Prompt
The Importance of Being Earnest is a classic example of satire, with Oscar Wilde using humor to critique Victorian society on a number of topics.
For this TEQ, you will:
Choose ONE of the following topics:
Love and/or Marriage
Manners/ Etiquette
Social Status and/or Wealth
Education and/or Intelligence
Duty and/or Respectability
Identify the criticism Wilde is making about this topic in his society through satire.
Write a well-developed paragraph that discussesWilde’s satirical criticism about your chosen topic and provides two pieces of textual evidence and analysis for support.
How to Make a Copy of a Document so You Can Type on It
Examples:
RUBRIC
If you need extra support, watch this VIDEO on the CEA method of answering a literary analysis paragraph. CEA stands for “Claim, Evidence, Analysis”. That’s the format that we use for writing a literary analysis paragraph.
Topic/TAG Sentence
Write your topic sentence. Include TAG (title, author, genre) and your claim about the criticism Wilde is making about your chosen topic>.
The title of a play needs to be italicized and the main words need to be capitalized.
Genre means type of writing: novel, short story, fable, poem, play, letter, etc.
In Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest, he uses satire to criticize Victorian society’s emphasis on __________.
In his play The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde pokes fun
at Victorian views on ____________, suggesting that _________
Oscar Wilde uses satire in his play The Importance of Being Earnest
to show how Victorian society places too much importance on __________.
Evidence
Include a DIRECT QUOTE from the play to support your topic sentence/claim.
You MUST copy the author’s words exactly as they appear in the selection.
You need to introduce your quote with a lead-in. Provide context for your quote.
The quote must be in quotation marks, and you need to provide a citation in MLA format.
Your MLA citation should include: (Author’s Last Name Page #).
Example: (Smith 36).
If there isn’t a page number, then you may omit it.
Note: The period comes AFTER the citation. If the punctuation mark is a question mark or an exclamation point, it comes INSIDE the quotation marks. You then add a period after the citation.
Template: For example, when… (provide context/ lead-in), ___(character)___ states, (“quote”) (citation).
Example: For example, after Lady Bracknell __________, she mutters, “_________” (Wilde 26).
Analysis
This is where you get to share YOUR ideas about the claim.
Write 1 or 2 well-developed sentences to show HOW the evidence that you chose supports your claim about Wilde’s use of satire to make a point.
This should be in YOUR words and should present YOUR ideas. Do not plagiarize.
Template: This shows/supports how (your claim) because (analysis).
Example: This shows how important ________ is to prominent members of Victorian society, even though _______________, illustrating Wilde’s point that ____________.
Transition
Include a transitional word or phrase to improve the flow of your ideas.
Here is a list of common transitions.
Example: Another example that pokes fun at Victorian society’s _________ is when
Cecile ______________.
Evidence
Include a 2nd DIRECT QUOTE from the text to support your theme statement.
Template: (Lead-in), (“quote”) (citation).
Example: As Cecile confronts Algernon, she says” _______________” (Wilde 17).
Analysis
Write 1 or 2 well-developed sentences to show HOW the evidence that you chose supports your claim.
Template: This shows/supports how (your claim) because (analysis).
Example: This shows Wilde’s ridicule for ________ in Victorian society by ____________.
Concluding Sentence
Add a final sentence that wraps up the main idea of your paragraph.
Template: Clearly, (author) uses satire in (title) to point out (claim).
Example: Clearly,Wilde uses satire in The Importance of Being Earnest to show how Victorian society places too much emphasis on___________, leading to _________ .