Where does Act II take place, and how does the setting contribute to the act’s tone of leisure and artificial gentility?

Who is Cecily and why has she been so intrigued by “Ernest” before even meeting him?

What ridiculous coincidence propels the farce when Algernon arrives at the country house?

How does Wilde parody Victorian courtship rituals in Cecily and Algernon’s first encounter?

When Gwendolen and Cecily meet, their conversation turns from politeness to veiled hostility. What triggers the tension between them?

What item of food becomes a symbol of suppressed aggression and trivial priorities in the argument between Algernon and Jack?

Which of the following best shows Wilde’s use of bathos—the descent from the serious to the absurd—in this act?

How does Wilde mock the Victorian ideal of “earnestness” through Jack’s behavior in Act II?

What comic behavior exemplifies how Wilde turns insults into refined manners?

What does Act II as a whole satirize most directly?