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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What group did Oscar Wilde join in 1875?

2. What does Oscar Wilde's mother change her name to?

3. What is Oscar Wilde's father's name?

4. What is the name of Oscar Wilde's column in Women's World Magazine?

5. What does Ellman give as a possible reason for Wilde's dislike for sports?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Oscar Wilde's contact with Catholicism at Oxford.

2. How are Oscar Wilde's lectures received in America?

3. Why was Oscar Wilde's personality so well-suited to be parodied in the theatre?

4. Describe the history and premier of Oscar Wilde's play "Vera."

5. What was Oscar Wilde's relationship with Robert Harborough Sherard?

6. Describe Oscar Wilde's relationship with his mother.

7. How did Oscar Wilde feel about his studies at Oxford?

8. Describe Oscar Wilde's meeting with Walt Whitman.

9. What factors made Oscar Wilde's lecturing tour in America a success?

10. Describe Oscar Wilde's relationship with Rennell Rodd.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Oscar Wilde stated that the work of art requires the destruction of previous works of art. How did he practice this theory in his own art? Can his public persona be considered the work of art that destroyed his plays and poems and his novel?

Essay Topic 2

Describe Oscar Wilde as a lecturer. What were his themes? What was his style? Where did he derive his authority from? What drew crowds to hear him speak? How did Wilde generate the 'buzz' that brought audiences? How was he received? Were audiences coming to see a public personality or to hear Wilde's thoughts on aesthetics and art?

Essay Topic 3

At Oxford, Oscar Wilde encountered two philosophers, Ruskin and Pater. How did Ruskin's ideas influence Wilde? How did Pater's? How did Wilde reconcile the tension between the two men's philosophies with his career?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 711 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample