal. He believes that "The very essence of romance is uncertainty" and "If [he] ever get[s] married, [he'll] certainly try to forget the fact" to which Jack responds, "I have no doubt about that, dear Algy. The Divorce Court was specially invented for people whose memories are so curiously constituted" --Ouch! This type of witty, biting banter continues on probably for the whole play, which, besides being endlessly amusing/impressive to me, is a form of dialogue that says a lot about the characters and their hidden agendas without requiring extensive background summary. Humor is such an effective and enjoyable device!

Does anyone know if there's a specific literary name for the kind of wit used in the lines I include? I'm not sure!