The Picture of Dorian Gray for English learners: level, words and how to read it

What the book is about

The painter Basil Hallward is finishing a portrait of Dorian Gray, a young man of extraordinary beauty. Basil’s friend Lord Henry Wotton fills Dorian’s head with ideas: youth is the only thing worth having, and pleasure is the point of life. Looking at the finished picture, Dorian wishes that the portrait would grow old instead of him.

The wish comes true. Over the years Dorian stays young and handsome while he lives a hidden life of cruelty and excess, and the picture, locked away upstairs, records every sin on its face.

Themes

• Beauty and youth. What a society that worships appearance does to a young man who has nothing else.
• Art and morality. The famous preface claims that books are neither moral nor immoral, while the novel itself is about the price of a life without conscience.
• Influence. Lord Henry never does anything wrong himself; his charming paradoxes are enough.
• The double life. A respectable face for society and a secret kept behind a locked door.

How hard is The Picture of Dorian Gray to read in English?

We measured how much of the book is covered by the most frequent English words (character names excluded). If you know the 2,000 most common words, you will recognise about 85% of the words in the book, which leaves roughly 15 unknown words in every hundred. With 5,000 words it is about 9 in a hundred, and with 10,000 words about 5.

For comfortable reading without help, researchers aim for about 98% known words (more in our guide). By vocabulary alone this is a B2–C1 book; with tap-to-translate for the words you do not know, it is readable from B2. On our list it sits between The Hound of the Baskervilles, which is a little easier, and Little Women, which is a little harder.

What is hard: Wilde’s rich, decorative vocabulary (gilt, pallid, tremulous), long descriptions of jewels, perfumes and fabrics, especially in chapter 11, and Lord Henry’s paradoxes, which say the opposite of what you expect. What helps: much of the book is sparkling dialogue in short sentences (12 words on average), and the plot moves quickly.

Our take: a rewarding B2 (B2–C1 by vocabulary) read. The dialogue is easier than it looks; the descriptions are the real work.

Words to know before you start

These words appear often in the book but are much rarer in everyday modern English. Learning them in advance makes the first chapters noticeably easier.

How to read it in the original

1. Enjoy the dialogue chapters. Chapters 1–2 are mostly conversation and set up the whole story.
2. Skim chapter 11 if you get stuck. It is a long catalogue of Dorian’s collections; the plot continues in chapter 12.
3. Collect Lord Henry’s lines. His epigrams are short, memorable and perfect for learning how English plays with words.
4. Read the preface at the end. Its aphorisms make more sense once you know the story.

The first line

The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.

Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

odoursmell (British spelling)

noun

Tap a highlighted word

The novel opens with the senses, colours and scents of Basil’s studio. This decorative style is typical of Wilde; it gets lighter as soon as the characters start talking.

Frequently asked questions