1. The Picture of Dorian Gray
by Oscar Wilde
Examination Preparation

2. Exam Basic Info
• AS Unit F661: Poetry and Prose 1800-1945
• 60% of total AS GCE mark
• 2 hour written paper, 60 marks
• Friday 17th May (afternoon)

3. Section B: Prose 1800-1945
There is a choice of two questions on each set text and candidates answer one
question on the text they have studied.
Candidates should be able to:
• respond to a proposition offered in the question demonstrating understanding of
the text in relation to the view presented;
• explore how themes and issues are presented, taking into account the effects of
language, form and structure.
• show that study of the chosen text has been complemented by study of a literary-
critical text.
Recommended OCR literary-critical texts:
• Montgomery, Durant, Fabb, Furniss, Mills – Ways of Reading (Routledge).
• Malcolm Peet and David Robinson – Leading Questions: a course in literary
appreciation (Nelson)
• Robert Eaglestone – Doing English (Routledge)
• David Lodge – The Art of Fiction (Penguin)
Please note that these are not compulsory but you do have to show evidence of
some critical reading around the novel and about literary criticism.

4. Useful Source of Extracts

5. Examination Assessment Objectives
AO1: articulate creative, informed and relevant responses to literary
texts, using appropriate terminology and concepts, and coherent,
accurate written expression;
AO2: demonstrate detailed critical understanding in analysing the ways
in which structure, form and language shape meanings in literary
texts;
AO3: explore connections and comparisons between different literary
texts, informed by interpretations of other readers;
AO4: demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of
the contexts in which literary texts are written and received.

6. AO1
AO1: articulate creative, informed and relevant responses to
literary texts, using appropriate terminology and concepts,
and coherent, accurate written expression.
This means that:
• you should be able to respond imaginatively to the text;
• you should have a good level of awareness of the writer,
the genre as well as others writers from the same period;
• you should be familiar with terminology and concepts like
irony, narrative voice and structure;
• you should be able to write clearly, ensuring that your
spelling, punctuation and grammar are of a high standard.

7. AO2
AO2: demonstrate detailed critical understanding in
analysing the ways in which structure, form and
language shape meanings in literary texts.
This means you will need to read the text closely
and show how each writer creates effects
through choices of language, form and structure.
This is the most important AO in this unit.

8. AO3
AO3: explore connections and comparisons between different
literary texts, informed by interpretations of other readers.
In this AO, you only need to focus on the second half
(underlined). You may show your analysis is supported by
the critical reading recommended by the exam board but
you may also find information about different
interpretations of your text from other sources. You do not
need to quote from these sources in the exam but you do
need to show that your study of the novel has been
enhanced by the interpretations of other readers (ie critics,
biographers and reviewers).

9. AO4
• AO4: demonstrate understanding of the significance
and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are
written and received.
This means you need to show that you have researched
and considered the influences surrounding the novel,
such as:
• the writer’s life
• the society in which they wrote
• how this writing compares to other works written in
the same period.

10. Exam Questions
(a) ‘Dorian Gray’s attempt to become a living work
of art is doomed to failure.’
In the light of this comment, discuss Wilde’s
presentation of life and art in the novel.
Or
(b) ‘The novel’s contrasting settings portray a gulf
between social classes in Victorian society.’
How far and in what ways do you agree with this
view of The Picture of Dorian Gray?
(from June 2012 examination paper)
Proposition
Your exploration
We will come
back to these
questions later
on.

11. From now until the exam, we will be
focusing on:
• consolidating your knowledge of theme,
character and context (including contemporary
writers/novels)
• examining critical responses, both contemporary
and modern.
• exploring approaches to literary criticism as
applied to Dorian Gray
• analysing structure and language in further detail
• planning and answering exemplar examination
questions.

12. Starting today with structure...
A comparison of 1890 (Lippincott’s) and 1891 versions
• We’re lucky with Dorian Gray and structure, as Wilde has
handed us something to discuss on a plate – the additional
chapters (Chapters 15 to 18). We have already discussed
the significance of these chapters and why Wilde may have
added them.
• But he made other changes to the manuscript as well.
• Look at the worksheet you have been given. This outlines
other changes made by Wilde and asks you to comment on
why he may have made them.
• Working in pairs, go through the worksheet, making notes
in your book about each extract. (It may be a good idea to
cut out the table and glue it into your book, so you can
then make notes alongside each section.)

13. Comparison of two versions
Extract from
1890 version
Extract from 1891
version
What the changes could
imply
N/A Chapter three (Lord
Henry finding out about
Dorian‟s past) was
written for the 1891
version and did not
appear in the
Lippincott’s version.
Why do you think Wilde
added in this chapter? Who
do we learn more about –
Dorian or Lord Henry?
N/A Chapter five (Sybil tells
her mother and brother
of her love for Prince
Charming) was written
for the 1891 version
and did not appear in
the Lippincott’s version.
This chapter marks the start
of the James Vane revenge
sub-plot. Why might Wilde
have added this in? How does
this chapter elicit our
sympathy for Sybil?

