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The Picture of Dorian Gray
(1891)
Oscar, Oscar, Oscar, Forever is a long time... I get bored at cocktail parties!--Submitted by Tequila Mockingbird.
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Oscar Wilde's perfectly charming and witty manner of expression will enchant you in more ways than one. He is a master storyteller and drifts through the story like a gentle summer breeze through odour filled roses, giving you the feeling that you can literally smell the flower he is describing. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a masterpiece. A beautiful story, based in a beautiful era. The story focuses on an extremely handsome young man, who at the beginning is naively not aware of the power this brings. Through his friend Basil, the artist who is to blame for the exquisite portrait of Dorian, he meets Lord Henry, the fun loving, dangerously influential gentleman who takes a liking to Dorian and makes him a sort of protégé of his. It is Lord Henry that takes Dorian's innocence and teaches him the way of the world, or British society, and sparks the light of vanity and pride in Dorian. This magical story enters into the fragile world of youth and old age, the thirst to maintain the former and the fear of the inevitable latter, accompanied with dreadful emotions of love, shame, hate, fear...I can't imagine why no one has made a movie of it yet. This is one book that will stand on your shelf with pride, and will be the most worn and torn one there. Enjoy the genius of Wilde.--Submitted by Ivana Magdenoska.
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There is an old film version of this story called "The Portrait of Dorian Grey" which was possibly made in the late 1930's to early 1940's. The actor who played the main character, Dorian Gray, was most exquisite of form and played the character most effectively. Actor George Sands was the Lord who corrupted the young Dorian, and I believe it was for the sheer pleasure of corruption of youth that he undertook that task. This story is more about choices, personal volition, and responsibility. We can look at Dorian and question his making that choice, but the person who set him upon that path bears the greater responsibility for corruption of an innocent person. In the end, Dorian is done-in by his own desire to destroy what he had himself created of his life, and what he had destroyed of the person of his own making. Chilling and undeniably timely as the society we make for ourselves today seeks to destroy itself by corrupting the youth that we deem iconic. --Submitted by Anonymous
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Questions about the Picture of Dorian Gray
What was the book that Lord Henry gave to Dorian Gray that fascinated dorian so much? What is the book about? Why was dorian so afraid that people view his painting? How did Dorian meet Sybil Vane?
Posted By lokariototal at Sun 29 Nov 2009, 6:50 PM in The Picture of Dorian Gray || 2 Replies
Explanation of an epigram from "Portrait of Dorian Gray"
For those of you familiar with this novel, I'm inquiring the meaning of Lord Henry Wotton's "The world goes to the altar of its own accord" in chapter 18. Thanks. *I meant "Picture of Dorian Gray" in the title*
Posted By Fruit at Tue 20 Oct 2009, 3:59 PM in The Picture of Dorian Gray || 1 Reply
Oscar Wilde
Hi,everyone! I just want to know your opinion!) Is The Picture of Dorian Gray a moral or immoral book? Thank you=)
Posted By Blue_sky at Wed 14 Oct 2009, 10:05 AM in The Picture of Dorian Gray || 3 Replies
film
Hey, has anyone seen the film Dorian Gray? Is it any good?:goof:
Posted By Veva at Sun 11 Oct 2009, 2:05 PM in The Picture of Dorian Gray || 0 Replies
the book from Lord Henry
Does anyone know what the book is Lord Henry sends Dorian when he has decided to put the portrait upstairs in the schoolroom? It is about a youth in Paris and about the corruption of the youth. A kind of psychoanalytical thing. Dorian gets fascinated by it and has several copies made in several colours so that it will suit his changing moods and tastes. But does anyone know what book Wilde had in mind? It could be interesting to understand The Picture better... Thanks! k
Posted By kiki1982 at Wed 6 May 2009, 7:51 AM in The Picture of Dorian Gray || 6 Replies
Dorian Grey&Why Devil didn't play his key role?
I just posted my first blog here.I can't say it is a Review of the book,i call it Abstract and i wrote a few already on my favorite masterpieces. My review is named *Dorian Grey&A Conversation with Oscar Wilde* I don't know if you asked yourself why Mr.Wilde didn't give the Devil an active role in his novele-i think Devil was not present as a character who take part in events. Goethe and Mikhail Bulgakov gave Devil a key role to act from the very beginning of their works. i would like to know your thinking on this theme. To read my abstract,please visit my blog here. If i posted this on wrong place,then a thread could be :What is your thinking about Abstracts? How do you like my writing and what do you think about such method of expression?
Posted By rima at Wed 1 Oct 2008, 3:48 PM in The Picture of Dorian Gray || 14 Replies
Essay Help!!
Hi, Im writing an essay for my english class and I was wondering if someone could help me out on the following topics... 1. Comment on Lord Henry and Dorian as "artists of their own lives." 2. Discuss in depth the "terrible moral" in Dorian Gray. 3. Explain how and why Dorian has "sold his soul to the devil." If anyone can help and send me feedback on these topics it would be great and I would really appreciate it
Posted By Dirtbikedude13 at Fri 14 Dec 2007, 12:42 AM in The Picture of Dorian Gray || 1 Reply
Lord Henry
Lord Henry: Love him or hate him? I think he's a thoroughly disgusting, slimy dandy of a man. I don't care if he's witty, he messed up Dorian entirely. Though perhaps that's the whole point to the story.
Posted By andave_ya at Mon 22 Oct 2007, 7:53 PM in The Picture of Dorian Gray || 7 Replies
Shallowness?
"The supreme vice is shallowness" - Wilde wrote this in De Profundis. Somehow I think PoDG's theme is in this quote. Lord Henry was a shallow person who cares about nothing but external beauty and almost-sadistic pleasure. He corrupted Dorian and turns him into a shallow person obsessed with something as irrelevant as appearance. In the end it destroyed Dorian. So I think it's to show how shallowness is the most evil of all vices. It stops us from looking deep within and see our soul. Anyone agrees?
Posted By Clover_K at Thu 4 Oct 2007, 5:10 AM in The Picture of Dorian Gray || 4 Replies
Can a book corrupt?
The main point of this post was to see if anyone knows what book it was that Lord Henry gave Dorian that so fully changed him? Was it purely ficticious or a partially fictionilized yet real book? I would love to know. Also, though, as I side note... when lord henry claimed that books cannot corrupt, that they are infact steryl, it started me on a very interesting train of though... i was wondering if anyone else was struck by this... To sum it up: Name that book Are books steryl?
Posted By hfischbach at Sat 14 Apr 2007, 1:22 AM in The Picture of Dorian Gray || 33 Replies