Category 1 – Tone & Genre
What emotion does Marlowe’s tragic tone aim to evoke?
Fear and pity (catharsis).
What sin leads to Faustus’s downfall?
Pride / hubris.
When was Doctor Faustus written?
Late 1500s (Elizabethan era).
“To lose one parent…” — what device is used?
Epigram / paradox / irony.
Define “Comedy of Manners.”
A play satirising upper-class manners and social norms.
What kind of tone dominates Wilde’s play?
Witty, ironic, mocking.
What social institution does Wilde mock most?
Marriage
When was The Importance of Being Earnest first performed?
1895 (Victorian era).
“Ugly hell, gape not!” — what tone?
Desperate, fearful, tragic.
Define “Tragedy.”
A drama showing the downfall of a protagonist due to a fatal flaw.
Which line best captures Faustus’s desperation?
“O God, if thou wilt not have mercy on my soul…”
How is religion portrayed differently in each play?
Central in Faustus, peripheral or parodied in Earnest.
What cultural anxieties shaped Wilde’s comedy?
Class rigidity, gender roles, appearance vs reality.
Which quote from Earnest shows Wilde mocking society?
What exam skill does this activity prepare you for?
Paper 2 Comparative Literary Analysis.
Why does Wilde’s humour make his critique more effective?
It entertains while exposing hypocrisy.
What does Wilde suggest about morality through humour?
Morality is often superficial or performative.
How did Marlowe’s context influence his moral message?
Christian humanism—warning against blasphemy and ambition.
“Divorces are made in Heaven” inverts which saying?
“Marriages are made in Heaven.”
What does Wilde mean by “The truth is rarely pure and never simple”?
Truth is subjective; people hide behind appearances.
Compare the final tones: How do endings differ in emotional impact?
Faustus ends in despair; Earnest ends in reconciliation and laughter.
Which character in either play most embodies hypocrisy?
Lady Bracknell (Earnest) or Faustus himself.
How did Wilde’s identity as an outsider influence his satire?
His queerness and Irishness gave him ironic distance from English morality.
What do both Faustus and Algernon crave?
Experience, pleasure, and control over their own desires.
How can both plays be seen as critiques of human ambition?
Faustus condemns overreaching for power; Earnest mocks overreaching for status and love.*