The Importance of Being Earnest

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What are some plays you have read about or have heard of from the late 19th century or the early 20th century? Consider examples such as George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, and Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. What were the characteristics of the theater during this period?

Teaching Suggestion: Theater in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was characterized by many different trends and movements, with realism or naturalism becoming particularly notable. Playwrights of this period reflected on their world and society and its issues, often using satire, farce, or irony. Understanding these literary movements and literary devices can help students access and think about the text on a deeper level.

• This resource page provides a glossary of many literary elements and devices, including farce, satire, and irony.
• This blog post features a detailed discussion of theater in the 19th century.

2. Oscar Wilde produced The Importance of Being Earnest in 1895, toward the end of the Victorian Era (1837-1901). What was the Victorian Era? What are the characteristics or social and artistic movements you associate with this period?

Teaching Suggestion: The Victorian Era was marked by tremendous political, social, and cultural transformations. The period derives its name from Queen Victoria, who ruled the United Kingdom from 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign spanned the Industrial Revolution and the continued expansion of the British Empire. Literature flourished during the Victorian Era, and many of the best-known British authors—including Charles Dickens, the Brontë sisters, George Eliot, and Oscar Wilde—belong to this period. Discussing the historical background of the Victorian Era (specifically the late Victorian Era) can help students understand the way British society is being depicted in The Importance of Being Earnest.

• This resource page provides a timeline of Queen Victoria’s reign.
• This article from the English Heritage website provides an overview of the Victorian Era.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the play.

What’s in a name? Have you ever wished you had a different name, or have you ever lied about your name? What kind of misunderstandings do you think could arise from changing or lying about your name?

Teaching Suggestion: It can be helpful and fun to look at how names as well as terms of address have shifted since the late 19th century.

Differentiation Suggestion: English language learners or international students might benefit from considering nomenclature practices in their countries or communities, noting similarities and differences with how names are used in the modern West (especially the United Kingdom and the United States) versus how people’s names are used in other parts of the world.