In what two settings does the play mainly unfold?

• A. A garden cottage and a quiet library.
• B. The London drawing-room of Algernon and the country estate of Jack Worthing.
• C. A seaside resort and a bustling market.
• D. A rural church and a park.

Answer: (B)

Two settings anchor the action: Algernon’s drawing-room in London and Jack Worthing’s country estate in Hertfordshire. Wilde uses the city drawing-room, with its sharp wit, social flirtation, and clever deceptions about identity, to drive much of the humor and satire. The country estate provides the opposite pace and stakes, where appearances, propriety, and earnestness collide with romance and deception. The back-and-forth between these two spaces highlights the contrast between urban wit and rural respectability, and the shifts in location propel the misunderstandings, revelations, and eventual resolutions that shape the play.