For Wednesday, April 23

Answer the following questions on your own paper.  Other than ACT III, you may paraphrase most of your examples from the film.

 1.  In Oscar Wilde's time, "earnestness"--sober behavior, a serious turn of mind--was valued as an important character trait.  How does Wilde undermine this value?  Consider when the characters are earnest and when they are not.  How is the pun on earnest and Ernest seen throughout the play, as well as, how Gwendolen's and Cecily's fascination with the name Ernest, further this satirization?
2.  At the very beginning of the ACT I, Algernon states, "I don't play accurately -- anyone can play accurately--but I play with wonderful expression".  How does this comment establish a theme for the play?  In what other ways through the play is Algernon not accurate but expressive?  Are other characters also not accurate but expressive?  Who and How?
3.  How do the scenes of Algernon and Jack jostling over cucumber sandwiches (ACT I) and muffins (ACT II) suggest about their characters and their priorities?  Explain how Wilde uses these props to produce a comic effect.
4.  How does Wilde make The Importance of Being Earnest funny?  Identify what you consider (so far) to be the most humorous part of the play, and explain your choice.  (For this, think about language not the film's additions to Cecily's fantasy diary, etc.)  Now think about the purpose of humor in this play.  Find instances where Wilde uses humor to satirize some of the more ridiculous aspects of society.
important character trait.  how does Wilde undermine this value?  Consider when the characters are earnest and when they are not.  How does the pun on earnest and Ernest seen throughout the play, as well as Gwendolen's and Cecily's fascination with the name Ernest, further this satirization?

Reread the final act of The Importance of Being Earnest.  Then, focusing particularly on the play's conclusion, design a chart in which you label 2 to 3 examples of hyperbole, 2 to 3 examples of understatement, and 2 to 3 examples of irony.  You can substitute a different literary device for any of the three if you would like.

Think about for Wednesday:   

You will rewrite (with a partner) a contemporary version of Act II's scene between Cecily and Gwendolen in which they first meet ((467 - 598).  Consider your setting for this meeting.  Carefully rename your characters.  What might they chat about?  Pay particular attention to your characters' speech patterns.  What do these suggest about your characters' beliefs and values, as well as those of the society they represent?