‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ Thematic Overview ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ Thematic Overview Youth and Beauty Morality Youth! It’s wasted on the young. They don’t appreciate what they’ve got. Unless their name happens to be Dorian Gray – in which case their appreciation is a tad too intense and they’re liable to do something reckless like sell their soul to remain forever young. And ‘forever’ young is a very long time. The wisdom of age is more valuable. Unless your name happens to be Henry Wotton – in which case getting old must be denounced as you vainly surround yourself with superficial beauty. Right and wrong: such a simple concept that most human beings are expected to have grasped by primary school age. But when Lord Henry is your life tutor, sharing his twisted ideas of what’s desirable and what’s sinful, morality suddenly becomes a much more dubious and muddled concept. At least Basil’s on hand to remind you of basic tenets such as ‘thou shalt not kill’… or at least he was! Discussion Points • Is Dorian a bad man? What about Henry? • Would you like to stay young and, if so, what price would you be willing to pay? • Do you find beauty in the same things that Dorian does? • To what extent does Wilde seem to value youth and beauty? Discussion Points • How are Henry’s philosophies presented as being appealing? • To what extent are Victorian conventions and religion shown to be restrictive rather than enriching? twinkl.com twinkl.com ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ Thematic Overview ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ Thematic Overview Art and Literature Love and Relationships Art cannot be moral or immoral. Books do not show us the right way or the wrong one. Never mind the fact that millions of people across two millennia have studiously followed the Bible or the Qur’an. Those ancient books might have led to conflict as well as peace but what would have happened to the world if the text book of choice had been the mysterious yellow book that poisons Dorian’s mind? Art is powerful, influential and something to be cherished, but only for its beauty. Otherwise ‘all art is quite useless’. Got it? It’s easier to love an idea than it is to love a person. An actual person has their own thoughts and feelings that might not fit comfortably with your own narrow viewpoint. Plus they age, and who wants to be dealing with that?! The image of Sibyl enraptures Dorian but ‘Prince Charming’ soon shows his true colours and casts his princess aside. Thank God his good friend Henry is on hand to explain how suicide is romantic and infinitely preferable to marriage! Discussion Points Discussion Points • Does Dorian ever really love Sibyl? • Does art have the potential to change the way people think? • Which is the most stable type of relationship: romance, friendship or family? • What work of art or literature has most influenced you? • To what extent do Dorian and Henry love one another? • To what extent does Wilde show art to be powerful? twinkl.com twinkl.com
