Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Anne Markey (Dublin City University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Grace Moore (University of Otago)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1890

Places

Ireland, Republic of (Eire) (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

Oscar Wilde’s longest work of prose fiction, The Picture of Dorian Gray, tells the disturbing story of the corruption of a young man. Dorian Gray is seduced by his own exceptional beauty and by a mentor, Lord Henry Wotton, who preaches the heady doctrine of a new hedonism. Dorian pursues a life of pleasure and increasing debauchery but never displays any sign of growing any older or any less beautiful. Nobody knows that he has a portrait hidden away that ages instead, becoming more loathsome, repulsive and accusatory as the years go by. From the time of its original publication, the novel has intrigued readers and confounded critics who have continually disagreed on its literary and moral merits.

Wilde wrote The …

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2467 words

Citation: Markey, Anne. "The Picture of Dorian Gray". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 May 2007 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7386, accessed 25 November 2024.]

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