Analysis Of The Picture Of Dorian Gray By Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde (first published by Ward, Lock and Company in England in 1891).
The Writer:
Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900) was an Irish writer who produced work in a variety of literary forms – mostly plays and essays. He was an aesthete, i.e., someone who emphasized beauty and form in literature and art. This was something that was reflected in his choice of themes, which demoted the social and political issues for the sake of the aesthetic, but also in his own style of life and dressing. In other words, for him art was the primary purpose of producing art. Another relevant piece of information is that Wilde was a homosexual at a time when such a sexual orientation invited both criminalization and social scorn. Eventually, he was tried for committing ‘indecent acts with men,’ and was sentenced for two years of hard labor.
The Protagonists:
The main protagonist is Dorian Gray, a young, rich and very handsome man whose beauty triggers a famous artist to paint him. Throughout the novel, Gray seeks pleasures of all kinds, and is most concerned about preserving his youth and beauty. Thus, he pledges his soul to the devil to enjoy eternal youth and beauty. Gradually, his conscious becomes quite burdened with sin and lack of moral principles, and he even kills the painter who drew his famous portrait – something that leads to his eventual collapse.
Another protagonist that figures to play a less prominent role in the work is Henry Wotton, a rich and