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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 landmark essay did Oscar Wilde publish in 1890?

2. Why was Oscar Wilde arrested?

3. What did Oscar Wilde do in Naples?

4. What is Oscar Wilde's relationship with Major Nelson?

5. What is the name of the play Oscar Wilde wrote upon leaving Reading Gaol?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. How does Lord Alfred Douglas try to help Oscar Wilde while Wilde is in prison?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 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

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?

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