Linguistic

Semantic

Structural

Cultural

Specific textual examples of what you’ve observed when reading at this level—cited in MLA format.

(You may use numbers or bullets here to take notes)

-“and the thought brought a gleam of pleasure into his brown agate eyes” (47)

-“He lives the poetry that he cannot write. The others write the poetry that they dare not realise.” (47)

-“He was like one of those gracious figures in a pageant or a play, whose joys seem to be remote from one, but whose sorrows stir one’s sense of beauty, and whose wounds are like red roses.” (48)

-“The only artists I have ever known who are personally delightful are bad artists.” (47)

-“Ordinary people waited till life disclosed to them its secrets, but to the few, to the elect, the mysteries of life were revealed before the veil was drawn away.” (48)

-“There were poisons so subtle that to know their properties one had to sicken of them.” (47)

-“Certainly few people had ever interested him so much as Dorian Gray, and yet the lad’s mad adoration of someone else caused him not the slightest pang of annoyance or jealousy.” (47)

-“What matter what the cost was? One could never pay too high a price for any sensation.” (47)

-“There were maladies so strange that one had to pass through them if one sought to understand their nature.” (47)

-“A great poet, a really great poet, is the most unpoetical of all creatures.” (47)

-“Or was the body really in the soul, as Giordano Bruno thought?” (48)

-“How shallow were the arbitrary definitions of ordinary psychologists! And yet how difficult to decide between the claims of the various schools!” (48)

Demonstrate the development of complexity of thought at each level by writing a descriptive response to what you’ve written in the row above. (Analyze your thought patterns when observing the examples you’ve listed above—these may also be in note-taking form)

Throughout the entire piece Wilde is very descriptive of his characters and their physical features, giving a very vivid image of the character and often giving insights on their feelings with it. He makes comparisons in similar fashion. The use of parallelism, though, also allows for various comparisons, her specifically on his view of poetry.

It is here where Wilde gives his thoughts on art, his belief that in order for an artist to be cold and unapproachable to truly have artistic vision. He uses the metaphor of the veil being drawn away to express how he sees some people have an understanding of life before others are in advance in that respect. He also talks about experience, and how true understanding comes from there.  He expresses that life is not always obvious to those not living it, and shows this by exemplifying it.

In the last excerpt, it parallels an excerpt in the previous column, in order to emphasize the point of needed experience that Wilde is trying to get across in a variety of ways. Wilde lays out Dorian Gray’s full name as Harry is thinking about him here, showing Harry’s full admiration for him, and the apparent whole consuming beauty that he holds. He uses diction that is specific to money and riches, again enhancing his belief that getting to experience life goes beyond wealth.

Towards the end of the passage, Wilde begins to bring up the field of psychology, and how it is quite an unclear track to go on, and is little help in explaining his thoughts, from the fact that there are simply too many differing ideas. Psychology had the ability to be very controversial at this time, so it is a very interesting bit of discussion that he brings up.

Passage #1 From Novel (Re-type or photo copy the passage in this column)

Analysis of Close Reading (Essentially a prose passage or poetry essay; synthesize the texture of the passage to the left.)

"Basil, my dear boy, puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life but his prejudices, his principles, and his common sense. The only artists I have ever known who are personally delightful are bad artists. Good artists exist simply in what they make, and consequently are perfectly uninteresting in what they are. A great poet, a really great poet, is the most unpoetical of all creatures. But inferior poets are absolutely fascinating. The worse their rhymes are, the more picturesque they look. The mere fact of having published a book of second-rate sonnets makes a man quite irresistible. He lives the poetry that he cannot write. The others write the poetry that they dare not realize."

"I wonder is that really so, Harry?" said Dorian Gray, putting some perfume on his handkerchief out of a large, gold-topped bottle that stood on the table. "It must be, if you say it. And now I am off. Imogen is waiting for me. Don't forget about to-morrow. Good-bye."

