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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What did Oscar Wilde's lover do to change Wilde's mind before the first trial?
(a) He shed tears.
(b) He offered to give Wilde the help he needed.
(c) He threatened Wilde with scandal.
(d) He blackmailed Wilde.

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

4. How was Oscar Wilde's novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray," received?
(a) It was almost banned for homosexuality.
(b) It was celebrated for its open homosexuality.
(c) It was not noticed until late in Wilde's life.
(d) It was noticed by some literary critics, but it did not sell in large numbers.

5. How did Oscar Wilde set the stage for his own prosecution?
(a) He was seen having sex in public.
(b) He alienated his supporters with cruel wit.
(c) He enraged his lover's father.
(d) He taunted society with openly homosexual writings.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did prison affect Oscar Wilde's health?

2. When did Oscar Wilde return to Paris?

3. How much did Oscar Wilde earn from the production of "Lady Windermere's Fan"?

4. What did Oscar Wilde consider doing before his first trial?

5. Oscar Wilde said that men resemble which celestial body?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Lord Alfred Douglas try to help Oscar Wilde while Wilde is in prison?

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

3. Why does Oscar Wilde refuse to flee from England to Paris?

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

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

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

7. What relationships does Oscar Wilde resume after leaving prison?

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

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

10. How is "The Picture of Dorian Gray" seen as a work about homosexuality?

(see the answer keys)

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