7 minute read
Oscar Wilde The Picture of Dorian Gray
Legenda INVALSI
Esame di Stato
Agenda 2030
21st Century Skills
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Sign of the Four
E. Gaskell, K. Chopin, K. Mansfield, V. Woolf, E.Wharton Portraits of Women
Robert Louis Stevenson The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Geoffrey Chaucer The Canterbury Tales
Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice
Lewis Carroll Alice in Wonderland
Oscar Wilde The Canterville Ghost
H.G. Wells, G. Orwell, E.A. Poe, S.O. Jewett, V. Woolf One Planet, One Goal
Mary Shelley Frankenstein
George Orwell Animal Farm
K. Mansfield, J. Joyce, O. Wilde, R. Tagore, M. Twain Tales of Friendship
Charlotte Brontë Jane Eyre
Oscar Wilde The Picture of Dorian Gray
H.G. Wells The Time Machine
Series Editors Paola Accattoli, Grazia Ancillani
Art Director Daniele Garbuglia
Graphic Design Emilia Coari
Production Manager Francesco Capitano
Photo Credits Shutterstock, Alamy
© 2023 ELi, Gruppo editoriale ELi
22.83.266.0
ENG015-01
ISBN 978-88-536-3979-0 www.gruppoeli.it
Oscar Wilde: Life and Work
Quick facts
Name: Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie
Wills Wilde
Born: Dublin, Ireland on October 16, 1854
Died: in Paris, France on November 30, 1900 (aged 46)
Nationality: Irish
Married to: Constance Lloyd
Children: two sons - Cyril and Vyvyan
Education: Classics* at Trinity College, Dublin and Magdalen College, Oxford
Key works: The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), Lady Windermere’s Fan (1892), The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) classics (n.pl.) the study of ancient Greek and Latin literature, philosophy, and history
Early Life
Born at 21 Westland Row in Dublin', he was the second child of William Wilde, an important ear and eye surgeon* and writer, and Jane Francesca Elgee, a journalist and poet, who wrote under the name ‘Speranza’. Their large and frequent parties attracted important people from Dublin society. There were plenty of opportunities to learn, but Oscar’s parents’ relationship made home life difficult. His father was often depressed, and had frequent extra-marital* affairs. This eventually led to a public scandal and a court case against him. His wife supported him throughout the trial, while he refused to speak in his own defence, making people think he was a coward.
Education
Despite being good at languages, Oscar didn’t learn to speak Irish like his father. He was home-schooled, before being sent away to study at Portora Royal School in Enniskillen with his elder brother Willie. An excellent student, Oscar got a scholarship* to study classics at Trinity College, Dublin, and another to Magdalen College, Oxford.
He did well at Oxford University, winning many prizes like the Newdigate Prize for his long poem, Ravenna (1878). He also became involved in the Aesthetic Movement, developing his character as a poseur* and a wit*. He grew his hair long, wore flamboyant* clothes, surrounded himself with beautiful things, constantly entertained his friends and made witty epigrams*.
These included W.B.Yeats’s father and grandfather, and George Bernard Shaw’s father.
This was around the time of his father’s trial, and history would later repeat itself in Oscar’s own life.
The Aesthetic Movement in 1880s England believed in ‘art for art's sake’ not art to teach us right from wrong.
surgeon (n.) a doctor who operates on people in hospital extra-marital outside marriage scholarship (n.) money given to a clever student to study poseur (n.) person who shows he thinks a lot of himself wit (n.) someone who uses words in a funny and clever way flamboyant (adj.) attracting attention usually in a bright, colourful way that you notice epigram (n.) expressing ideas in a short, clever and amusing way
It is thought that Constance actually helped Oscar write these stories.
Work and Personal Life
Poems, Wilde's first collection of poetry, was published* in 1881. After two lecture* trips on art and beauty to North America, he gave lectures in Britain about his travel experiences.
On May 29, 1884, Oscar married Constance Lloyd, daughter of a rich lawyer, and herself an author and a political activist*. They had two sons, Cyril (1885) and Vyvyan (1886). During this period Wilde worked as a newspaper journalist, as the editor* of Woman's World magazine, and published three collections of short stories, including The Happy Prince and Other Tales (1888). The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), Wilde’s only novel*, was attacked because of its ideas. Among his most successful work were four society comedies* for the theatre: Lady Windermere's Fan (1892), A Woman of No Importance (1893), An Ideal Husband (1895), and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895).
People were shocked by the Faustian character Dorian Gray, who sells his soul to the devil for youth and beauty.
publish (v.) write and sell something that people want to read, watch or play lecture (n.) talking about something in front of an audience activist (n.) a person who tries to bring about political or social change editor (n.) a person who corrects a book, newspaper or magazine novel (n.) a long, invented story comedy (n.) a film, play, or TV programme, which is supposed to make an audience laugh
Scandal, Prison and Death
At the height of his success, Wilde was having secret relationships with men. When he met Bosie, Lord Alfred Douglas, his father, the Marquis of Queensberry, accused him of homosexuality*, which was illegal at the time. Wilde lost a libel case* against him and was sent to prison for two years of hard labour. There, he wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), about his terrible life in prison and a long letter to Bosie, published posthumously as De Profundis in 1905. He died penniless* in Paris on 30 November 1900.
