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96 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
1 court (verb) |
to try to win the favor, preference, or goodwill of |
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2 courting
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"...he spent a surprisingly large part of his life _____ publicity, and holding public court." |
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3 Nihilism |
1. an extreme form of skepticism: the denial of all real existence or the possibility of an objective basis for truth. |
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4 Nihilists |
Wilde had written two previous plays: Vera, or the _____, published in 1880 and produced in New York in August 1883... |
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5 symbiosis |
the living together of two dissimilar organisms; a relationship between two people in which each person is dependent upon and receives reinforcement, whether beneficial or detrimental, from the other. |
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6 symbiotic |
The theatre presented him with unusual opportunities to exploit his gifts, and for an especially immediate and _____ interaction with his audience. |
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7 lucrative
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profitable; moneymaking; remunerative |
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8 lucrative |
It also offered a ______ source of income. |
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9 flippant |
frivolously disrespectful, shallow, or lacking inseriousness; characterized by levity |
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10 flippant |
It is a play, transparently, of modern life, with a non-conforming woman in the central role and a _____ mouthpiece for Wilde's epigrams, |
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11 epigram |
any witty, ingenious, or pointed saying tersely expressed |
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12 epigrams |
It is a play, transparently, of modern life, with a non-conforming woman in the central role and a flippant mouthpiece for Wilde's ______, |
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13 engross |
to occupy completely, as the mind or attention; absorb |
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14 engrossed |
"Ah, here is Oscar unlike himself!"--though in reality I became _____ in writing it, and it contains a great deal of the real Oscar. |
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15 pastiche |
a literary, musical, or artistic piece consisting wholly or chiefly of motifs or techniques borrowed from one or more sources |
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16 pastiche |
The Duchess of Padua reads as _____, a revenge verse-drama with echoes of Shakespeare,Webster, and Shelley’s The Cenci. |
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17 contrive |
to plan with ingenuity; devise; invent |
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18 contrived |
"Wilde _____ to appear a little insouciant towards his comedies..." |
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19 insouciant |
free from concern, worry, or anxiety; carefree; nonchalant |
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20 insouciant |
"Wilde contrived to appear a little _____ towards his comedies..." |
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21 disparage |
to speak of or treat slightingly; depreciate; belittle |
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22 disparagingly |
"André Gide, who once wrote _____ of the plays, later revised his judgement..." |
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23 shrewd |
astute or sharp in practical matters |
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24 shrewdly |
_____,Wilde insisted on a percentage and earned £7,000 from it in the first year.
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25 frenetic
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frantic; frenzied |
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26 frenetic |
The year 1894 was a productive, if _____, one for Wilde |
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27 lucrative |
profitable; moneymaking; remunerative |
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28 lucrative |
"...the need to create a ______ new property sharpened." |
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29 propriety
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conformity to established standards of good orproper behavior or manners |
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30 propriety |
The only name which survived into the final version is Miss Prism, dragon of _____ with designs on her employer. |
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31 succumb |
to give way to superior force; yield |
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32 succumbing |
"...while Douglas, installed at one point in the Grand Hotel at Brighton and _______ to flu, seems a demonic echo of the invalid Bunbury." |
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33 clandestine |
characterized by, done in, or executed withsecrecy or concealment, especially for purposesof subversion or deception; private or surreptitious |
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34 clandestine |
"Wilde, holed up for the summer at 5, The Esplanade, Worthing, practically penniless and with a _____ lover in tow..." |
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35 transcend |
to rise above or go beyond; overpass; exceed |
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36 transcended |
"Whatever the play's derivation, Wilde created something which _____ the genre of farce..." |
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37 disconcert |
to disturb the self-possession of; perturb; ruffle |
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38 disconcerting |
Wilde was "delighting his contemporary audience though _____ some of his admirers, most notably Shaw, who found it 'heartless'." |
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39 idyll |
a simple descriptive or narrative piece in verse orprose |
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40 idyll |
"Mary McCarthy would go further: she thought the play, though extremely funny, a 'ferocious _____': 'depravity is the hero and the only character'." |
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41 trivial |
of very little importance or value; insignificant |
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42 trivial |
The play is neither superficial, nor _____, but purely surface, purely play. |
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43 matriarch |
the female head of a family or tribal line |
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44 matriarch |
Appearance, style, fiction are treated as essence, not just by the wits and dandies, but by the butler, the 'serious' guardian, the ______, the ingénue, and, finally, by the governess and the clergyman. |
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45 ingenue |
the part of an artless, innocent, unworldly girl or young woman, especially as represented on the stage |
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46 ingenue |
"Appearance, style, fiction are treated as essence, not just by the wits and dandies, but by the butler, the 'serious' guardian, the matriarch, the _____ and, finally, by the governess and the clergyman." |
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47 aesthetic |
having a sense of the beautiful; characterized bya love of beauty |
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48 aesthetic |
Everything must be arranged into an _____ pattern..." |
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49 egotist |