As he left the room, Lord Henry's heavy eyelids drooped, and he began to think. Certainly few people had ever interested him so much as Dorian Gray, and yet the lad's mad adoration of some one else caused him not the slightest pang of annoyance or jealousy. He was pleased by it. It made him a more interesting study. He had been always enthralled by the methods of natural science, but the ordinary subject-matter of that science had seemed to him trivial and of no import. And so he had begun by vivisecting himself, as he had ended by vivisecting others. Human life--that appeared to him the one thing worth investigating. Compared to it there was nothing else of any value. It was true that as one watched life in its curious crucible of pain and pleasure, one could not wear over one's face a mask of glass, nor keep the sulphurous fumes from troubling the brain and making the imagination turbid with monstrous fancies and misshapen dreams. There were poisons so subtle that to know their properties one had to sicken of them. There were maladies so strange that one had to pass through them if one sought to understand their nature. And, yet, what a great reward one received! How wonderful the whole world became to one! To note the curious hard logic of passion, and the emotional coloured life of the intellect--to observe where they met, and where they separated, at what point they were in unison, and at what point they were at discord--there was a delight in that! What matter what the cost was? One could never pay too high a price for any sensation.

He was conscious--and the thought brought a gleam of pleasure into his brown agate eyes--that it was through certain words of his, musical words said with musical utterance, that Dorian Gray's soul had turned to this white girl and bowed in worship before her. To a large extent the lad was his own creation. He had made him premature. That was something. Ordinary people waited till life disclosed to them its secrets, but to the few, to the elect, the mysteries of life were revealed before the veil was drawn away. Sometimes this was the effect of art, and chiefly of the art of literature, which dealt immediately with the passions and the intellect. But now and then a complex personality took the place and assumed the office of art, was indeed, in its way, a real work of art, life having its elaborate masterpieces, just as poetry has, or sculpture, or painting.

Yes, the lad was premature. He was gathering his harvest while it was yet spring. The pulse and passion of youth were in him, but he was becoming self-conscious. It was delightful to watch him. With his beautiful face, and his beautiful soul, he was a thing to wonder at. It was no matter how it all ended, or was destined to end. He was like one of those gracious figures in a pageant or a play, whose joys seem to be remote from one, but whose sorrows stir one's sense of beauty, and whose wounds are like red roses.

Soul and body, body and soul--how mysterious they were! There was animalism in the soul, and the body had its moments of spirituality. The senses could refine, and the intellect could degrade. Who could say where the fleshly impulse ceased, or the psychical impulse began? How shallow were the arbitrary definitions of ordinary psychologists! And yet how difficult to decide between the claims of the various schools! Was the soul a shadow seated in the house of sin? Or was the body really in the soul, as Giordano Bruno thought? The separation of spirit from matter was a mystery, and the union of spirit with matter was a mystery also.” (47-48)

  In this passage Wilde creates a scene that allows him to showcase his views through the discussion occurring inside one of his very interesting character’s heads. Throughout the piece Wilde uses many pieces of parallelism to compare and contrast the good and the bad artists and poets, as well as compare the body and the soul. He makes the contrasts simple, and blunt, leaving no room for consideration of other thoughts. His beliefs on art specifically are enhanced greatly by his writing here as he discusses painting and poetry and literature. The main point at which he gets through these comparisons is that the true artists lost the wonderful things about them inside of their art, in order to make their art great. By not only saying this, but saying what makes a bad artist, Wilde is strikingly clear about his views.          

As the passage progresses his focus shifts more to science, and humans, and observing them. It looks at how interesting life is through the use of comparisons, and explains the need for experience and what it will do for someone. His tone throughout the entire passage though is quite curious. It is as if he is saying here are my ideas, but I am still exploring them as well. It is more of a discussion in Harry’s mind concerning topics that are of interest, than a declaration of certain ideas.

Later in the passage Wilde allows for Harry’s mind to wander deeper into the questions of life, now concerning body versus soul, and questioning the field of psychology. Harry expresses that Dorian Gray has both  a beautiful mind and a beautiful soul, and it launches a discussion into deeper philosophical questions that obviously plague Wildes mind as he writes for his character with many rash, concrete opinions to linger on certain questions  that have very intense concerning with life.