Homosexuality was only made legal in 1967 in England and Wales, for men over the age of 21.
The title comes from Latin and means ‘from the depths’. It is a kind of love letter.
homosexuality (n.) being attracted to someone of the same sex libel case (n.) when court decides if something written about someone is true or not penniless (n.) without any money
Sibyl Vane is a beautiful actress, who Dorian falls in love with when he sees her on stage.
Characters
Dorian Gray is a beautiful young man who would do anything to always stay the same.
James Vane is Sibyl’s younger, rougher brother, who becomes a sailor. Basil Hallward is an artist who paints the picture of Dorian Gray, his best ever work.
Alan Campbell is a young scientist who is forced to help Dorian Gray although he doesn’t want to.
Lady Agatha is Lord Henry’s rich aristocratic aunt.
Lord George Fermor is Lord Henry’s rich, bad-tempered uncle.
Lady Victoria Wotton is Lord Henry’s wife, with whom he seems to spend very little time.
Lord Henry (Harry) Wotton is a young aristocrat who shows a lot of interest in Dorian Gray.
Writing
1 What do you know about The Picture of Dorian Gray?
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a book by Oscar Wilde. It was written in The story is set in ____________________________ g artificial a wrinkled 1 attractive b vulgar 2 bright c vain
It is a story about ___________________________________________ .
The people in the story are ____________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ .
It is a _________________________________________________________ book.
2 Match these words with their opposites.
Reading – Gap-Fill
3 Use the words and expressions in the box to help complete the character profiles.
actress aristocrat x 2 artist attractive blond dark elegant heavy intelligent lovely pale sailor scientist serious seventeen short sixteen strong twenty twenty-five x 3 young
1 Name: _____________________
Job: ________________________
Age: about _________________
Appearance: _______________ and _________________________
2 Name: _____________________
Job: ________________________
Age: about _________________
Appearance: _______________ and _________________________
3 Name: _____________________
Job:
Age: about _________________
Appearance: _______________ and _________________________
4 Name: _____________________
Job:
Age: about _________________
Appearance: _______________ and _________________________
5 Name: _____________________
Job: ________________________
Age: about _________________
Appearance: _______________ and _________________________
6 Name: _____________________
Job: ________________________
Age: about _________________
Appearance: _______________ and _________________________
Writing – Describing
4 Write sentences about the characters in exercise 3. Use the adjectives from exercise 2 to help you.
Lexical Groups
5 Put these words in the correct group. Some can go in more than one group.
act audience box cast canvas clap costume comedy dressing-room easel exhibit opera make-up musician paint portrait play scene sitter stage studio scenery song spectator studio theatre tragedy
Reading Comprehension
6 Put these events from the story in the correct order. (1-8) a James Vane tries to kill Dorian. b Dorian tries to destroy the painting. c Dorian meets and falls in love with Sibyl Vane. d Dorian makes a wish to remain always young and beautiful. e Dorian falls under the influence of Lord Henry. f Dorian breaks Sibyl’s heart. g 1 Basil Hallwell paints a portrait of Dorian Gray. h Basil goes to visit Dorian and then disappears.
Speaking – Critical Thinking
7 What would you give up to stay young forever? Discuss your ideas in pairs or small groups.
Online Research
8 Do some research online into what the Faustian bargain with the devil is.
Wilde explains his ideas about art, artists, critics, and audience through a series of epigrams.
Preface
Artists create beautiful things, while staying hidden. Critics give impressions of beautiful things like autobiographies*. It is a fault to find ugly meaning in beautiful things. But there is hope for the chosen, educated few to whom beautiful things mean only beauty.
It is as if Wilde were trying to justify his book, which would probably have shocked Victorian Society.
Shakespeare’s monster-character autobiography (n.) a book about yourself Realism (n.) an art movement or style which shows people or things as they actually are Romanticism (n.) an art movement which uses imagination and emotions to see the world morbid (adj.) to look at things in a dark or negative way spectator (n.) someone who looks at or watches art complex (adj.) not easy to understand
Caliban from ‘The Tempest’ copies the way other characters behave.
Books are not moral or immoral; they are just written well or badly. The nineteenth century dislike of Realism* is Caliban’s anger at seeing himself in a mirror. Its dislike of Romanticism* is Caliban’s anger at not seeing himself in a mirror.
Wilde’s teacher, Walter Pater saw music as the perfect art, as form and content cannot be separated.
Artists study man’s moral life, but art is the perfect way to express things imperfectly. No artist wants to prove anything. No artist shows false moral sympathies. No artist is ever morbid*. Artists can express everything. Their tools are thought and language; their materials good and bad. Music is the ideal form for art. Acting is the ideal art for feelings.
He goes on to explain that art itself is not supposed to teach the audience anything.
Here Wilde is giving us his own ideas about ‘art for art’s sake’ rather than for any purpose.
Art is surface and symbol. Look under the surface to read the symbol at your own risk. Art copies its spectators*, not life. Differences in opinion about work means it is new, complex* and important. When critics disagree, the artist agrees with himself. We can forgive a man for making a useful thing he does not admire. We can only forgive him for making a useless thing he admires greatly. All art is quite useless.
