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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. Who is Lord Alfred Douglas?

2. Who is Colonel Isaacson?

3. How did Oscar Wilde come across at his first trial?

4. What did Oscar Wilde discover that his lover was trying to do to him?

5. What did Oscar Wilde do in Naples?

Short Essay Questions

1. Were Oscar Wilde and his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, faithful to each other?

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

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

4. Why was Oscar Wilde's play "Salome" censored?

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

6. What was the outcome of Oscar Wilde's lawsuit against his lover's father, Lord Queensberry?

7. What is the plot of Oscar Wilde's novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray"?

8. Where does Oscar Wilde go after he is released from prison?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Oscar Wilde developed an epigrammatic style at Oxford. What is the form and function of an epigram? How does the epigram suit Wilde's style and social role? How does Wilde use epigrams, and how does his epigrammatic wit benefit him? What other styles does he use in addition to the epigram? What purpose do his other styles serve?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Oscar Wilde spent a considerable amount of time in Paris. Describe how he was treated differently in Paris than in England. Where was he most at home? Where were his ideas most accepted? How were England and France different for Wilde? What could he do in France that he could not do in England?

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