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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How was Oscar Wilde released from prison for the first time?
(a) He raised money for bail among his friends.
(b) He escaped with two other prisoners.
(c) He proved his innocence at trial.
(d) He arranged for the charges to be dismissed.

2. What magazine published "The Picture of Dorian Gray"?
(a) Harper's Bazaar.
(b) Pall Mall Gazette.
(c) Women's World.
(d) Lippincott's.

3. How did Oscar Wilde alienate people?
(a) By asking for financial support.
(b) By his vulgar language.
(c) By congratulating himself in public.
(d) By insulting his friends.

4. How secretive was Oscar Wilde about his homosexuality after his children were born?
(a) Not secretive at all.
(b) Highly secretive.
(c) Secretive in public, but open with friends.
(d) He was a hypocrite, denouncing homosexuality in public, but practicing it in private.

5. How did prison affect Oscar Wilde's view of human nature?
(a) He learned that violence is more powerful than wit.
(b) He saw people's limitations as prison-like.
(c) He learned to appreciate acts of cruelty.
(d) He lost his compassion for human suffering.

6. Which of Oscar Wilde's friends tried to discount Wilde's importance?
(a) Robert Harborough Sherard.
(b) Marie Prescott.
(c) James McNeill Whistler.
(d) Rennell Rodd.

7. What landmark essay did Oscar Wilde publish in 1890?
(a) "The Critic as Artist."
(b) "Personal Impressions of America."
(c) "The House Beautiful."
(d) "The Importance of Being Earnest."

8. 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 finances.
(b) The fate of his illegitimate children.
(c) Executing his wife's parents' estate.
(d) His reunion with his lover.

9. What is Oscar Wilde's relationship with Major Nelson?
(a) Nelson was the first publisher to print Wilde's plays.
(b) Nelson was the judge who sentenced Wilde to prison.
(c) Nelson was a warden who came to like Wilde.
(d) Nelson was Wilde's lover.

10. Why was "Salome" not performed?
(a) Bible stories were banned from the stage by British law.
(b) The play was banned for obscenity.
(c) The theatre could not come up with money for a production.
(d) Oscar Wilde had differences of opinion with his director.

11. Where did Oscar Wilde travel after he was released from Reading jail?
(a) America.
(b) Ireland.
(c) France.
(d) Germany.

12. What was Oscar Wilde's state of mind in the months after his release from Reading jail?
(a) He was gleeful in his ability to exact revenge.
(b) He was humbled and grateful to be free.
(c) He was suicidal because of people's poisonous gossip.
(d) He was bored in his uninteresting surroundings.

13. Oscar Wilde said that men resemble which celestial body?
(a) Moons.
(b) Suns.
(c) Stars.
(d) Meteors.

14. Where did Oscar Wilde go for homosexual sex?
(a) Hotels.
(b) The parks in London.
(c) His home.
(d) The quays.

15. 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.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Oscar Wilde write about his personal experience in prison?

2. To whom did the Marquis of Queensberry leave a large inheritance?

3. When did Oscar Wilde publish "Salome"?

4. In which prison was Oscar Wilde first imprisoned?

5. Who is the central character in Oscar Wilde's play "Salome"?

(see the answer keys)

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