The Picture of Dorian Gray
A Level 3 Novel Guide
Write well-organized and clear paragraphs
Directions: Match these halves of sentences. Then, put them in order to make a paragraph about the
portrait of Dorian Gray.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
Later, Basil wanted to exhibit the picture in Paris…
Basil then tried to destroy the portrait…
When Dorian first saw the portrait…
He became angry and afraid…
Many years later, Basil finally saw the picture…
As time passed, Dorian became more evil…
The face in the picture began to change…
8)
9)
10)
11)
12)
13)
14)
after Dorian had been cruel to Sybil Vane.
because the picture would stay young while he grew old.
he remembered Lord Henry’s words about his youth.
and so Dorian killed him.
but Dorian didn’t let him see it.
although he knew that it was his best work.
and the face in the picture grew more and more terrible.
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Vocabulary:
Guess the meaning of a word from context clues and word forms. Place the vocabulary words in the
cloze passage below. There may be more than one correct answer; not all words will be used.
Beauty/beautiful (noun/ adjective)
Art/artist (noun/ noun)
Horror
Marriage/marry/married (noun/verb/adjective)
Paint (v/n)
Play (v/n)
Science/scientist (noun/noun)
Unconscious
Youth/young (noun/adjective)
Sit/sitter (verb/noun)
Dorian was very _____________ at the beginning of the book. Basil, the _________, painted a
picture of Dorian. The portrait showed a very __________ man. When Dorian was young, he loved Sybil
Vane. He went to see her in a _________. He planned to ___________ Sybil; however, they were not
______________. Dorian began to change. He became evil inside. To his __________, the painting
began to show these changes. He killed several people, including Basil. He asked his friend Alan
Campbell, a _____________________, to help him get rid of Basil’s ___________________ body. In the
end, he could not hide his secret anymore and he killed himself.
Understand and use clauses
Directions: Choose the best question word for these questions from chapters 12 and 13. Then answer
them using “I don’t know” as your response.
Question word bank: How/What/Where/Why
Example Where was Basil going?
a) I don’t know where Basil was going.
1) _____________ had Basil heard about Dorian?
a. _____________________________________________________
2) ___________did Dorian take Basil?
a. _____________________________________________________
3) _______________ did Basil feel when he saw the picture?
a. _____________________________________________________
4) ___________ did Dorian hate Basil?
a. _____________________________________________________
5) __________ did Basil die?
a. _____________________________________________________
6) ________ did Alan Campbell feel about Dorian?
a. _____________________________________________________
7) _________________ did Dorian want Alan to do?
a. _____________________________________________________
8) _______________ did Dorian want Alan to do?
a. _____________________________________________________
Understand and use conjunctions and adverbial connectors; write with more advanced sentence
structures by combining simple sentences to make compound and complex sentences.
Directions: Choose from the following list of adverbs and conjunctions to create sentences about The
Picture of Dorian Gray. Use each word only one time.
And
although
whenever
after
before
or
but
1) ________________________ Basil enjoyed painting, he did not want to show the painting of
Dorian to the public.
2) Alan Campbell killed himself _____________________ he helped Dorian destroy Basil’s dead
body.
3) Sybil Vane wanted to marry Dorian, ______ he changed his mind about marrying her.
4) ____________________ Lord Henry spoke, everyone listened and laughed.
5) Dorian didn’t want to get old __________ look ugly.
6) __________________ Sybil’s brother left for Australia, he told his mother to take care of Sybil.
7) Dorian became evil _________ uncaring.
Directions: Choosing from the same list of adverbs and conjunctions above, combine the sentences
below to make one sentence. Delete any unnecessary words.
1)
Lord Henry was rich. Lord Henry was handsome.
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2) Basil was stunned by his painting of Dorian. Dorian showed him how the painting had changed.
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3) Dorian was a nice young boy. Dorian met Lord Henry.
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4) Dorian didn’t want to change his habits. Dorian didn’t want to change his ways.
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5) Sybil’s mother didn’t want her to marry Dorian. Sybil said she would marry him anyway.
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Identify the main idea of a reading and of the paragraphs; understand the relationships of ideas
within a paragraph or between paragraphs.
