Oscar Hammerstein II

In Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Lord Henry is portrayed as an artist, while Dorian Gray is portrayed as the canvas in which Henry paints on. In the beginning of the novel, Dorian’s first meeting with Lord Henry immediately shows how easily influenced Dorian’s character is. Lord Henry’s charismatic manner in speaking captivates Dorian causing Dorian to “never [take] his gaze off him” and be put “under a spell.” By captivating Dorian, Lord Henry is able to take advantage of…

Dorian Gray Master Theme Paper The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is about three men--Lord Henry, Basil Hallward, and a younger man named Dorian--who all have either hedonistic views or depleasuristic views on life. Lord Henry influences Dorian to be hedonistic and only care about beauty and aesthetic pleasure, buthowever Dorian takes it to the extreme and becomes completely enveloped in beauty. Throughout the novel, these two hedonistic men idolize beauty, but as they idolize it, they…

Dorian is the central figure of the story, everyone else lives their lives around him. Both men and women wish to be in his presence. The women fall in love with him and the men want to be in his company. Dorian eventually fulfills the stereotypical female role in the novel. Despite there being other women in the story Dorian is the one who receives all the attention and it is Dorian who ruins the hopes and dreams of men, not the women in the story. The women in the story are only there to…

The Picture of Dorian Gray The Picture of Dorian Gray depicts the life of Dorian a young, impressionable aristocrat who captures Basil’s artistic imagination and soon becomes a friend to basil. Along with becoming Basil’s friend and muse Dorian meets the famous Lord Henry at one of the painting sessions. Lord Henry is a witty man who enjoys celebrating youth, beauty, and the selfish pursuit of pleasure. Basil reluctantly introduces Dorian to Lord Henry, who soon influences the young Dorian.…

The first appearance of Basil is in his studio painting a portrait of “a young man of extraordinary personal beauty”. Despite Basil’s reluctance, he confesses this is Dorian Gray. The “personal beauty” of the portrait and overwhelming olfactory description creates a picturesque paradise in Basil’s studio, subverting expectation for any sin or immorality. It represents Basil precisely as he is always loving and optimistic, without any callousness, in his appreciation of beauty. Wilde describes…

When the text begins, Dorian is introduced as a flawless young man that was pure and beautiful. Basil’s painting reflects this perfection, and even Dorian is blown aback by his own looks. We are then introduced to his past by Lord Fermor, who reveals his tragic family history that involved the loss of both parents, a tragedy that would result in his upbringing by a loveless tyrant. Dorian is then described as having a unique fascination for Lord Henry, and is one of the few people that were…

The Picture of Dorian Gray The Picture of Dorian Gray depicts the life of Dorian a young impressionable aristocrat who captures Basil’s artistic imagination and soon becomes a friend to basil. Along with becoming Basil’s friend and muse Dorian meets the famous Lord Henry at one of the painting sessions. Lord Henry is a witty man who enjoys celebrating youth, beauty, and the selfish pursuit of pleasure. Basil reluctantly introduces Dorian to Lord Henry, who soons influences the young Dorian.…

In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian Gray exhibits a perpetual amount of ambiguous morals; his points of redemption along with feelings of guilt contribute to the complexity of his nature throughout the course of the novel. The opening chapter presents Dorian Gray as an innocent young male with exceptional beauty. He captures the eyes of characters like Basil Hallward and becomes a muse. However upon meeting Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of Basil’s, he becomes introduced to the…

In literary works, allusions exist in order to create deeper meanings within the text. When a reader recognizes and understands a reference, it allows them to appreciate the work on a different level. The Picture of Dorian Gray contains many parallels to the myth of Narcissus. Much like Narcissus, Dorian Gray is blessed with entrancing beauty, develops obsessive love for his own image, and wastes away due to that love. To begin with, both texts describe in detail how beautiful the young men are…

In the novel of The Death of Ivan Ilyich and The Picture of Dorian Gray, both main characters landed up in a place of desolation and unhappiness through their heavy pursuit of what they thought would give them happiness. Both characters started off young with a large potential for happiness by following their own individual pursuits, but instead the route that they took ultimately lead them down a slippery slope of tragedy and melancholy. They followed a way of denial from the factors that would…