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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where does Lady Bracknell send Gwendolyn while she questions Jack?

2. How old is Jack?

3. According to Algernon, what is the essence of romance?

4. Which of these is not a description of the handbag in which Jack was found?

5. Who is Cecily's governess?

Short Essay Questions

1. What orders does Algernon give Lane at the end of the First Act?

2. How does Jack Worthing's cigarette case betray his identity to Algernon?

3. Who is Bunbury?

4. What is Jack Worthing's business in London?

5. What clandestine declaration does Gwendolen make to Jack before she leaves?

6. What does Gwendolen love so much about the name Ernest?

7. Why doe Jack go by the name of Ernest in London?

8. Why does Jack intend to "kill" Ernest?

9. What is Algernon's stated opinion of love and marriage in Act I?

10. Why are there no cucumber sandwiches at the Algernon's when Lady Bracknell arrives?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose one of the following to write about:

1.) What do you think is Oscar Wilde's opinion of the English upper class? Do you consider his portraits of landed English gentry is loving or caustic? Cite examples from the text.

2.) Compare, in three paragraphs, three servant characters and three aristocrats in the play. Which are the more clever and worldly? How much do the upper class characters rely on the servants?

3.) Do you think there is greater personal freedom in being part of the servant class in the Victorian era or being in the Upper class. Cite examples from the text and historical background to justify your stance.

Essay Topic 2

The play begins in London and take place largely in a manor house in Woolton. The conflict between town and country is a central component of Oscar WIlde's play:

Part 1.) Where do Jack and Algernon, separately, prefer to relax? How does their preference result int he creation of elaborate deceptions?

Part 2.) How do Cecily and Gwendolen's view of the city and country differ from Jack's and Algernon's? Are their opinions more or less ambiguous?

Part 3.) Write an overview of the relative merits and drawbacks of town and country according to the characters of the play. Be sure to cite which character said these things.

Essay Topic 3

Write about Lady Bracknell as the driving force in the play. Cite three examples of moments where she is the sole arbiter of the another character's fate. How is the climax a result of her machinations?

(see the answer keys)

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