14. At the start of
Chapter Eight:
“„Well, Master
Dorian‟, she said,
„what can I do for
you? I beg your
pardon, sir,‟ – here
came a courtesy –
„I shouldn‟t call you
Master Dorian
anymore. But, Lord
bless you, sir, I
have known you
since you were a
baby, and many‟s
the trick you‟ve
played on poor old
Leaf.‟”
At the start of
chapter ten : “Mrs.
Leaf bustled into
the library. He
asked her for the
key of the
schoolroom.
„The old
schoolroom, Mr
Dorian?‟ she
exclaimed.”
In the earlier text, the
housekeeper Mrs Leaf is
described in much more
detail and tells us
something about Dorian as
a child. Why might Wilde
have removed these
details for the later edition?
The opening to
chapter ten (in
which Dorian
murders Basil): “It
was on the 7th
November, the eve
of his own thirty-
second birthday, as
he often
remembered
afterwards.”
The opening to
chapter twelve (in
which Dorian
murders Basil): “It
was on the ninth of
November, the eve
of his own thirty-
eighth birthday, as
he often
remembered
afterwards.”
Some have argued that in
the longer narrative Wilde
could extend the timeline
of the plot; others have
claimed that in the
Lippincott’s version the
“thirty-second birthday”
alludes to when Wilde first
engaged in homosexual
relationships. What is your
view?

15. N/A In chapter twelve, find
the paragraph
beginning, “ „Stop, Basil.
You are talking about
things of which you
know nothing.‟” This
paragraph was added in
1891.
What do we infer about
Dorian‟s character from the
passage? Do we
empathise with him less
with this addition in place,
and if so, why?
N/A In chapter fourteen, find the
paragraph beginning, “The
suspense became
unbearable.” This
paragraph, describing
Dorian‟s fear of being
hanged for Basil‟s murder,
was added in 1891.
Does Dorian appear cowardly in
this passage or do we
sympathise with his fear?
In chapter thirteen, when
Dorian stabs the picture,
the narrative reads, “it
would kill the past, and
when that was dead he
would be free. He seized
it, and stabbed the
canvas with it, ripping
the thing right up from
top to bottom.”
In chapter twenty, when
Dorian stabs the picture, the
narrative reads, “It would kill
the past, and when that was
dead he would be free. It
would kill this monstrous
soul-life, and without its
hideous warnings, he would
be at peace. He seized the
thing and stabbed the
picture with it.”
What allusion is present in the
1890 version that is omitted
from the later text? Why does
Dorian appear more immoral in
the later extract?

16. Plenary
• Look at your notes.
• Keep in mind additional Chapters 15-18.
• 2 minutes: discuss what you feel are his most
significant reasons for making the changes. Is
there any reason(s) cropping up more than once?
• Feedback to the class.

17. Wednesday 17th April 2013
Learning objectives:
• To be able to make comparisons
between the book and the film, focusing
on changes to structure and character.
• To consider why changes have been
made.
• To assess whether the changes detract
from Wilde’s original intention/vision.

18. HOMEWORK: due 25th April
• Enter into Google: New Yorker Alex Ross Wilde
• Read article ‘How Oscar Wilde Painted Over Dorian
Gray’ by Alex Ross, from The New Yorker magazine,
Sept 2011. If you can print it out, do so; it is 12 pages
long.
• Find three interesting quotations from it relating to:
– The characters
– Other reviewer’/critics’ views (name the reviewer/critic)
– The homosexual subtext

19. Wednesday 24th April 2013
Learning objectives:
• To be able to make comparisons
between the book and the film, focusing
on changes to structure and character.
• To consider why changes have been
made.
• To assess whether the changes detract
from Wilde’s original intention/vision.

20. CHARACTER PERSONALITY AND
ROLE IN BOOK
PERSONALITY AND
ROLE IN FILM
MOST
SIGNIFICANT
CHANGES
Dorian Gray
Lord Henry
Basil
Hallward

21. FOCUS ON STRUCTURAL CHANGES
In the grid, note down at least three instances when the director of
the film decided to either change or omit some part of the book.
CHANGES OMISSIONS

22. Take one character change and one structural change/omission
and consider why the director may have made the decision to
alter Wilde’s original or omit it completely.
CHARACTER: STRUCTURAL CHANGE/OMISSION
CHANGE: CHANGE/OMISSION:
POSSIBLE REASON: POSSIBLE REASON:

23. What did the critics think?
• Rotten Tomatoes

24. PLENARY
Taking into consideration both the changes made in
the film, the possible reasons for making them and
the film overall, do you feel that director Oliver
Parker stayed true to Wilde’s intentions and vision in
writing the book?
• Discuss in pairs for two minutes.
• Make notes.
• Feedback via class discussion.