Directions: Read the paragraph below and answer the questions.
‘Because you’re young, and being young is wonderful. Ah, you smile. You don’t think so now, but one
day you’ll understand what I mean – when you’re old, and tired, and no longer beautiful. You have a
wonderfully beautiful face, Mr. Gray. It’s true. Don’t shake your head at me. And there’s nothing more
important, more valuable than beauty. When your youth goes, your beauty will go with it. Then you’ll
suddenly discover that your life is empty – there will be nothing to enjoy, nothing to hope for. Time is
your enemy, Mr. Gray. It will steal everything from you. People are afraid of themselves today. Afraid to
live. But you, with your face and your youth, there’s nothing that you cannot do. You must live! Live the
wonderful life that is in you! We can never be young again. Youth! Ah, there is nothing in the world as
important as youth!’
1) What is the main idea of the paragraph above?
a. It is easy to get old.
b. Being young and beautiful is important.
c. Life can be empty if you are ugly.
2) Which of these would be a supporting detail for the idea “Time is your enemy”?
a. It will steal everything from you.
b. You have a wonderfully beautiful face, Mr. Gray.
c. You must live!
3) Which of these sentences does NOT support the idea that life without beauty is empty?
a. There will be nothing to enjoy, nothing to hope for.
b. There is nothing more important than beauty.
c. You have a wonderfully beautiful face, Mr. Gray.
4) Which of the following is true about a supporting detail?
a. It should give specific information about the main idea.
b. It should not be very important.
c. If you remove it from the paragraph, your paragraph will still make sense.
5) What do you think is the best choice for the main idea or theme of The Picture of Dorian Gray?
a. Being young is the most important thing.
b. Looking beautiful outside does not mean you are beautiful inside.
c. Murder is illegal.
Identify pronoun referents
Directions: Read the sentences below. Then decide which proper noun the pronoun refers to.
1) Lord Henry looked at Basil’s face before he spoke.
a. Lord Henry
b. Basil
2) Dorian stood and listened. He could hear nothing.
a. Dorian
b. Nothing
3) Dorian remembered that the portrait was uncovered. He turned to cover it.
a. Dorian
b. The portrait
4) When Lord Henry returned home, there was a letter for him on the table. It said that Dorian
Gray would marry Sybil Vane.
a. Lord Henry
b. Dorian Gray
c. The letter
5) At that moment Basil called to them from the house. Lord Henry turned to Dorian.
a. Lord Henry and Dorian
b. Dorian and Basil
6) I turned and saw Dorian Gray for the first time. We looked at each other.
a. Dorian Gray and I
b. Dorian Gray
7) It was long past midday when Dorian woke up. His servant brought him his tea and letters, but
he did not read them.
a. His servant
b. Dorian
c. Letters
8) The heavy mouth, the yellow skin, the cruel eyes – these told the real story.
a. The men
b. Mouth, skin, eyes
c. Dorian
Understand and use gerunds and infinitives
A gerund is a noun made from a verb by adding –ing.
An infinitive is the “to” form of the verb.
Either can be used as the subject, object, or complement of a sentence. Subjects and complements are
more commonly gerunds; objects can either be gerunds or infinitives depending on the verb.
Identify
Directions: Identify whether the sentence contains a gerund or an infinitive. Write “gerund” or
“infinitive” in the blank next to the sentence.
1) I prefer not to be beautiful. __________________
2) Destroying the portrait was difficult for Dorian. ____________________
3) Lord Henry enjoys talking. ____________________
4) “I would love to come,” he said. _________________
5) You promised to see Basil this afternoon. ____________________
Select
Directions: Choose whether a gerund or infinitive form of the verb makes the most sense in the blank.
Circle the correct answer.
1) Dorian kept ( to think / thinking ) about Sybil Vane after he went to the theatre.
2) Basil completed ( to paint / painting) the portrait of Dorian.
3) Sybil Vane hoped ( to marry / marrying ) Dorian Gray.
4) Lord Henry planned ( to change / changing ) Dorian’s mind.
5) Sybil imagined ( to work / working ) as an actress.
6) Dorian suggested ( to destroy / destroying) Basil’s body to Alan Campbell.
