Oscar Wilde — Questions and answers
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What was the name of Oscar Wilde's play that premiered to huge success on February 14, 1895?
Choices
- A. Lady Windermere's Fan
- B. The Importance of Being Earnest ✓
- C. An Ideal Husband
- D. The Picture of Dorian Gray
Answer: B. The Importance of Being Earnest
From page 1
Where did Oscar Wilde study classical philosophy in the 1870s?
Choices
- A. St. James's Theatre
- B. London University
- C. Trinity College Dublin ✓
- D. American University
Answer: C. Trinity College Dublin
From page 2
What art movement, which focused on beauty, did Oscar Wilde embody when he arrived in London?
Choices
- A. Realism
- B. Impressionism
- C. Aestheticism ✓
- D. Modernism
Answer: C. Aestheticism
From page 3
What did Oscar Wilde do in America that made him an international celebrity?
Choices
- A. He wrote a new play for American theaters.
- B. He went on a long lecture tour. ✓
- C. He opened his own art gallery.
- D. He started a new fashion trend.
Answer: B. He went on a long lecture tour.
From page 4
What was the title of Oscar Wilde's only novel, published in 1890?
Choices
- A. An Ideal Husband
- B. The Importance of Being Earnest
- C. The Picture of Dorian Gray ✓
- D. Lady Windermere's Fan
Answer: C. The Picture of Dorian Gray
From page 5
What was Oscar Wilde's first significant theatrical triumph, a witty social comedy, before Earnest?
Choices
- A. The Picture of Dorian Gray
- B. An Ideal Husband
- C. Lady Windermere's Fan ✓
- D. The Happy Prince
Answer: C. Lady Windermere's Fan
From page 6
What play was Oscar Wilde directing rehearsals for at the Haymarket Theatre in 1895, shortly before Earnest?
Choices
- A. The Importance of Being Earnest
- B. An Ideal Husband ✓
- C. Lady Windermere's Fan
- D. Salome
Answer: B. An Ideal Husband
From page 7
Why did Oscar Wilde decide to take legal action against the Marquess of Queensberry in April 1895?
Choices
- A. Queensberry stole his newest play idea.
- B. Queensberry accused him of something bad. ✓
- C. Queensberry refused to pay for a ticket.
- D. Queensberry wanted to write a book about him.
Answer: B. Queensberry accused him of something bad.
From page 8
What was the consequence for Oscar Wilde after he was found guilty in his trials on May 25, 1895?
Choices
- A. He became a more popular writer.
- B. He was asked to direct a new play.
- C. He was sentenced to two years of hard labor. ✓
- D. He moved to a different country right away.
Answer: C. He was sentenced to two years of hard labor.
From page 9
Even after his personal troubles, what happened to Oscar Wilde's plays and witty words?
Choices
- A. They were completely forgotten.
- B. They are still performed and quoted all over the world. ✓
- C. Only his close friends remembered them.
- D. They were replaced by other writers' works.
Answer: B. They are still performed and quoted all over the world.
From page 10