25. Tuesday 30th April 2013
Learning objectives:
To know how the book was received
by contemporary critics.

26. AO1: articulate creative, informed and relevant responses to
literary texts, using appropriate terminology and concepts, a
coherent, accurate written expression.
QUICK QUIZ
What does narrative form mean?
What does narrative content mean?
Narrative arc?
First-person narration?
Third-person narration?
External narration?
Internal narration?
Restricted narration?
Unrestricted (omniscient) narration?
Focalisation?
Stream of consciousness?

27. Terms explained
Focalisation
‘The way in which a text represents
the relationship between who
‘experiences’ and what is
experienced. Focalisation falls into 2
categories:
 External focalisation, where an
anonymous, unidentified voice
situated outside the text
functions as focaliser;
 Character focalisation, where
phenomena are presented as
experienced by a character within
the story.’
Critical Anthology for OCR AS English
Literature, page 63-65
Stream of consciousness
Character focalisation where
the reader is taken into the
mind of a character, reading
their thoughts (inner speech)
without overt narrative
structuring.
A famous novel written
completely in stream of
consciousness is ‘Ulysses’ by
Irish writer James Joyce.

28. Example of stream of consciousness
a quarter after what an unearthly hour I suppose they’re
just getting up in China now combing out their pigtails for
the day well soon have the nuns ringing the angelus
they’ve nobody coming in to spoil their sleep except an
odd priest or two for his night office or the alarmlock next
door at cockshout clattering the brain out of itself let me
see if I can doze off 1 2 3 4 5 what kind of flowers are
those they invented like the stars the wallpaper in
Lombard Street was much nicer the apron he gave me
was like that something only I only wore it twice better
lower this lamp and try again so that I can get up early

29. Narrative and narration in
A Picture of Dorian Gray?
• Narrative form?
• Narrative content?
• Narrative arc?
• What types of third-person narration?

30. AO3
AO3: explore connections and comparisons between different
literary texts, informed by interpretations of other readers.
In this AO, you only need to focus on the second half
(underlined). You may show your analysis is supported by
the critical reading recommended by the exam board but
you may also find information about different
interpretations of your text from other sources. You do not
need to quote from these sources in the exam but you do
need to show that your study of the novel has been
enhanced by the interpretations of other readers (ie critics,
biographers and reviewers).

31. HOMEWORK: due 25th April
• Enter into Google: New Yorker Alex Ross Wilde
• Read article ‘How Oscar Wilde Painted Over Dorian
Gray’ by Alex Ross, from The New Yorker magazine,
Sept 2011.
• Find three interesting quotations from it relating to:
– The characters
– Other reviewer’/critics’ views (name the reviewer/critic)
– The homosexual subtext

32. What did you discover from the article about the
characters in „Dorian Gray‟?

33. What critical views did you find?

34. What did you discover about the
homosexual subtext?

35. We’re now going to look in more
detail at contemporary
responses to ‘Dorian Gray’.

36. ‘Why go grubbing in muck heaps?’
‘The world is fair, and the proportion of healthy-minded men and honest women to
those that are foul, fallen or unnatural is great. Mr Oscar Wilde has again been
writing stuff that were better unwritten; and while ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’,
which he contributes to Lippincott’s, is ingenious, interesting, full of cleverness, and
plainly the work of a man of letters, it is false art – for its interest is medico-legal; it
is false to human nature – for its hero is a devil; it is false to morality – for it is not
made sufficiently clear that the writer does not prefer a course of unnatural
iniquity to a life of cleanliness, health and sanity. The story – which deals with
matters only fitted for the Criminal Investigation Department or a hearing in
camera – is discreditable alike to author and editor. Mr Wilde has brains, and art,
and style; but if he can write for none but outlawed noblemen and perverted
telegraph-boys,* the sooner he takes to tailoring (or some other decent trade) the
better for his own reputation and the public morals.’
Review in the Scots Observer, July 5th 1890
* Reference to Lord Arthur Somerset and the ‘Cleveland Street affair’ of 1889,
surrounding a gay brothel for aristocrats; because of the rumoured involvement of
Albert Victor, son of the Prince of Wales and second in line to the throne, it was
hushed up but scandal erupted later when the government of the time was
accused of a cover-up.

37. Contemporary reviews
• The review on the previous slide is typical of
many of the reviews ‘The Picture of Dorian
Gray’ received when published.
• Highlight the three accusations that the book
is ‘false’.
• What is the reviewer actually accusing Wilde
of here?

