1. Monuments of the Anglo-Saxon literature. Beowulf.

Christian literature:
Venerable Bede, Cynewulf, Caedmon, Alfred the Great
This period is marked by the invasion of Britain by Germanic tribes. Among these
invaders there were Germanic tribes called Angles, Saxons and Jutes. The Anglo−Saxons
doubtless brought with them from the Continent their own culture, traditions, and beliefs.
They spoke different dialects of the West Germanic Language. But they had no written
language yet. And the stories and poems they composed had to be memorized.
The main genres: epics, elegies, folk songs, sagas.
The main theme: is the struggle between good and evil.
Monuments of the A-S literature:
Widsith (i.e., 'the far traveller'), usually considered to be the oldest poem in the
language. It consists of nearly 150 lines of verse, in which a traveller, more imaginary than
real, recounts the places and illustrious people he has visited. The poem is of especial
importance from a historical point of view, but poetically it is of little merit.
The Battle of Maldon describes the battle which took place in 993, with emphasis on
individual deeds of valour and on the feelings of the warriors. It is particularly outstanding
for the sentiments expressed by the warriors
Beowulf. Not much Anglo−Saxon literature of the pagan period has come down to us.
By far the most important remaining example is the epic 'Beowulf,' of about three
thousand lines. "Beowulf" tells us of the times long before the Anglo-Saxons came to
Britain. It has come down to us in a single manuscript, which was written at the end of the
10th century, at least two centuries after its composition. The poem was given the title
"Beowulf" only in 1805 and it was not printed until 1850. The name of the author is
unknown. The manuscript called the Nowell Codex is in the British Museum, in London.
Its social interest lies on the description of the life of this period.
Beowulf falls into two parts. It opens in Denmark, where King Hrothgar’s splendid hall,
Heorot, has been terrorized for 12 years by nightly visits from an evil monster, Grendel.
Unexpectedly, young Beowulf, a prince of the Geats of southern Sweden, arrives and
offers to cleanse Heorot of its monster. During the night Grendel comes from the moors.
He then fights with Beowulf, whose powerful grip(|ɡrɪp|) he cannot escape. Grendel
wrenches himself free, tearing off his arm, and leaves, mortally wounded.
The next day is one of rejoicing(/rɪˈdʒɔɪsɪŋ/ )(святкування)in Heorot. But at night as
the warriors sleep, Grendel’s mother comes to avenge her son, killing one of Hrothgar’s
men. In the morning Beowulf seeks her out in her cave at the bottom of a mere and kills
her. He cuts the head from Grendel’s corpse and returns to Heorot.. Hrothgar makes a
farewell speech about the character of the true hero, and Beowulf returns home.
The second part passes rapidly over Beowulf’s succession to the kingship and his
peaceful rule of 50 years. But now a fire-breathing dragon ravages /ˈrævɪdʒ/  спустошує
his land. Beowulf kills the dragon but is mortally wounded. The poem ends with
Beowulf`s funeral rites.
Christian literature
After the adoption of Christianity (664)the first monks settled in Britain. They established
monasteries where the educated people. It was the beginning of the written form of literature.
The official language was Latin and a lot of works couldn`t be understood by Anglo-
Saxons.The main theme: is also the struggle between good and evil. Religious poetry seems
to have flourished in northern England-Northumbria-throughout the eighth century. Much of
it consists of retellings of books and episodes from the Old Testament.
 Venerable Bede (672-735) Bede's best-known work- An Ecclesiastical History of the
English People, completed in about 731.
 The first of the five books begins with some geographical background, and then sketches
the history of England, beginning with Caesar's invasion in 55 BC..
 The second book begins with the death of Gregory the Great in 604, and follows the
further progress of Christianity in Kent .. 
The third book recounts the growth of Christianity in Northumbria under kings Oswald of
Northumbria and Oswy. 
 The fourth book begins with the consecration of Theodore as Archbishop of Canterbury,
and recounts Wilfrid's efforts to bring Christianity to the kingdom of Sussex.
