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. Lord Darlington claims be pretends to be bad because if you pretend to be good:

2. The Duchess carefully edits:

3. Because she does not insult Mrs. Erlynne, Lady Windemere considers herself a:

4. Lord Windemere fears he cannot share Lady Erlynne's real identity with his wife because:

5. Mrs. Erlynne wants to be introduced to the women at the party so that:

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Mrs. Erlynne have to say about the fogs of London, and what does she mean?

2. What has Lady Windmere discovered about good and bad people?

3. Why does Mrs. Windemere want a photograph of Lady Windemere?

4. What do all the men assume about Mrs. Erlynne's presence in Darlington's rooms?

5. How is Mrs. Erlynne a "useful" woman, as Lady Plymdale claims?

6. How does Mrs. Erlynne know what Lady Windemere would face if she left her husband?

7. Why does Windemere feel that Lady Windemere will cause the family shame if she insults Mrs. Erlynne publicly?

8. Describe the relationship between Cecil Graham and Lord Augustus.

9. Why does Darlington claim Lady Windemere is not what he thought her to be?

10. Why does Darlington plan to leave England?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you discuss the significance of Lady Erlynne's "explanations" to:

1) the development of her character, 2) her relationship with Augustus, or 3) her relationship with her daughter over the course of the play.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you explore the nature of relationships in Wilde's play. Consider one of the following topics:

1) How do current couples compare in behavior and expectation to the couples in Wilde's play?

OR

2) Have marriage relationships and expectations changed since Wilde's play was first published? Why or Why not?

OR

3) How does the play reflect "present" attitudes about relationships between men and women in general?

Essay Topic 3

Wilde describes the setting of the play as "The Present." Write an essay in which you:

1) Explore Wilde's possible motivations for setting his play in the present, 2) Evaluate which of Wilde's motifs or themes are appropriate to the present as we know it, or 3) Identify a time period more appropriate to Wilde's play. Be sure to support your argument with examples from the text.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 856 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample