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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 was Oscar Wilde's primary challenge in his fourth year at Oxford?

2. Where did Oscar Wilde spend his term while he was waiting to return to school in October 1877?

3. What did Oscar Wilde say the secret of life was at the end of his first American lecture?

4. How does Oscar Wilde achieve fame?

5. Why does Oscar Wilde go to Paris?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How was Oscar Wilde baptized?

3. Describe Oscar Wilde's marriage to Constance Lloyd.

4. What was the outcome of Oscar Wilde's trip to America?

5. What does Oscar Wilde do for work after he gives up lecturing?

6. What did Oscar Wilde regret when his father died?

7. How was Oscar Wilde exposed to homosexuality?

8. What is memorable about Oscar Wilde's stop in Leadville, Colorado?

9. What was Oscar Wilde like as a young boy?

10. With whom does Oscar Wilde visit Rome in 1875?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

From 1887 to 1889, Oscar Wilde edited magazines. How did his editorial work change his literary style? Did it affect his plays? His poems? His aesthetic theories? His public personality? Did his work as a magazine editor help or hurt his development as a literary writer and critic?

Essay Topic 2

Describe Oscar Wilde's career as a playwright. What kind of plays did he write? What are his plays' themes? Choose three of his plays and describe what they tell us about Wilde's development as a playwright. How do his style and themes change over time?

Essay Topic 3

Did dying change anything about Oscar Wilde? Did he look at his life with regrets? Did he look back with pride on his work and his actions? Was he proud of his legacy?

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