Importance Of Being Earnest
Lauren Skarupsky
English III Honors
Summer Work The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde Reading Questions
1. Explain how Wilde uses satire to critique Victorian society.
Throughout the entire play Oscar Wilde critiques the Victorian society through each of the characters. The characters represent the Victorian era but have twisted views on the major emotions love and marry that are mentioned in the play continuously. Wilde depicts the society in which the characters live in as superficial. During the Victorian era, men and women searched for an ideal relationship based on the expectations of a demanding society.
Cecily and Gwendolyn fall in love with a man named Ernest. They both simply fall in love with him because of the appeal his name. Cecily mentions, “…always been a girlish dream of mine to love someone whose name was Ernest,” (Wilde 76). When Cecily stated this she was just meeting Algernon, pretending to be named Ernest so this shows that the women of the
Victorian society develop relationships in their head rather than experiencing them in life.
Lady Brackwell, Algernon’s aunt mentions, “…I’m not in favor of long engagements. They give people the opportunity of finding out each other’s character before marriage, which I think is never advisable,” (Wilde 99). Wilde pointing out the way women living in Victorian
Era rather marry a man before they get to know them. Wilde shows marriage as something not cherished but rather inconvenient and bothersome throughout the play. Lance,
Algernon’s servant says that married couples often have an inferior quality of wine compared to bachelors.
2. Identify the main arguments the play makes about romantic love.
The main argument shown throughout the play is the debate of whether love is business or for pleasure. This argument is first introduced when Jack and Algernon argue about whether or not Jack’s proposal to Gwendolen is business or pleasure, “I thought you had come up for
English III Honors
Summer Work The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde Reading Questions
1. Explain how Wilde uses satire to critique Victorian society.
Throughout the entire play Oscar Wilde critiques the Victorian society through each of the characters. The characters represent the Victorian era but have twisted views on the major emotions love and marry that are mentioned in the play continuously. Wilde depicts the society in which the characters live in as superficial. During the Victorian era, men and women searched for an ideal relationship based on the expectations of a demanding society.
Cecily and Gwendolyn fall in love with a man named Ernest. They both simply fall in love with him because of the appeal his name. Cecily mentions, “…always been a girlish dream of mine to love someone whose name was Ernest,” (Wilde 76). When Cecily stated this she was just meeting Algernon, pretending to be named Ernest so this shows that the women of the
Victorian society develop relationships in their head rather than experiencing them in life.
Lady Brackwell, Algernon’s aunt mentions, “…I’m not in favor of long engagements. They give people the opportunity of finding out each other’s character before marriage, which I think is never advisable,” (Wilde 99). Wilde pointing out the way women living in Victorian
Era rather marry a man before they get to know them. Wilde shows marriage as something not cherished but rather inconvenient and bothersome throughout the play. Lance,
Algernon’s servant says that married couples often have an inferior quality of wine compared to bachelors.
2. Identify the main arguments the play makes about romantic love.
The main argument shown throughout the play is the debate of whether love is business or for pleasure. This argument is first introduced when Jack and Algernon argue about whether or not Jack’s proposal to Gwendolen is business or pleasure, “I thought you had come up for