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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Oscar Wilde linger in America after he completes his lectures?
(a) To pursue his interests in the theatre.
(b) To revise his lectures and write new material.
(c) To visit with one of his mentors who had moved to America.
(d) To stay with a lover.

2. When does Oscar Wilde achieve fame?
(a) 1880.
(b) 1882.
(c) 1878.
(d) 1881.

3. What split does Oscar Wilde's poetry explore?
(a) Between reflective and pragmatic man.
(b) Between man and superman.
(c) Between aesthetic and ethical man.
(d) Between Irish and English man.

4. What belief does Pater lead Oscar Wilde to?
(a) Art can improve society.
(b) Man can govern himself.
(c) Work can set you free.
(d) Art can transcend reality.

5. What did Oscar Wilde say the secret of life was at the end of his first American lecture?
(a) Ethics.
(b) Progress.
(c) Prosperity.
(d) Art.

6. Which intellectual does Oscar Wilde turn to for spiritual guidance?
(a) Arnold.
(b) Ruskin.
(c) Pater.
(d) Mill.

7. What is the name of the man who attacked Oscar Wilde mercilessly during his American lectures?
(a) John Rockefeller.
(b) Archibald Forbes.
(c) Howard Taft.
(d) Walter Pater.

8. What is the outcome of Oscar Wilde's travels and lectures in America?
(a) Oscar Wilde established himself as one of Britain's best artists.
(b) Oscar Wilde's name had become a household word.
(c) Oscar Wilde was embraced by west coast intellectuals.
(d) Americans successfully repudiated Oscar Wilde's aesthetic theories.

9. Which American writer found Oscar Wilde to be contemptuous?
(a) Henry James.
(b) Stephen Crane.
(c) William Dean Howells.
(d) Mark Twain.

10. With whom does Oscar Wilde move in when he goes to Paris?
(a) Archibald Forbes.
(b) Rennell Rodd.
(c) Marie Prescott.
(d) Robert Harborough Sherard.

11. When does Oscar Wilde finish "The Duchess of Padua"?
(a) Just in time to meet his publisher's deadline.
(b) A little bit late for his publisher's deadline.
(c) Well in advance of his publisher's deadline.
(d) Too late for his publisher to print it.

12. What is the name of the journal in which Oscar Wilde published a poem about a boy?
(a) London Times.
(b) Dublin University Magazine.
(c) Kattabos.
(d) Oxford Review.

13. What were the gate receipts for Oscar Wilde's first lecture in America?
(a) $2,571.
(b) $1,211.
(c) $452.
(d) $81.

14. What state are Oscar Wilde and his wife's finances in when they marry?
(a) They were poor because of the bankruptcy of Wilde's wife's father.
(b) They were looking forward to making a fortune in investments.
(c) They were wealthy with a bequest from Wilde's mother.
(d) They were in debt because of Wilde's extravagant expenses.

15. Where did Oscar Wilde spend his term while he was waiting to return to school in October 1877?
(a) Paris.
(b) Frankfurt.
(c) London.
(d) Berlin.

Short Answer Questions

1. When does Oscar Wilde marry?

2. What trend was creating a scandal at Oxford University in 1875?

3. Where is Oscar Wilde invited to lecture?

4. What religion is Oscar Wilde first baptized into?

5. Which intellectual does Oscar Wilde work with on road-building and beautification projects?

(see the answer keys)

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