The Importance of Being Earnest

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Analyze the theme of marriage in the play.

• What does Wilde’s play say about the institution of marriage as it pertains to social status? (topic sentence)
• Identify 3 passages commenting on marriage and discuss these in defense of your topic sentence.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, briefly discuss what the theme of marriage suggests about Social and Familial Obligations or The British Aristocracy and Class Anxiety.

2. Consider Jack’s double identity as Ernest in the context of a play where identity is always shifting.

• How is the alter ego of Ernest a character in its own right? (topic sentence)
• Identify 3 passages that feature information about the alter ego of Ernest and discuss these in relation to identity and character and in support of your topic sentence.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, summarize what Jack’s alter ego of Ernest suggests about Alternate Identities.

3. Discuss the role of language and wordplay in the drama.

• Generally, how does Wilde use language as a tool for social satire, humor, and character development? (topic sentence)
• Identify 3 passages illustrating the role of language and wordplay, and analyze the ways in which these examples support the idea offered in the topic sentence.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, evaluate the extent to which language and wordplay are used to support the themes of the play with a briefly explained rationale.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. The characters of Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest have much to say about marriage and love. Consider the representation of gender roles throughout the play. To what extent and in what ways do the male and female characters subvert or conform to the traditional gender norms of the Victorian Era? Cite specific quotations from the text to support your analysis.

2. Consider the title of the play and its significance to the plot, especially in connection with the last line of Act 3. What does the concept of “earnestness” mean in the play? Consider this concept in relation to the theme of Alternate Identities and the use of the name “Ernest” by Jack and Algernon throughout the play. Cite specific quotations from the text to support your analysis.

3. One of the central motifs of Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is “Bunburying.” Consider Bunburying in the context of the broader themes of Alternate Identities, Social and Familial Obligations, and The British Aristocracy and Class Anxiety. In a structured essay, discuss how Wilde uses the motif of “Bunburying” to develop one theme. Cite specific quotations from the text to support your analysis.