Wow! What a clever
question!
This question could be open to a discussion post
given that the play is loaded with epigrams and puns, all geared to kind of laugh at
being sincere, or having a virtuous life of honesty.
This
being said, we would have to look into Algernon's lines, particularly in Act I, when he
describes the need for leading a double life or, as he calls it, "Bunburying". This is a
good act in which you can look for puns as well because Ernest discloses his double life
as Jack/Ernest, to Algernon's delight.
Think about the
following:
You have always told me it was Ernest.
I have introduced you to every one as Ernest. You answer to the name of Ernest. You look
as if your name was Ernest. You are the most earnest-looking person I ever saw in my
life.
From that quote alone we could come up
with:
- Looking like an
Ernest.
-A most earnest- looking
man.
Another place in the play where you can find good puns
on honesty can be found between the dialogues between Jack and Lady Bracknell in Act
III, after Prism discloses how she lost the baby she was supposed to care for
(Jack/Ernest). Jack refers to Gwendolen, his fiancee, with the following
quote:
Gwendolen, it is a terrible thing for a man
to find out suddenly that all his life he has been speaking nothing but the truth. Can
you forgive me?
To which she says: "My own
Ernest" over and over throughout.
Hence, we can conclude
that another good title from a pun would be that: My own
Ernest.
Like I said before, there are so many
puns in the play that maybe in a discussion post you may get even more great
answers!
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