Literature teacher’s notes
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
Before reading
1 Tell students they are going to read an excerpt from a
play and write on the board The Importance of Being
Earnest. Ask them if they know who wrote the play
(Oscar Wilde) and when (1895). Explain that ‘Ernest’ is
a man’s name, and is pronounced in the same way as
‘Earnest’ in the title. Elicit what ‘earnest’ means, then
ask them what they think the play might be about.
Answer
Earnest means ‘serious, determined and meaning what
you say’.
Students’ own answers.
2 Ask students to read About the author. Ask them if they
know anything else about Oscar Wilde or know any
of his works. Ask students what they think upper-class
Victorian society was like, and what kind of attitudes
people had towards the four aspects.
Suggested answers
a Women were expected to be meek, demure and
modest at all times; men were expected to be
responsible, masculine, brave and have strict morals.
b Marriage was a serious institution that formed the
bedrock of society.
c Upper-class people were generally extremely wealthy
and were expected to use their wealth for noble ends.
d People were expected to lead a good and religious
life with no secrets.
3 Ask students to read About the play, then work in pairs
and answer the questions. Explain that Ernest / Earnest
in the title is a pun: a play on the sound of the words.
Suggested answers
1 It might be important for Jack to pretend to be
Ernest so he can marry Gwendolen. It might also be
important that he is serious and determined.
2 If Jack is serious about marrying Gwendolen, and if he
will be kind to her; about money and property; about
any secrets in his past; about his education and family.
CULTURAL INFORMATION
As well as being a journalist, novelist and essayist, Oscar
Wilde became one of London’s most popular playwrights. He
was also one of the period’s most well-known personalities,
with his flamboyant style of dress and his involvement
with the aesthetic movement. This movement believed in
the importance of beauty and art over practical or moral
considerations. The Importance of Being Earnest was an
instant hit on the London stage, using many of the elements
of a typical Victorian melodrama that the audience would
have been familiar with. In these plays, vulnerable women and
orphan children are often the main characters, and secrets
from the past appear as a threat to present harmony and
happiness. Upper-class Victorian society was very conventional
in its ideas. People were expected to uphold strict moral
values and behave in a way considered proper for the time.
The character of Jack can be seen as representing Wilde
himself: a dandy who rejects the conventions of society.
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B2 Units
While reading
1 Before starting, make sure that students understand all
the words and refer them to the Vocabulary focus box.
Ask students to read the excerpt. They then read the
sentences and decide if they are true or false. Ask them
to correct the false sentences.
Answers
1 T  2 T  3 F (she asks whether he makes his income
from land or investments)  4 F (he has a house in the
fashionable part of London and a country house, and
earns money through investments)  5 T  6 T
2 Ask students to read the excerpt again and make notes
about what we learn about the two characters, including
information to support this. Ask them to think about
what Wilde’s view of each character is.
Possible answers
Jack: He is clever (he thinks hard about giving the right
answers to impress Lady Bracknell); he is rich (a country
house, a house in London, land and investments)
Lady Bracknell: She probably has conventional views, as
she is interested in Jack’s money and property. She has
strong opinions. She might have power in her circles, as
she claims to be able to influence fashion.
3 Explain that instead of being a typical Victorian
melodrama, the play is a satire. Check that students
know what satire and satirical mean. Ask students to
read each statement and find a quote showing how
Wilde inverts it. Ask which character says most of the
lines that invert commonly-held ideas.
Answers
(All of the quotes are spoken by Lady Bracknell)
1 ‘…a man who wants to get married should know
everything or nothing.’
2 ‘I approve of ignorance.’
3 ‘I don’t approve of modern education.’
4 ‘Owning land is neither profitable nor pleasurable’
5 ‘I hope you have a house in town. Gwendolen must
have a house in town.’
6 ‘She’s not necessarily respectable even if she is old.’
After reading
1 Ask students to work in pairs and answer the questions.
Answers
Students’ own answers
2 Students work in groups of three. They write a short
scene between the three characters. They should try
to write the scene to maximum humorous effect, using
satire and inversion. Groups can then act out their
scenes in front of the class.
3 Ask students to predict what might happen at the end
of the play. Elicit ideas, then tell them what happens.
Answer
Students’ own answers.
(Jack discovers that he is the long-lost child of Lady
Bracknell’s sister, and he’s actually Algernon’s brother.
As a baby, Jack was named ‘Ernest John’. He admits he
now realises ‘the vital Importance of Being Earnest.’)
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