4. Literature and the Law

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we explore the presentation of crime and the law in the novel, focusing in particular on the number of deaths in the book, the strong homoerotic pulse that runs through the novel, Wilde's own trial for 'sodomy and gross indecency' in 1895, for which he was imprisoned for two years, and the misogyny that runs through the novel – especially on the lips of Lord Henry.

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.