EXTEND – The double engagement #647821 - Prove ed esercizi Zanichelli

STEP 2 Understanding key dynamics

Read the statements and choose the correct alternative to complete the sentences.

1 Gwendolen feels reassured because she ________.
2 The references to the diaries are ironic because ________.
3 Cecily believes that Ernest proposed to her after Gwendolen because ________.
4 Gwendolen and Cecily maintain a polite tone because they ________.

Extend

Completamento chiuso

STEP 1 Skim for gist and find out more about fact versus fiction

Read the statements and decide if they refer to Cecily, Gwendolen, or both.

1 She is Jack's ward. ________
2 She is to be married to a man called Ernest. ________
3 Her wedding is to be chronicled in a newspaper. ________
4 She got engaged to Ernest before the other woman. ________

Extend

Completamento chiuso

STEP 5 Think further and prepare for your test: a dandy's world

Read the text which explains how Wilde managed to write a play about a dandy. Decide if the statements are true or false. Then look at the prompts and write some extra reflections in your exercise book. You can use the final text as revision material for your test.

PROMPTS:
- Refer to the box 'Culture spot' in the section 'Aestheticism' in your textbook to explain how Jack and Algernon are dandies.
- Refer to the boxes 'Characters' and 'Style' in 'All about The Importance of Being Earnest' in your textbook. Explain why Jack and Algernon can live happily in a 'world of idyll' and 'pure play'.
- Refer to STEP 4 and the box 'The institution of marriage' in 'All about The Importance of Being Earnest' in your textbook. Discuss how Wilde has managed to write a play that deals with serious topics in a comical way.

A:

The text suggests that because traditional drama focuses on moral judgment, writing a play about a dandy might be challenging.

B:

The dandy is presented as a dynamic figure whose identity develops through action.

C:

According to the author, Wilde's challenge was to create a play centred on superficiality without making the play itself superficial.

D:

According to the text, the dandy can only fully exist in a world made entirely of his own values and perspective.

E:

The author argues that, in the dandy's ideal world, harmony is achieved because serious and trivial actions are clearly set apart.

Extend

Vero o falso

STEP 4 A shallow social contract

Read the text about the portrayal of marriage in the play and complete it with the words given.

In the play, marriage is portrayed as essentially ________, as Wilde is more interested in exploring the ________ that the institution creates. This is clear in Gwendolen and Cecily's exchange, where ________ takes ________ over an authentic ________ response. Rather than expressing jealousy or distress, both women remain ________, even while claiming to be engaged to the same man. Wilde uses this absurd interaction to highlight how the Victorian era easily reduces something that should be a serious ________ to a surface-level ________.

Extend

Posizionamento

STEP 3 Focus on style

Read the statements and select the ones that correctly describe the stylistic techniques used in the passage.

A:

The polite language makes social rules seem exaggerated and funny.

B:

Wilde uses the repetition of words and phrases to emphasise the characters' confusion.

C:

Cecily and Gwendolen maintain a sarcastic tone throughout the passage.

D:

Gwendolen reading the diary through her lorgnette comically highlights her privileged upbringing.

E:

The reference to Ernest's brother turns the passage into a serious and tense scene.

Extend

Scelta multipla