a conceited, boastful person |
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50 egotists |
'...which satisfies the _____ who inhabit the story and who are endowed with the disarming innocence and ruthless tunnel-vision of children." |
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51 dubious |
doubtful; marked by or occasioning doubt |
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52 dubious |
"To confuse the issue, the events do not take place in some fanciful construction such as Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland or Samuel Butler's Erewhon, or in the ______ hotel or seaside boarding-house of popular farce..." |
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53 subjugate |
to bring under complete control or subjection;conquer; master |
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54 subjugating |
"Here he succeeds in _____ plot to dialogue so conclusively that one feels literally anything could happen without affecting his characters' aplomb." |
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55 aplomb |
imperturbable self-possession, poise, or assurance |
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56 aplomb |
"Here he succeeds in subjugating plot to dialogue so conclusively that one feels literally anything could happen without affecting his characters' ______ ." |
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57 integral |
of, pertaining to, or belonging as a part of the whole; constituent or component |
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58 integral |
The contrast between style and subject is The contrast between style and subject is _____. |
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59 dénouement |
the final resolution of the intricacies of a plot, asof a drama or novel |
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60 dénouement |
"The play achieves its power to disconcert by deploying traditional patterns, such as the _____" |
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61 innuendo |
an indirect intimation (hint) about a person or thing, especially of a disparaging or a derogatory nature. |
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62 innuendo |
"there is a lot more provocative sexual _____ than most critics have been willing to observe in Earnest." |
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63 artifice |
a clever trick or stratagem; a cunning, crafty device or expedient; wile |
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64 artifice |
"In this world of _______, each individual is autonomous, and separate..." |
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65 autonomous |
self-governing; independent; subject to its own laws only |
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66 autonomous |
"In this world of artifice, each individual is _____, and separate..." |
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67 deprave |
to make morally bad or evil; vitiate; corrupt |
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68 depravity |
"Mary McCarthy would go further: she thought the play, though extremely funny, a 'ferocious idyll': '______ is the hero and the only character'." |
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69 celibacy |
abstention from sexual relations |
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70 celibacy |
"the ceremonies of social life are stylishly exploded, just like Bunbury: death, birth, engagement, marriage, _____, fidelity, receive the same treatment. |
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71 melodrama
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a dramatic form that does not observe the laws of cause and effect and that exaggerates emotion and emphasizes plot or action at the expense of characterization |
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72 melodramatic |
"...Vera, a _____ treatment of Nihilism set in contemporary Russia, was actually put into rehearsal in London in November 1881..." |
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73 adverse |
unfavorable or antagonistic in purpose or effect |
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74 adverse |
Apart from The Importance of Being Earnest, these plays have consistently been subjected to _____ criticism as successful works of art, even where their value as entertainment, as vehicles for Wilde's wit, has been recognized. |
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75 christening |
baptism |
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76 christening |
Bertram became Geoffrey, and Ernest and the _____ motif appear. |
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77 fidelity |
faithfulness, loyalty, strict observance of promises, duties |
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78 fidelity |
"...the ceremonies of social life are stylishly exploded, just like Bunbury: death, birth, engagement, marriage, celibacy, _____ receive the same treatment." |
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79 ostensibly |
apparently |
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80 ostensibly |
"Vera, a melodramatic treatment of Nihilism set in contemporary Russia, was actually put into rehearsal in London in November 1881, but withdrawn, _____ because of political considerations." |
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81 obtuse |
not quick or alert in perception, feeling, or intellect; not sensitive or observant; dull |
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82 obtuse |
"...they continue to appeal to late twentieth-century audiences in spite of the largely ______ commentaries of generations of theatre critics."
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83 tableau |
a picture, as of a scene |
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84 tableau |
"...the closing _____ of The Importance of Being Earnest provides it with a superbly trivialized image."
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85 exponent
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a person or thing that expounds, explains, or interprets |
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86 exponent |
"It is entirely natural that Wilde, a supreme _____ of conversation and experimenter with masks, should explore the medium of the theatre." |
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87 dandy |
a man who is excessively concerned about hisclothes and appearance; a fop |
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88 dandy |
"...Prince Paul, who anticipates the _____ of the later comedies." |
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89 invert |
to turn upside down |
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90 inversion |
"He achieves the total suspension of belief, creating a polished mirror into which his contemporary audience could gaze and see, if they chose, a disconcerting reflection, or _____ of themselves." |
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91 motif |
a recurring subject, theme, idea, etc., especiallyin a literary, artistic, or musical work |
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92 motif |
Bertram became Geoffrey, and Ernest and the christening _____ appear. |
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95 dragon |
a fierce, violent person; a very watchful and strict woman |
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94 dragon |
The only name which survived into the final version is Miss Prism, _______ of propriety with designs on her employer. |
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95 endow |
to provide with a permanent fund or source of income; to furnish, as with some talent, faculty, or quality; equip |
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96 endow |
who are _____ with the disarming innocence and ruthless tunnel-vision of children. |