The Importance of Being
Earnest Study Guide Questions
Tuesday, April
th
11
• If you are using a cellphone, it will be taken up.
• The assignment is due at the end of the period.
• If you are copying off of another student, you will get a zero.
• Please get out your notes over The Importance of Being Earnest and
get a book.
Act 1, Pages 1-16
1. What kind of relationship do Lane and Algernon have?
2. What is Lane’s view of marriage?
3. Who is coming to tea?
4. What is Algernon’s view of marriage?
5. What is the significance of food in Act 1?
6. Explain the situation of the cigarette case.
7. Who is Cecily?
8. Why does Jack have three names?
9. Explain how Jack is in charge of Cecily.
10. Explain Bunburying.
11. Why doesn’t Algy like to eat dinner with his aunt?
12. Look up the word “invalid” in the dictionary. Which two definitions apply to
Bunbury? Why?
13. What is the only way that Algernon says you can have a happy marriage?
14. What is Algy going to do to help out John?
• Page 17-24
1. What is ironic about Lady Bracknell’s visit to her friend, Lady
Harbury?
2. What really happened to the cucumber sandwiches? What does
Lane say happened to them?
3. How does Lady Bracknell feel about people who are sick?
4. How does Algy get Bracknell out of the room?
5. What does Gwen love most about Jack? What is problematic about
this?
6. What does Jack intend to do to fix this?
7. Why is the conversation about marriage so awkward?
8. Why does Gwen’s brother, Gerald propose so much?
9. What is Lady Bracknell’s opinion of marriage?
10.Why is Bracknell glad that Jack knows nothing?
• Page 25-33
1. What are some of the questions that Bracknell asks Jack?
2. What happened to Jack’s parents?
3. How and where was Jack found?
4. How does Bracknell feel about this?
5. What is ironic about what Algy plays on the piano?
6. What does Jack compare Bracknell to?
7. What does Algy say about relatives? What does he mean by this?
8. How does Algy believe that you should treat women?
9. How is Jack going to get rid of Ernest?
10.How old is Cecily?
11.Why does Gwen come back?
12.What does Algy plan to do?
13.What does Algy say that he loves? Why?
14.Why does Algy smile at his shirtcuff?
Act 2 pg. 37-43
1. How does Cecily feel about schoolwork?
2. How does Cecily feel about Uncle Jack?
3. How does Cecily feel about Ernest?
4. What does Cecily do for fun?
5. What did Miss Prism write? What happened to it?
6. What does Miss Prism say about novels that end happily?
7. How does Chasuble feel about Miss Prism?
8. How does Miss Prism feel about Chasuble?
9. When is Jack coming back to the country?
10. What kind of books is Chasuble reading? What should he be reading?
11. What does that say about religion?
12. When is Algernon leaving the country? Why is he leaving then? (hint: it’s not about
the business meeting)
13. Where do Prism and Chasuble go?
14. Where does Jack want Ernest to go?
15. What does Algernon ask Cecily for?
Act 2 pg. 44-56
1. What does Miss Prism want Chasuble to do?
2. Why is Jack wearing all black?
3. What did Ernest die of? Where?
4. What does Jack want Chasuble to do?
5. What does Miss Prism say is a blessing?
6. Why does Jack “disown” his brother?
7. Whom has Algernon been telling Cecily about? What does that mean?
8. What does Algy say about his “duty as a gentleman”?
9. What does Cecily copy into her diary?
10. Why does Cecily say that they have been engaged for 3 months?
11. Why does Cecily break off the engagement?
12. What does Cecily love most about Algy?
13. What does Algy plan to do?
• Act 2, pg 57-69
1. What is Gwen’s first impression of Cecily?
2. How does Gwen feel about Cecily living there?
3. What news does Cecily reveal to Gwen?
4. What does Gwen say about a spade?
5. What do Cecily do to annoy Gwendolyn?
6. What causes both of the girls to break off the engagements?
7. What is significant about the fact that Gwen tells Cecily to call her “sister”?
8. What “reduces [Jack] to a painful position?”
9. What do Jack and Algy fight about?
10. What is Algy doing through all of this?
11. What are the conflicts left to resolve at the end of the second Act?
• Act 3, pg 73-90
1. How do the girls feel about the boys at the beginning of the act?
2. What makes the girls want to forgive the boys for lying?
3. What makes the girls want to marry the boys again?
4. What did Bunbury die of?
5. What changes Lady Bracknell’s mind about Cecily?
6. Why does Lady Bracknell want them to get married quickly?
7. Why won’t Jack consent to the marriage?
8. When will Cecily “come of age”? Why is this a roadblock to the marriage?
9. When does Jack say that he will consent to the marriage?
10. What is Lady Bracknell worried about when Chasuble bursts in with talk of Christenings?
11. Who does Lady Bracknell want to see?
12. Explain what happened to the baby and the three-volume novel.
13. What does Miss Prism identify?
14. Who does Jack initially think is his mother? Who is really his mother?
15. Who are Jack’s relatives?
16. What is Jack’s father’s name? What is significant about this?
17. List the couples and their real names a the end of the novel.