38. Wilde’s response (extract)
‘Your reviewer suggests that I do not make it sufficiently clear whether I prefer
virtue to wickedness or wickedness to virtue. An artist...has no ethical sympathies
at all. Virtue and wickedness are to him simply what the colours on his palette are
to the painter. They are no more, and they are no less. He sees that by their means
a certain artistic effect can be produced, and he produces it. Iago may be morally
horrible and Imogen stainlessly pure. Shakespeare, as Keats said, had as much
delight in creating the one as he had in creating the other.
It was necessary...for the dramatic development of this story to surround Dorian
Gray with an atmosphere of moral corruption. Otherwise the story would have had
no meaning and the plot no issue. To keep this atmosphere vague and
indeterminate and wonderful was the aim of the artist who wrote the story. I
claim...that he has succeeded. Each man sees his own sin in Dorian Gray. What
Dorian Gray’s sins are no-one knows. He who finds them has brought them.
 What arguments does Wilde put forward against
the reviewer from the Scots Observer? Highlight key
sentences/phrases on your copy.
 Is it a strong counter-argument? Why/Why not?

39. HOMEWORK: due 8th May
• Go to http://books.google.co.uk and google Oscar
Wilde: The Critical Heritage by Karl E Beckson. *
• Read contemporary reviews of ‘Dorian Gray’ on pages
67-83, particularly the review by Walter Pater.
• Find out who Walter Pater was in relation to Wilde.
• Pick out a positive quotation from the Pater article
about Wilde’s book.
* You can also download these articles onto Kindle free of
charge; if you have the Norton edition of the book
(that’s you, Olly T), these reviews are printed at the
back.

40. Plenary
• Bearing in mind the time it was written, is
Dorian Gray an exercise in ‘grubbing in muck
heaps’?
• Discuss.
• Conclude.

41. The Picture of Dorian Gray: Themes
• Themes:
– Evil in humanity, the pleasures of evil and the
destructiveness of evil.
– Sin and redemption
– Appearance versus reality
– Hedonism
– The purpose of art : aestheticism
– Love, marriage and friendship
– The supremacy of youth and beauty
– The superficial nature of society
– Hypocrisy
– Influence/manipulation

42. The Picture of Dorian Gray: Themes
• Themes:
– Appearance versus reality
– Hedonism, including pleasures of evil
– The purpose of art, aestheticism
– Love and friendship; marriage
– The supremacy of youth and beauty
– The superficial nature of society; class;
– Hypocrisy

43. Wednesday 8th May 2013
• Learning objectives:
• To know the different types of irony.
• To be able to write about Dorian under exam
conditions in one hour.

44. IRONY
Verbal irony: where we do not literally mean what we
say; instead we imply an attitude of disbelief towards the
content of our utterance or writing. A proposition is
made; we interpret an attitude towards that proposition
that may not correspond to the words spoken/written.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in
possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
(Opening lines to Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)
In what way is this verbal irony?

45. IRONY
Situational irony: a conflict between what two
different people (or groups of people) know.
In ‘The Woman in Black’, the villagers of Crythin
Gifford purposely keep information from Arthur
Kipps (and, hence, us).
In what way does this create irony?
• Dramatic irony is a sub-kind of situational irony,
where the reader/audience know more than the
characters.

46. IRONY
• Uncertain irony: where the true opinion of
the writer is hard to define, even though we
think they are communicating propositions
they are unlikely to believe.
• Often an issue with writers from other
cultures or from another era.
• Shakespeare – can you think of any examples
from plays you have read?

47. IRONY
• Apply your knowledge to Dorian Gray. Try to
find examples of:
• Verbal irony
• Situational irony/dramatic irony
• Uncertain irony

48. Exam question
• ‘Dorian Gray’s attempt to become a living
work of art is doomed to failure.’
• In the light of this comment, discuss Wilde’s
presentation of life and art in the novel.

49. Exam Mark Scheme – good response
• Good answers to this question may point out that living as a work
of art might seem to be a way of avoiding moral responsibility. They
may refer to Wilde’s Preface to the novel, where he suggests that
art is not moral: ‘an ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable
mannerism of style’.
• Candidates may argue that, on the contrary, the novel seems to
offer a very firm moral: it is easy to see Dorian as a kind of modern
Faust, living a life of hedonism at the expense of the figure in the
portrait, then destroying his alter ego in the picture and regaining
his humanity at the cost of his death.
• Answers may suggest that the book seems to be about living freely
and freshly, but that punishment is stored up in the end.
• Some candidates may suggest that art proves to be fatal for Basil
Hallward, too, who is murdered as a result of painting the portrait,
and also perhaps for Sybil Vane, who first attracts Dorian’s attention
as an actress.

50. How would you respond?
• The exam board says, ‘the indicative content….is not
prescriptive, nor is it exclusive; examiners must be careful to
reward original but well-focused answers and implicit as well
as explicit responses.’

51. Plenary
• Feedback your four idea developments for the
essay.
• Next lesson, you’re going to write it.