The Picture of Dorian Gray Character Worksheet

Exercise 1: Match the name of the character to the description that best fits.

1 Dorian Gray A A heroin addict who has lost contact with all friends. 2 Lord Henry Wotton B Loyal and protective but perhaps a little too clingy. 3 Basil Hallward C A scientist who gets blackmailed into doing something unspeakable. 4 Sibyl Vane D Beautiful and initially naïve but is corrupted by vanity and the search for pleasure. 5 James Vane E Married socialite who flirts openly with many.

6 Alan Campbell F A dedicated brother who is bent on revenge.

7 Adrian Singleton G A wealthy party-planner who loves a good gossip session. 8 Lady Narborough H Witty and charming and loves to shock people with outrageous statements. 9 The Duchess of Monmouth I Vengeful aristocrat who arranges a murder to prevent family shame. 10 Lord Kelso J Beautiful and talented and, ultimately, a tragic figure

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Exercise 2: Who said the following? Each of these quotes is either by Dorian, Lord Henry or Basil.

QUOTE WHO SAID IT? 1 “You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you never had the courage to commit.” 2 “I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.” 3 An artist should create beautiful things, but should put nothing of his own life into them… We have lost the abstract sense of beauty.” 4 “Never marry at all, Dorian. Men marry because they are tired, women, because they are curious: both are disappointed.” 5 “Each of us has heaven and hell in him.” 6 “The reason I will not exhibit this picture is that I am afraid that I have shown in it the secret of my own soul.” 7 “If I had read all this in a book, Harry, I think I would have wept over it. Somehow, now that it has happened actually, and to me, it seems far too wonderful for tears.” 8 “There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.” 9 “Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul.” 10 “People say sometimes that beauty is only superficial. That may be so, but at least it is not so superficial as thought is. To me, beauty is the wonder of wonders. It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances.”

Exercise 3: Fill in the missing words in this paragraph to complete an analysis of the main character.

WORDS TO USE: reputation combination unravelling aware wish beautiful addicted charismatic pleasure cruelty innocent fleeting hedonistic dead preoccupied blames forever resolution central hideous disfigured pristine shallow reappearance murder

Dorian Gray is the 1.1 ______character in the novel. When the story begins, Dorian is presented as 1.2 ______and stunningly 1.3 ______. However, after a conversation with Lord Henry, he becomes acutely 1.4 ______of his beauty and the 1.5 ______nature of youth. He makes a spontaneous 1.6 ______that the portrait Basil Hallward painted of him be the one to age while he remains 1.7 ______young and beautiful. As the novel progresses, we see Dorian transform into a 1.8 ______and self- seeking man who pursues 1.9 ______above all else. The reader gets to experience his first act of 1.10 ______when he callously rejects Sibyl Vanes and, by the accounts of his behaviour later in the story, he just gets worse. In his quest for a 1.11 ______existence, he has left a trail of destruction in his wake. It seems that many people who come into contact with Dorian, are left broke, 1.12 ______to illegal substances, with their 1.13 ______in tatters, or, worse still, 1.14 ______. Basil Hallward and Adrian Singleton are two such men. Dorian’s 1.15 ______of Basil is absolutely horrific but Dorian is left more 1.16______with the fear of being caught than he is sorry for taking his friend’s life. In fact, he 1.17______Basil for the whole situation. Though he is haunted by the murder, he is far more horrified by the thought of his own death, which is why the 1.18______of James Vane is so disturbing. By this time, Dorian is mentally 1.19 ______and is constantly fearful. After James Vane’s death, his 1.20 ______to reform himself seems tokenistic. When he can no longer live with the idea of the now 1.21 ______portrait and its reminder of his many sins, foremost he murder of Basil, his attempt to destroy it backfires. The 1.22 ______old man lying in front of the beautiful portrait is a far cry from the 1.23 ______beauty Dorian enjoyed all his life. Unfortunately, whether by influence from the 1.24 ______Lord Henry or as a result of Dorian’s own vanity and selfishness, or because of a poisonous 1.25 ______of both, he will be remembered mostly for the long list of lives he destroyed along the way.

Exercise 4

Imagine that you are a director who has been tasked to do a film version of The Picture of Dorian Gray. Who would you cast in the main roles? Choose a well-known actor to play each of the following roles and provide a brief explanation of why you chose this actor.

Actor Explanation Dorian Gray

Lord Henry Wotton

Basil Hallward

Sibyl Vane

James Vane

Alan Campbell

Lady Narborough