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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What brought about Oscar Wilde's first trial?
(a) Wilde was sued for his writing's obscenity.
(b) Wilde was sued for sodomy.
(c) Wilde was caught performing a homosexual sex act.
(d) Wilde had sued his lover's father for libel.

2. What did the public think of "Lady Windermere's Fan"?
(a) They did not understand it.
(b) They stopped seeing it after a few weeks.
(c) They hated it.
(d) They loved it.

3. Who is Colonel Isaacson?
(a) Oscar Wilde's lover.
(b) A friend of Oscar Wilde's in London.
(c) Oscar Wilde's barrister.
(d) A strict disciplinarian at Reading jail.

4. What did Oscar Wilde consider doing before his first trial?
(a) Fleeing to Paris.
(b) Renouncing homosexuality.
(c) Withdrawing the charges.
(d) Filing additional charges.

5. How did Oscar Wilde escape from being prosecuted for homosexuality?
(a) He bought his way out of the investigation by paying off influential barristers.
(b) He struck a deal with the lead prosecutor to abstain from homosexual acts.
(c) His lover's parents refused to press charges when they realized that their son would have to be imprisoned as well.
(d) Oscar Wilde broke up with his lover before the authorities could gather any evidence against them.

6. What did Oscar Wilde write about his personal experience in prison?
(a) "The Ballad of Reading Gaol."
(b) He describes his longing for his wife.
(c) Long, detailed letters to his lover.
(d) Nothing.

7. To whom did the Marquis of Queensberry leave a large inheritance?
(a) Lord Alfred Douglas.
(b) Oscar Wilde.
(c) Oscar Wilde's mother.
(d) Robert Ross.

8. How was "A Woman of No Importance" received?
(a) It was panned by the critics, but audiences loved it.
(b) It was a critical success, and it established Wilde's name as a playwright.
(c) It was banned after two performances.
(d) It was not a hit, but it made him 100 pounds a week.

9. What is the plot of "The Picture of Dorian Gray"?
(a) An artist sells his soul to the devil in order to be great in his own times.
(b) An actor dies on stage, but wins eternal fame.
(c) A man lies about his background to marry a wealthy hieress.
(d) A man's painting ages, revealing his conscience to him.

10. What caused Oscar Wilde to stop writing?
(a) He began to lose his memory.
(b) He became ill and did not have the strength to write.
(c) His health declined.
(d) He had headaches that blinded him.

11. What was the cause of Oscar Wilde's death?
(a) Heart troubles from hard labor in prison.
(b) A fight over his honor.
(c) Infections from syphilis.
(d) Old age.

12. Who brings Oscar Wilde out of his artistic doldrums after he is released from Reading jail?
(a) His mother.
(b) Major Nelson.
(c) The Marquis of Queensberry.
(d) Douglas.

13. What was Oscar Wilde's daily routine in prison?
(a) Solitary confinement and starvation rations.
(b) Hard work with meager rations.
(c) Long talks with fellow prisoners.
(d) Long days writing.

14. Who is the central character in Oscar Wilde's play "Salome"?
(a) Herod.
(b) John the Baptist.
(c) Christ.
(d) Salome.

15. What was the subject of much of Oscar Wilde's correspondence in the period when he was writing the Ballad of Reading Gaol?
(a) His reunion with his lover.
(b) Executing his wife's parents' estate.
(c) The fate of his illegitimate children.
(d) His finances.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the possible maximum sentence for the crime Oscar Wilde was arrested for?

2. How did prison affect Oscar Wilde's view of human nature?

3. Where does Oscar Wilde go after his first trial?

4. How did Lord Alfred Douglas remain part of Oscar Wilde's life?

5. How did Oscar Wilde protect himself from the cruelty of those around him?

(see the answer keys)

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