For Monday: Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Chs.1-5

John Singer Sargent, Young Man in Reverie (1876)

NO QUESTIONS this week--so work on your Paper #2 assignment! Also, read Chapters 1-5 of The Picture of Dorian Gray for Monday's class. You'll have an in-class response waiting for you, and you might want to consider some of the following ideas:

* Wilde's paradoxical witticisms in the Preface and scattered throughout the text; are we supposed to take them seriously? Are they his voice, or the voice of society?

* The idea of art vs. life, or the ideal vs. the transitory pleasure: how does Wilde develop this idea (which we've seen throughout our readings) in the opening chapters?

* The Pre-Raphaelites liked to update or put a modern spin on age-old myths and legends: how might Dorian Gray be doing the same thing, though in a less obvious way?

* Why does Hallward think his portrait represents his best work? On the same hand, why does he refuse to show it?

* How was the nature of his meeting Dorian Gray similar to other "meetings" we've seen in other works?

* Why does Dorian Gray act so thunderstruck after his first conversation with Lord Henry? Does Lord Henry mean to shock him--or is he unaware of the power of his words?

* Why does Lord Henry claim he can play Dorian Gray like a violin? How does this play into the idea of art vs. life?