The Importance of Being Earnest

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Algernon’s lax views on marriage are best illustrated by which of the following quotations?

A) “The very essence of romance is uncertainty. If I ever get married, I’ll certainly try to forget the fact.” (Act 1)

B) “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” (Act 1)

C) “More than half of modern culture depends on what one shouldn’t read.” (Act 1)

D) “All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That is his.” (Act 1)

2. Why does Lady Bracknell take issue with Thomas Cardew’s adoption of Jack after finding him at a train station?

A) Because she does not like train stations

B) Because she has not heard of Thomas Cardew

C) Because of Jack’s lack of an aristocratic lineage

D) Because she does not believe the story

3. What theme is best illustrated by Gwendolen’s assertion that “I am glad to say that I have never seen a spade. It is obvious that our social spheres have been widely different”? (Act 2)

A) The British Aristocracy and Class Anxiety

B) Wilde’s Personal Life

C) Alternate Identities

D) Social and Familial Obligations

4. What literary device does Lady Bracknell illustrate when she says that “land has ceased to be either a profit or a pleasure.