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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 does Oscar Wilde encourage Lillie Langtry to do?

2. Which feat did Oscar Wilde claim to be capable of?

3. What is the setting of Oscar Wilde's first play?

4. How does Oscar Wilde return to England from America?

5. How does Oscar Wilde resolve the opposition between Ruskin and Pater?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Did Oscar Wilde's feelings about outdoor sports change any when he went to Oxford?

4. Where does Oscar Wilde try to find work after graduating from Oxford?

5. Why was Oscar Wilde's first play never produced?

6. Where does Oscar Wilde move after graduating from Oxford?

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

8. What was Oscar Wilde's primary challenge in his fourth year at Oxford, and how did he meet it?

9. Which intellectuals became important to Oscar Wilde while he was at Oxford? What were their ideas?

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

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

More than one of Oscar Wilde's plays was not produced on the stage. What effect do these failures have on his career? How does he compensate for failing to produce the plays? What does he learn from the experiences? Does he benefit in any way from the plays not being produced?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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