Observation

Comment on the attitude of members of the upper class to love and marriage in the play.

A good number of candidates attempted this question. Many of them did not meet the demands of the question, they gave general descriptions without reference to the text.

The required answers should include:

• The play satirizes the members of the upper class as regards their attitude to love and marriage; they adopt attitudes which are clearly absurd.
• Jack invents a sick brother, Ernest to give him an opportunity to indulge in escapades, while Algernon has an imaginary friend Bunbury, who always needs his attention, and provides an opportunity for him to go bunburying.
• Lady Bracknell’s concern with material wealth and pedigree as a criteria for eligibility as is shown in her approach to choosing a wife for her nephew, Algernon.
• Gwendolen and Cecily’s ‘love’ for the name Ernest and not the person bearing it.