Quotes

Question 1

‘In married life three is company and two is none’, act 1, Algernon to Jack

Answer 1

• theme of deception- A happy to lie and encourage others to do the same
• considered women to be morally superior
• epigram-comic reversal, A has little respect for victorian morality, marriage and women
• comedy of manners- Wilde’s verbal wit here is characteristic of the comedy of manners

Question 2

‘The truth isn’t the sort of thing one tells to a sweet refined girl’ , act 1, Jack to Algernon

Answer 2

• irony- J is horrified of A’s idea of bunburying but reveals himself to be the same
• stereotypical, insinuating that women need protection
• theme of deception- Jack doesn’t care for truth- not a gentleman and doesnt have morals
• farce- begins complex plot lines which lead to confusion and deception

Question 3

‘You silly boy! Why, we have been engaged for the last three months’, act 2, cecily to algernon

Answer 3

• farce-exaggerated and absurd, as expected of farce
• cecily reveals herself to be a stereotypically hopelessly shallow romantic
• she is unafraid to patronise him, the power appears to be hers here
• ingenue- Cecily doesn’t conform here, she is capable of manipulation

Question 4

‘In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing’ Gwendolen to males, act 3

Answer 4

-aesthetic movement values; they prioritise the appearance of things
- one of most important victorian morals was honesty and here they’re clearly showing this has no importance to the characters
- farce- ridiculous comment

Question 5

Lady Bracknell disagrees with the ‘modern sympathy with invalids’ and tells Lord B that ‘health is the primary duty of life’, act one

Answer 5

• comic reversal; Lord Bracknell’s ill health represents a comic reversal of the typical victorian female invalid and implies his emasculation by his wife, while implying her power
• comedy of manners; a stock character from the comedy of manners is the victorian dowager, an older woman who has and uses her power

Question 6

‘The home seems to me to be the proper sphere for the man’ Gwendolen to Cecily, act 2

Answer 6

• epigrammatic- this seems to be a comic reversal of the phrase ‘the home is the proper sphere for a woman’
• foreshadowed- in act 1, Algy tells Jack that ‘all women become like their mothers’. In act 2, this seems to be coming true as Gwendolen mirrors her mothers views
• the seperate spheres debate was an ongoing debate so Wilde is challenging the idea that women should be in the domestic sphere

Question 7

‘I have dared to love you wildly, passionately, devotedly, hopelessly’ Algernon to Cecily, act 2

Answer 7

• ‘hopelessly’ doesn’t make sense and Cecily calls him out on this.
• algernon’s loss of control over his language shows cecily has the power in this dynamic.
• hyperbolic- charecterisitc of fate

Question 8

Calling Jack a ‘parcel’, horrified that he was found in a ‘hand bag’, Lady Bracknell

Answer 8

• Parody of the typical parents quizzing their daughters boyfriend- LB questions begin by showing concern for Jack’s social appearances rather than his moral character
• comic reversal of what we would expect this conversation to entail
• farce- ludicrous and absurd where he was found
• the foundling child is a staple feature of victorian literature, assumed to be the offspring of an illicit sexual encounter

Question 9

‘Really if the lower orders don’t set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them?’ Algy after speaking to Lane, act 1

Answer 9

• comic reversal- real man of the upper class was supposed to have a strong sense of social responsibility and morality; Algy here admits he has neither
• subversive- subverts and challenges the idea that the upper classes cared about morality

Question 10

‘I didn’t think it polite to listen sir’ Lane to Algy, act 1

Answer 10

• repartee- throughout this exchange, lane shows himself to be capable of quick wit
• ‘sir’ establishes the relationship between the two from the beginning. We know this is a play about class.
• wit- this is lane’s way of saying he isn’t very good

Question 11

‘This is no time to be wearing the shallow mask of manners’ Cecily to Gwendolen, act 2

Answer 11

• irony- cecily says this but continues to wear ‘the mask’
• comedy of manners- they are in the company of merriman so have to uphold their public appearances
• ‘mask’- wilde is pointing out the fakeness and shallowness of upper class

Question 12

‘My name is Ernest in town and Jack in the country’, Jack to Algy, act 1

Answer 12

• comedy of manners- country vs town
• no sense of honesty and morals
• leading a double life; repression in victorian society may lead to this

Question 13

‘Please dont touch the cucumber sandwiches’, ‘(takes one and eats it)’, Algernon, act 1

Answer 13

• paradox- he contradicts himself by eating them
• aestheticism- cucumber sandwiches are substanceless but have style

Question 14

‘But we will not be the first to speak’ ‘Mr Worthing…’ , Gwendolen, act 3

Answer 14

• paradox- another example of upper class contradicting themself
• can’t take any meaning from what they say, trivial

Question 15

‘It is simply a very young girl’s record of her own thoughts and impressions, and consequently meant for publication’ , Cecily, act 2

Answer 15

• about her diary; her way of repressing her private thoughts
• cares about public appearances

Question 16

‘The truth is rarely pure and never simple’ , Algernon

Answer 16

Epigram

Question 17

‘Miss Fairfax, ever since i met you i have admired you more than any girl… I have ever met since… i met you’ Jack declaring his love for Gwendolen

Answer 17

Shows hes nervous

Question 18

‘A high moral tone can hardly be said to conduce very much to either one’s health or one’s happiness’, Jack to Algernon

Answer 18

Explaining reasons for needing a second identity to escape the responsibilities of being Cecily’s guardian

Question 19

‘Ignorance is like an exotic fruit. Touch it and the bloom is gone’ and ‘The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound’

Answer 19

Lady Bracknell

Question 20

‘The good end happily, and the bad unhappily. Thats what fiction means’ , Miss Prism to Cecily

Answer 20

Comic reversal