The Importance of Being Earnest Topics for Discussion & Projects | BookRags.com

The Importance of Being Earnest Topics for Further Study

Wilde's play revolves around the necessity of telling lies in order to keep polite society polite. Is such dishonesty really necessary? What would the world be like if everyone were absolutely honest? What would happen to you if you were honest for one week?

Many psychologists, sociologists, and literary scholars consider Oscar Wilde's trial as the moment which marks the birth of the modern homosexual identity. Read an account of Wilde's trial or his novel The Portrait of Dorian Gray and consider the social and aesthetic issues which surround sexual identity.

In many ways, Wilde's play is a send up of gender roles and a travesty of romantic idealism. Are love and marriage really as simple—or complicated—as they seem in Earnest? How should men and women behave toward each other? What do people really want in relationships? What makes for a successful or unsuccessful marriage?

In Earnest,...
(read more)