View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What request does Mrs. Cheveley make of Sir Robert concerning the report he is to give to the House of Commons?

2. In Act 1, Part 1, what is needed at the embassy to prevent the ambassador from being recalled?

3. In Act 2, Part 1, what does Goring tell Sir Robert he should have done with Lady Chiltern?

4. What is Sir Robert's initial response to Mrs. Cheveley's request concerning his speech?

5. According to Lady Chiltern in Act 1, Part 3, what is Sir Robert not a man to do?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Sir Robert say it was so important to him to achieve success when he was young?

2. What does Goring say is the purpose of visiting someone?

3. Why is Mabel angry with Goring in Act 4, Part 1?

4. How does Sir Robert initially react to the Prime Minister's offer of a seat in the cabinet?

5. How has Sir Robert eased his conscience over the years since selling the cabinet secret?

6. Why does Sir Robert want to stay five more minutes at Goring's house in Act 3, Part 1?

7. What does Goring tell Lady Chiltern will happen if she allows Sir Robert to sacrifice his career?

8. According to Sir Robert, why is the Suez Canal different from the Argentine Canal?

9. Why does Sir Robert think it so unfair that the scandal revealed in his letter to Baron Arnheim should surface now?

10. How does Mrs. Cheveley plan to use the letter Sir Robert wrote to Baron Arnheim regarding the Argentine Canal?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The central conflict in this play is not between Mrs. Cheveley and Sir Robert or Goring. Identify the central conflict of the play and how Wilde illustrates it in the play. What is the conflict? At what point in the play does Wilde make the conflict clear? How is it brought out and how is it finally resolved?

Essay Topic 2

What purpose does the character of Caversham serve? What comment does Wilde use him to make? Provide examples from the play.

Essay Topic 3

How does Wilde use foreshadowing in An Ideal Husband? Name some instances of foreshadowing and what events or elements of the play they foreshadow. What purpose does Wilde's use of foreshadowing serve?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 731 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample