The Importance Of Being Earnest

Question 1

“A trivial comedy for serious people”

Answer 1

Subtitle of earnest
Hints at wordplay and disguises

Question 2

“Charming day it has been, Miss Fairfax”

Answer 2

Who: jack
Aspects of comedy: comedy of manners, periphrastic (indirect speech), Cecily points out its improper
Significance: jacks avoiding telling Gwendoline the truth about his feelings

Question 3

“Cecily, ever since I first looked upon your wonderful and incomparable beauty, I have dared to love you”

Answer 3

Who: algernon (disguised as earnest)
Aspects of comedy: marriage, subversion of polite society, trickery/disguises, farce
Significance: going against societal values, triviality of love

Question 4

What’s the significance of algernons focus on food

Answer 4

Represents greed and gluttony associated with posh society, represents an amoral world and gets rewarded for it by cecily marrying him

Question 5

What’s lady Bracknells role in the play

Answer 5

Comic obstacle

Question 6

What do algernon and lane represent in comedy

Answer 6

Servants vs masters

Question 7

“As a class, to have absolutely no sense of moral responsibility”

Answer 7

Who: algernon
Comedy: inversion, marriage, comedy of manners, social class, masters vs servants

Question 8

“Well my name is Ernest in town and jack in the country”

Answer 8

Who: jack
Comedy: town vs country
Significance: town is fantasy and country is an escape, trivial nature of Victorian high society

Question 9

“It produces a false impression”

Answer 9

Who: jack
Comedy: dramatic irony, disguises, trickery

Question 10

What’s the significance of bunburying

Answer 10

An escape from town

Question 11

“If it wasn’t for bunburys extraordinary bad health… I wouldn’t be able to dine with you tonight”

Answer 11

Who: algernon
Comedy: disguises, trickery, town vs country

Question 12

“It is high time that mr bunbury made up his mind whether he was going to live or to die”

Answer 12

Who: lady Bracknell
Comedy: mockery, subversion, cruelty

Question 13

“The moment algernon first mentioned to me that he had a friend called earnest I knew I was destined to love you”

Answer 13

Who: Gwendoline
Comedy: dramatic irony, dual identity, farce

Question 14

“An engagement should come on a young girl as a surprise”

Answer 14

Who: lady Bracknell
Comedy: marriage, gender, stereotypes

Question 15

“To lose one parent mr Worthing may be regarded as misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness”

Answer 15

Who: lady Bracknell
Comedy: cruelty

Question 16

“All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy”

Answer 16

Who: algernon
Comedy: gender, mockery

Question 17

“I wish to goodness we had a few fools left” “we have” “what do they talk about” “about the clever people”

Answer 17

Who: algernon and jack
Comedy: mockery

Question 18

“I am in love with cecily”

Answer 18

Who: algernon (Ernest)
Comedy: marriage, comedy of manners, farce

Question 19

“Why we have been engaged for the last three months”

Answer 19

Who: cecily
Aspects of comedy: marriage, farce

Question 20

“It’s always been a girlish dream of mine to love someone who’s name was earnest”

Answer 20

Who: cecily
Aspects of comedy: marriage, farce, dramatic irony

Question 21

“In matters of grave importance, style not sincerity is a vital thing”

Answer 21

Who: Gwendoline
Comedy: triviality, comedy of manners, marriage

Question 22

“What did he die of” “oh he was quite exploded”

Answer 22

Who: lady Bracknell and algernon
Comedy: jokes

Question 23

“He has nothing but he looks everything”

Answer 23

Who: lady Bracknell
Comedy: mockery, cruelty, farce

Question 24

“Would you kindly inform me of who I am”

Answer 24

Who: jack
Comedy: mistaken identity

Question 25

“I’ve not realised for the first time in my life the vital importance of being earnest”

Answer 25

Who: jack
Significance: honesty revealed the truth of identity, comic resolution