3. Literature and Morality

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we explore the question of whether The Picture of Dorian Gray is a 'moral' book, focusing in particular on the characters of Lord Henry, Dorian, Basil and Sibyl, the rise of the so-called 'Newgate Novels' in the mid-19th century, and Wilde's prosecution in 1895 for sodomy and gross indecency, at which his own works – including The Picture of Dorian Gray – were presented as evidence against him.

Course

In this course, Professor Nick Groom (University of Exeter) explores Oscar Wilde's 1890 novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. The course begins with a brief introduction to Wilde himself, his life and times, as well as some of the key influences on his writing of the novel. After that, in the second module, we think about the presentation of art in the novel, before moving on in the third module to explore to 'morality' of the book. In the fourth module, we think about the presentation of crime and the law in the novel, before turning in the fifth and final module to consider the extent to which The Picture of Dorian Gray might be described as a Gothic novel.

Lecturer

Nick Groom is Professor of English Literature at the University of Exeter, a critically acclaimed author on subjects ranging from the history of the Union Jack to Thomas Chatterton, has edited several books and regularly appears on television, radio and at literary festivals as an authority on English Literature, the ‘Gothic’ and ‘British’ identity.