The Importance of Being Earnest

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Analyze the theme of marriage in the play.

• What does Wilde’s play say about the institution of marriage as it pertains to social status? (topic sentence)
• Identify 3 passages commenting on marriage and discuss these in defense of your topic sentence.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, briefly discuss what the theme of marriage suggests about Social and Familial Obligations or The British Aristocracy and Class Anxiety.

2. Consider Jack’s double identity as Ernest in the context of a play where identity is always shifting.

• How is the alter ego of Ernest a character in its own right? (topic sentence)
• Identify 3 passages that feature information about the alter ego of Ernest and discuss these in relation to identity and character and in support of your topic sentence.