Diction In 'The Picture Of Dorian Gray'

Diction The diction of this book, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is very formal. Words he uses throughout the novel like, “upon” and “Desire” show that formality. The formality of the words makes the novel seem serious The language through is very strong, Wilde uses many harsh sounding words that contribute to the overall theme of negative consequences of influences and the supremacy of youth and beauty. From the diction we the readers can get the idea that Wilde was a very educated man. From character to character, the dialogue is very different. While Lord Henry is very proper and he uses very intellectual language, Basil is almost opposite of that. Most of the book is in dialect and that contributes to the theme because through
It is a foreshadowing of the negative effects that Lord Henry’s influences will have on Dorian through the book. The words like, questioned and superficial foreshadow that Dorian will become badly influenced by Lord Henry. Despite Basil’s warnings to Lord Henry, he still puts his beliefs out for Dorian to take in. When Wilde randomly capitalizes words like Thought and Genius really emphasize the importance of the words. They help to further the theme because when Lord Henry talks about being a genius and how it can make someone less beautiful, it makes Dorian not want to be smart so he can remain beautiful for as long as he can. The tone that this passage has is portrayed through the diction that Wilde chooses to use. Words like superficial add to the overall tone of the novel which is sort of gothic, with a dark comedy. The words really make me feel like Lord Henry is trying to impress Dorian in a way because he is a little intimidated by his beauty. In a way, he is trying to get on his good side, almost to plant his seed in Dorian’s head. Because towards the middle of the novel, Dorian starts acting like Lord Henry and begins to do things to hurt other people emotionally and he doesn’t seem to care