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

Short Answer Questions

1. What play was Oscar Wilde writing in 1894?

2. Why was "Salome" not performed?

3. What was Oscar Wilde's clothing like in prison?

4. What magazine published "The Picture of Dorian Gray"?

5. How was Oscar Wilde's novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray," received?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the conditions under which Oscar Wilde was writing "The Importance of Being Earnest."

2. How is "Lady Windermere's Fan" received when it premieres in London?

3. What happens to Oscar Wilde's allowance from his mother after he leaves prison?

4. What was the outcome of Oscar Wilde's lawsuit against his lover's father, Lord Queensberry?

5. How did Lord Alfred Douglas' father feel about his son's relationship with Oscar Wilde?

6. Were Oscar Wilde and his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, faithful to each other?

7. What happened when Oscar Wilde sued his lover's father, Lord Queensberry, for libel?

8. What disturbing incidents does Oscar Wilde witness before leaving prison?

9. Why does it become impossible for Oscar Wilde to write after he writes "The Ballad of Reading Gaol"?

10. How do the people of Paris receive Oscar Wilde in 1891?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe Oscar Wilde's career as a playwright. What kind of plays did he write? What are his plays' themes? Choose three of his plays and describe what they tell us about Wilde's development as a playwright. How do his style and themes change over time?

Essay Topic 2

Oscar Wilde was baptized both as a Protestant and as a Catholic. What do these religions represent to him? Why does he consider converting to Catholicism? What does he hope to gain? What does he expect to free himself from in his Protestant faith? What would conversion have meant to him and to the people around him?

Essay Topic 3

Oscar Wilde was always extravagant with his money. How does his extravagance fit with his brief, epigrammatic literary style? Is there an aesthetic that unites these two aspects of his personality, or are they simply different sides of the writer's life?

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