7) Basil refused ( to believe / believing ) that Dorian was evil.
8) James Vane waited ( to kill / killing) Dorian Gray.
About Oscar Wilde – reading and learning
Directions: Read the short biography of Oscar Wilde. Highlight or underline any vocabulary you think is
confusing. Look the vocabulary words up in your dictionary and write them in the space on the next
page.
Oscar Wilde (Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde) was born in Dublin on 16 October 1854 to Sir William
Wilde and his wife Jane. Oscar's mother, Lady Jane Francesca Wilde (1820-1896), was a successful poet
and journalist. She wrote patriotic Irish verse under the pseudonym "Speranza". Oscar's father, Sir
William Wilde (1815 - 1876), was a leading ear and eye surgeon, a renowned philanthropist and gifted
writer, who wrote books on archaeology and folklore. Oscar had an elder brother, Willie, and a younger
sister, Isola Francesca, who died at the early age of 10.
Oscar Wilde was educated at Portora Royal School, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh (1864-71), Trinity
College, Dublin (1871-74) and Magdalen College, Oxford (1874-78). While at Oxford, he became involved
in the aesthetic movement and became an advocate for 'Art for Art's Sake' (L'art pour l'art). While at
Magdalen, he won the 1878 Newdigate Prize for his poem Ravenna.
After he graduated, he moved to Chelsea, in London (1879), to establish a literary career. In 1881, he
published his first collection of poetry - 'Poems' that received mixed reviews by critics. He worked as art
reviewer (1881), lectured in the United States and Canada (1882), and lived in Paris (1883). He also
lectured in Britain and Ireland (1883 - 1884). From the mid-1880s he was regular contributor for Pall
Mall Gazette and Dramatic View.
On May 29, 1884, Oscar married Constance Lloyd (died 1898), daughter of wealthy Queen's Counsel
Horace Lloyd. They had two sons, Cyril (1885) and Vyvyan (1886). To support his family, Oscar accepted
a job as the editor of Woman's World magazine, where he worked from 1887-1889. In 1888 he
published The Happy Prince and Other Tales, fairy-stories written for his two sons. His first and only
novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, was published in 1891 and received quite a negative response. This
had much to do with the novel's homoerotic overtones, which caused something of a sensation amongst
Victorian critics. In 1891 Wilde began an affair with Lord Alfred Douglas, nicknamed 'Bosie', who became
both the love of his life and his downfall. Wilde's marriage ended in 1893.
Wilde's greatest talent was for writing plays, his first play, 'Lady Windermere's Fan,' opened in February
1892. He produced a string of extremely popular comedies including 'A Woman of No Importance'
(1893), 'An Ideal Husband (1895)' and 'The Importance of Being Earnest' (1895). These plays were all
highly acclaimed and firmly established Oscar as a playwright.
In April 1895, Oscar sued Bosie's father for libel as the Marquis of Queensberry had accused him of
homosexuality. Oscar's case was unsuccessful and he was himself arrested and tried for gross indecency.
He was sentenced to two years hard labor for the crime of sodomy. During his time in prison he wrote
De Profundis, a dramatic monologue and autobiography, which was addressed to Bosie.
Upon his release in 1897, he wrote “The Ballad of Reading Gaol”, revealing his concern for inhumane
prison conditions. He spent the rest of his life wandering Europe, staying with friends and living in cheap
hotels. He died of cerebral meningitis on November 30, 1900, penniless, in a cheap Paris hotel.
MY VOCABULARY WORDS:
Extension Activities
1) Look up the word “consequence.” The Picture of Dorian
Gray shows that people cannot escape the
consequences of their actions. Do you agree? Why or
why not?
2) People often think they would give anything if they
could just…… How would you complete the sentence “I
would do anything if it meant I could…..” ?
3) People today go through a lot of trouble to stay looking
young. How much money do you think is spent each
year on beauty products? Research this question on the
Internet and tell why you think people spend so much
money to try and stop the process of getting older.
4) Basil paints a picture that shows what Dorian looks like
inside. Paint or draw a picture of yourself that shows
who you are on the inside – what would we be surprised
to know about you?