What could the title Earnest suggest about the play's themes?

• A. It's important to be sincere.
• B. It centers on a character named Earnest.
• C. It is set in Earnest, a city.
• D. It explores marriage rituals.

Answer: (A)

The main idea being tested is how the title signals a focus on sincerity and how that idea runs through the play. Wilde uses a clever wordplay around being earnest: on one level, the word means serious and truthful, and on another, the name Ernest (a form of Earnest) sounds the same. The plot plays with characters pretending to be someone they’re not—Jack and Algernon both adopt the name Ernest to win love—so the question becomes: what does it mean to be truly earnest, and does that honesty hold up under social expectations?

So the best answer captures that the title points to valuing sincerity as a virtue, while also inviting irony—people may claim to be earnest, yet their behavior often contradicts that claim. The other options miss the core idea: the play isn’t about a real character named Earnest, nor is it set in a city called Earnest, and while marriage is a broad theme, the title’s signal about sincerity is the stronger tie to the play’s themes.