The Picture of Dorian Gray Review

Devin Richter

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde

Dorian gray is a young man of about eighteen who is incredibly handsome. He has a friend who is a painter named Basil who is in awe of Dorian’s youth and innocence, and loves to have Dorian pose for him in his paintings. Upon sitting for Basil one occasion, Dorian meets Basil’s friend Lord Henry, who draws Dorian’s attention by lecturing him on the importance of youth and what it does for you in life, and how those doors are closed when it is gone. Dorian becomes obsessed with Lord Henry’s ideals, and begins to envy the very painting of himself. Dorian declares he wishes that the painting would grow old and display his soul’s sins, while he remain eternally youthful. Though Dorian does not know at the time, his wish is granted. Dorian continues to spend more and more time with Lord Henry, and becomes enthralled by his ideas of the thrills and excitement of a sinful life. Meanwhile, Dorian’s portrait continues to grow older, and to display the damage of Dorian’s sin on his soul with every act Dorian commits.

I really enjoyed Oscar WIlde’s writing style in this book. He uses very vivid imagery and puts a great deal of ornamentation into his words. Reading this book was just as fun as watching a movie of the same story.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone!
Excerpt:

“From the corner of the divan of Persian saddle-bags on which he was lying, smoking, as was his custom, innumerable cigarettes, Lord Henry Wotton could just catch the gleam of the honey-sweet and honey-coloured blossoms of a laburnum, whose tremulous branches seemed hardly able to bear the burden of a beauty so flamelike as theirs; and now and then the fantastic shadows of birds in flight flitted across the long tussore-silk curtains that were stretched in front of the huge window, producing a kind of momentary Japanese effect, and making him think of those pallid, jade-faced painters of Tokyo who, through the medium of an art that is necessarily immobile, seek to convey the sense of swiftness and motion” (Wilde 1).