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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 60 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Wilde, Oscar
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde. He dropped the Fingal, O'Flahertie and Wills to become simply Oscar Wilde, and was quoted as saying at Oxford, 'Soon I shall discard another and be known simply as 'The Wilde' or 'The Oscar'.'
His mother. Wilde's mother, Jane Francisca Speranza Wilde was, like her son, a celebrated wit.
| While at Oxford, which Professor of Fine Art did Wilde desire to meet, to whom Wilde later wrote: 'The dearest memories of my Oxford days are my walks and talks with you...'? | Oscar Wilde Biographical Quiz
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John Ruskin. Ruskin's aesthetic beliefs and dislike of city grime rubbed off on Wilde, who once commented 'I would give Manchester back to the shepherds and Leeds to the stockfarmers'.
Magdalen. Other famous alumni from Magdalen College are the author C.S. Lewis, Sir Peter Medawar whose pioneering work in tissue transplants led to him winning a Nobel Prize for medicine, and Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, David Souter.
1881. Wilde sailed in December 1881 for the 1882 tour. He was concerned that he did not have a talent for public speaking and was quoted as saying prior to the tour, 'I want a natural style, with a touch of affectation.'.
Constance Lloyd. They had two sons, Cyril and Vyvyan.
Lord Alfred Douglas. The relationship between them was passionate but stormy. Despite the troubles though, it lasted for many years.
Salome. The play was refused a licence on the grounds that it depicted biblical characters on stage.
A lecture given in 1885 by Mr Whistler. The painter Whistler met Wilde many times, although the acquaintance was prickly. The lecture in question made a number of cutting criticisms about aestheticism and was largely held to be aimed at Wilde although his name was never expressly mentioned.
| Which three famous writers did Wilde describe in the following terms: '...'s style was far too cumbrous, and ...'s too exaggarated.'... has influenced only journalism.'? | Oscar Wilde Biographical Quiz
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George Eliot, Charlotte Bronte, Charles Dickens. The criticisms were made in 1888 and 1889.
| What event prompted a newspaper of the day to write: 'The aesthetic cult, in the nasty form, is over' and was described in another as 'a dash of wholesome bigotry'? | Oscar Wilde Biographical Quiz
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Wilde was found guilty of homosexual practices. The quotes were from 'The News of The World' and the 'St James's Gazette' respectively. The trial arose through Wilde's abortive libel action against (the now) Lord Queensberry.
Two years with hard labour. Lord Queensberry, Charles Hawtrey and Charles Brookfield were reputed to have had a celebratory dinner that evening.
| Wilde's last words were reputedly: 'This _________ is terrible - one of us will have to go!' What word falls properly into the blank? | Oscar Wilde Biographical Quiz
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Lord Alfred Douglas. Although Charles Lucas also attended.
Lady Windermere's Fan. The play was published in 1892.
| Which fairy story does this come from: 'It is a ridiculous attachment...she has no money, and far too many relations.'? | Oscar Wilde Quotes
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The Happy Prince. Wilde's short stories, (published in group volumes, this one being 'The Happy Prince and other tales') were written for his two sons.
| Which 1893 work contained this quote: 'Children begin by loving their parents. After a time they judge them. Rarely, if ever, do they forgive them.'? | Oscar Wilde Quotes
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A Woman of No Importance. Lord Illingworth is one of Wilde's most amusing characters. He has the fabulous line: 'To win back my youth Gerald, there is nothing I wouldn't do...except take exercise, get up early, or be a useful member of the community.'
| Which short story gives us this line: 'He had gone to the Stock Exchange for six {months;} but what was a butterfly to do among bulls and bears?'? | Oscar Wilde Quotes
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The Model Millionaire. 'The Model Millionaire' was published with 'Lord Arthur Savile's Crime' in 1912.
| Which play contains this line: 'She wore far too much rouge last night, and not quite enough clothes. That is always a sign of despair in a woman.'? | Oscar Wilde Quotes
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An Ideal Husband. 'An Ideal Husband' was released in cinematic form most recently in 1999 and starred Rupert Everett, Cate Blanchett, Minnie Driver and Jeremy Northam.
| What short story contains the following line: 'Woman are meant to be loved, not understood.'? | Oscar Wilde Quotes
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The Sphinx Without a Secret. This short story was also published with 'Sir Arthur Savile's Crime'.
| This exchange features in one of Wilde's plays...which one: 'Cecily: This is no time for wearing the shallow mask of manners. When I see a spade I call it a spade. Gwendolen: I am glad to say that I have never seen a spade. It is obvious that our social spheres have been widely different.'? | Oscar Wilde Quotes
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The Importance of Being Earnest. 'The Importance of Being Earnest' is widely regarded as Wilde's most accomplished and enduring play.
| Which work gave us the following quote: 'Industry is the root of all ugliness.'? | Oscar Wilde Quotes
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Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young. This work is a list of phrases, first published in 1894 in an Oxford University student magazine.
| Which work contains this line: 'There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.'? | Oscar Wilde Quotes
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The Picture of Dorian Gray. 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' is Wilde's only novel and was published in 1890.
| Which work contains this line: 'I always like the last person who is introduced to {me;} but, as a rule, as soon as I know people I get tired of them.'? | Oscar Wilde Quotes
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Lord Arthur Savile's Crime. The sub-title for this short story is 'A Study of Duty'.
| Which 1895 play contains this line: 'Really, if the lower orders don't set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them? They seem, as a class, to have absolutely no sense of moral responsibility.'? | Oscar Wilde Quotes
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The Importance of Being Earnest. 'The Importance of Being Earnest' closed down at the time of Wilde's trial and imprisonment. It was revived in 1902, without Wilde's name on the program as it was still considered too controversial. His author's credit was only returned in a 1909 production of the play (after Wilde had died).
| Which work contains this rather unedifying description of the English: 'The English public like tediousness, and like things to be explained to them in a tedious way.'? | Oscar Wilde Quotes
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Defence of Dorian Gray. The scandal that arose subsequent to the publication of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' prompted Wilde to write the Defence. The preface to the novel also contained the following statement 'There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written or badly written. That is all.'.
| Which play contains the following line: 'If a woman wants to hold a man, she has merely to appeal to the worst in him.'? | Oscar Wilde Quotes
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Lady Windermere's Fan. The play also contains another of Wilde's most famous lines: 'We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.'.
| Which play contains the following quote: 'What a mistake it is to be sincere!'? | Oscar Wilde Quotes
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Vera, or The Nihilists. Vera was Wilde's first play and was set in Russia during the time of the Tsars. It was withdrawn in England due to official pressure subsequent to the assasination of Tsar Alexander II and although it did show in New York, it closed after a week due to a disastrous box office performance.
| Which country is Wilde discussing in the following quote: 'The country seems to try to bully one into a belief in its power by its impressive bigness.'? | Oscar Wilde Quotes
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United States of America. The quote is taken from 'Impressions of America'.
| Which work contains the following line: 'The only way a woman can ever reform a man is by boring him so completely that he loses all possible interest in life.'? | Oscar Wilde Quotes
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The Picture of Dorian Gray. Another famous quote from the book is as follows: 'I choose my friends for their good characters, and my enemies for their good intellects. A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies.'.
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