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

2. How was Oscar Wilde released from prison for the first time?

3. What play was Oscar Wilde writing in 1894?

4. When was Oscar Wilde first released from prison?

5. What did Oscar Wilde do in Naples?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Oscar Wilde's aesthetics develop during his time in Paris in 1891?

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

3. How did the English see the crime of sodomy?

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

5. How is "Lady Windermere's Fan" received when it premieres in London?

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

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

8. What happens to Oscar Wilde when he goes to prison?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Oscar Wilde came into prominence as a friend and opponent of James McNeill Whistler. Describe how Oscar Wilde used controversy and debate and personal invective to his own purposes. What does Wilde gain from his contests, with Whistler and other critics, and then with the Marquis of Queensberry--as a person? What does he gain as a public personality?

Essay Topic 3

Oscar Wilde was always extravagant with his money. How does his extravagance fit with his brief, epigrammatic literary style? Is there an aesthetic that unites these two aspects of his personality, or are they simply different sides of the writer's life?

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