Abstract:Oscar Wilde was born in 1854 in Dublin, where he began to promote the movement of “Art for art’s sake”. The Picture of Dorian Gray was his first and only novel and it is an excellent example to help readers appreciate the aestheticism of Oscar Wilde. It is well known that Oscar was an expert in using language. This paper will explore three writing techniques that were used in this novel. Firstly, the language art which includes diction, sentences and rhetoric. Secondly, in order to help readers understand the connotation of the novel, this paper will explore the symbolism and Gothic elements that Oscar applied. Based on plenty of studies conducted by scholars all around the world and by analyzing the writing techniques, this paper attempts to interpret the methods to facilitate the understanding of the linguistic artistry from different angles.

Key words: The Picture of Dorian Gray; Language art; Symbolism; Gothic elements

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

Introduction-1

I.-The Language Arts in The Picture of Dorian Gray-4

A.-Diction-4

B.-Sentences-4

C.-Rhetoric-5

II. The Symbolism in The Picture of Dorian Gray-7

A.-The Id-7

B.-The Ego-8

C.-The Superego-9

III. The Gothic Elements in The Picture of Dorian Gray-11

A.-The Gothic Theme-11

B.-The Gothic Plot and Characters-11

C.-The Comparison with “William Wilson”-13

Conclusion-14

Bibliography-15

Acknowledgments-16