What does Lord Henry say about beauty?
But beauty, real beauty, ends where an intellectual expression begins. Intellect is in itself a mode of exaggeration, and destroys the harmony of any face. The moment one sits down to think, one becomes all nose, or all forehead, or something horrid.
What does Lord Henry say about art?
Lord Henry shares his ideas about artists, including Basil, with Dorian. Lord Henry repeats the idea throughout the novel that interesting people cannot be good artists because artists must give their entire selves over to their work.
How did Lord Henry’s words influence Dorian’s reaction to the portrait?
Recalling the words of Lord Henry, he first recognizes the extraordinary beauty and youth in the portrait and then is pained by the thought of losing it. He envies the figure in the painting, saying that he would give his soul to be young forever as the painting will be.
What does Lord Henry represent?
Although Lord Henry is a self-proclaimed hedonist who advocates the equal pursuit of both moral and immoral experience, he lives a rather staid life. He participates in polite London society and attends parties and the theater, but he does not indulge in sordid behavior.
What reference does Lord Henry make to Dorian’s youth and good looks?
When Lord Henry says, “I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good characters, and my enemies for their good intellects; a man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies”–what does this reveal about him? What do Dorian and Lord Henry have in common when they first meet in Ch.
Why is beauty important in The Picture of Dorian Gray?
For Dorian Gray, beauty is the end goal of his life, a goal that he claims he would give anything, even his soul, for. This is a high price, a price that Dorian eventually pays. Throughout the novel, we watch Dorian become more and more morally corrupt.
What is Lord Henry’s opinion on the nature of influence?
What is Lord Henry’s opinion on the nature of influence? “‘There is no such thing as a good influence, Mr. Gray. All influence is immoral'” (13).
What is Lord Henry’s overall impact or role on the character of Dorian?
Henry completely influence’s Dorian’s life in regards to his ability to make Dorian think whatever he wants, and has forced the idea upon him that beauty and youth will conquer morality and that it weights more heavily than being a good person, thus making Henry a device of sin in Dorian’s life.
What does Dorian think about beauty?
Dorian’s perception of beauty allows him to love. He is convinced that his beauty allows him to accomplish anything he desires regardless of the consequences and still be loved by his friends. He uses his beauty to mitigate his evil actions. Dorian says, “I don’t wish to know anything about them.
What is Lord Henry’s attitude toward love marriage and actresses?
What is Lord Henry’s attitude toward love, marriage, and actresses? Love and marriage are disappointments. Do not get involved with actresses because they are always playing someone else rather than themselves.
What is the relationship between inner and outer beauty in the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray?
The notion of inner and outer beauty is perfectly presented in the novel ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ by Oscar Wilde. The story described in this book shows how the external attractiveness influences people’s behavior and corrupts the inner beauty.
How does Lord Henry view marriage?
The problem with marriage is that it often makes people unselfish, according to Lord Henry, and unselfish people lose their individuality. The purpose of life is to know oneself. Marriage may get in the way of that, but it does not have to.
What does Lord Henry want to do with the painting?
When Lord Henry expresses his desire to meet Gray, Basil explains that he wants to keep Dorian and the painting hidden away so that neither Dorian nor the world will ever know about his “curious artistic idolatry.” Lord Henry suggests that Basil’s feeling may pass and that he will eventually become indifferent to …
What is the symbolic meaning of the portrait in the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray?
The portrait is the main symbol at work here. It’s a kind of living allegory, a visible interpretation of Dorian’s soul. Basically, the picture represents Dorian’s inner self, which becomes uglier with each passing hour and with every crime he commits.
How does Lord Henry describe his relationship with his wife?
Lord Henry early in the narrative explains his view on marriage: The one charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deception necessary for both parties. I never know where my wife is, and my wife never knows what I am doing.
Why does Lord Henry think the painting looks like him?
Lord Henry thinks Basil means the painting looks like him, and explains why he believes someone as intellectual as Basil could never have such beauty. This exchange, which occurs early in the novel, reveals the shallowness of Lord Henry, as he values beauty over art or intellect.
What are the principles of aestheticism in the picture of Dorian Gray?
The first principle of aestheticism, the philosophy of art by which Oscar Wilde lived, is that art serves no other purpose than to offer beauty. Throughout The Picture of Dorian Gray, beauty reigns. It is a means to revitalize the wearied senses, as indicated by the effect that Basil’s painting has on the cynical Lord Henry.
What motivates the aestheticists?
The aestheticists were motivated as much by a contempt for bourgeois morality—a sensibility embodied in Dorian Gray by Lord Henry, whose every word seems designed to shock the ethical certainties of the burgeoning middle class—as they were by the belief that art need not possess any other purpose than being beautiful.
What is the purpose of art according to Wilde?
The purpose of art, according to this series of epigrams, is to have no purpose. In order to understand this claim fully, one needs to consider the moral climate of Wilde’s time and the Victorian sensibility regarding art and morality.