The Importance of Being Earnest
Post-Act Reading Questions
Act I
1. What does Jack reveal to Algernon about his name?
2. Who is Bunbury? What is “bunburying”
3. What questions does Lady Bracknell ask Jack in her inquisition of him? What does she advise
him to do if he wants to marry Gwendolen?
4. At the end of Act I, what are the obstacles Jack must overcome in his pursuit of Gwendolen?
Act II
5. Where does the second act take place? Describe Ms. Prism and Dr. Chasuble.
6. When Jack arrives, what does he say about his brother Ernest? How does this soon lead to
complications?
7. What do Gwendolen and Cecily argue about? How is their argument swiftly and comically
reversed?
8. Who and what is Wilde satirizing in this act?
Act III
9. What does Jack reveal that causes Lady Bracknell to change her mind about the proposed
marriage of Algernon and Cecily?
10. What chance remark leads to the revelation that Jack and Algernon are, indeed, brothers?
11. What weddings do we look forward to at the end of the play?
12. Explain the irony in the play’s title.
13. Explain the pun behind the play’s title.