 The fifth book brings the story up to Bede's day, and includes the conflict with the British
church over the correct dating of Easter.
Caedmon - a 7th-Century Poet Caedmon was one of the religious writers of the time.
His works were based mainly on the Old Testament. Some historians have attributed to
Caedmon writing a 3,000-verse poem about the creation of the world (Genesis), which
basically follows the Bible text with some departures. A short hymn in praise of the
creation, "Hymn of Creation", is also attributed to Caedmon.
Cynewulf- a 9th-Century Poet A later poet, Cynewulf, and his followers, drew on the
New Testament, as well as historical events connected with Christianity. His works
include The Fates of the Apostles, a short martyrology(житія святих), a homily
/ˈhɒm.əl.i/  (lecture on moral conduct), and Juliana, the story of a saint.. Cynewulf's work
is clear and technically elegant. His theme is the continuing mission of the church from the
time of Christ to that of Constantine.
King Alfred the Great (reigned 871-900), one of the most significant rulers of the first
millennium, after making peace with the Vikings, made his kingdom into a cultural centre.
He translated many works from Latin. This was the foundation of the written national
language. He translated Baede 's Church History and other historical accounts. In addition,
Alfred created the Anglo-Saxon Chronical(history of England). His works lacked
originality, and were more instructive and educational than artistic and beautiful.
 2.Literature in the Norman Times. Folk songs and ballads. Geoffrey Chaucer- the
father of the English literature. «The Canterbury Tales»
After the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the written form of the Anglo-Saxon
language became less common. Under the influence of the new aristocracy, Law French
became the standard language of courts, parliament, and polite society. As the invaders
integrated, their language and literature mingled /ˈmɪŋ.ɡəld/  with that of the natives and
the Norman dialects of the ruling classes became Anglo-Norman.
Though there had already appeared the written language and the printing press in
England, most people, including aristocracy, could neither read nor write. That's why
folklore was developing rapidly.
Such genres as romances, fables, fabliau, and ballads were the most common.
Folk Songs and Ballads. As the majority of people couldn’t read or write in the 15th
century, folk poetry flourished. In England and Scotland folk songs were heard
everywhere. Songs were made up for every occasion.
The best of folk poetry were the ballads. The word "ballad" comes from the Italian
word "ballare", which means, "to dance". English and Scottish ballads were short
narratives in verse partly lyrical and partly epic, which were either for singing or for
reciting. They were often accompanied by musical instruments and dancing. They were
sung in towns and villages and became the most popular form of amusement. Some
ballads could be performed by several people because they consisted of dialogues. They
expressed the thoughts and sentiments of the people and they became so popular that the
names of their authors were forgotten. The ballads were handed down by word of mouth
from generation to generation. The most popular ones in England were those about Robin
Hood. The ballads of Robin Hood tell us of his adventures in the forest as an outlaw.
Many Saxons joined him. They were called the Merry Men of Robin Hood. The men in
their green coats were killing birds and animals for food and playing all sorts of tricks on
anyone who happened to come near them. Robin's closest friends were Little John who
was the tallest and the strongest and Allan-a-deil. Robin himself was described as a man
with twinkle in his eye, who never robbed the poor. He was a tireless enemy of Norman
aggressors and always helped the country folk in their troubles. Though the sheriff had put
a big prize on Robin's head, not a Saxon in the whole Nottingham betrayed him
The Romances. The romances idealized their characters and the relationship between
people. Many of such stories came from old French, which was a Romantic dialect. So
such works were called "Romances". The most notable romances were Arthurian Legends
about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
The Fable. /ˈfeɪ.b l/  Fables were short stories with animals for characters. They always
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conveyed a moral.
The Fabliau. ˈfa-blē-ˌō Fabliaux ˈfa-blē-ˌō(z) were funny stories about cunning
humbugs & the unfaithful wives of rich merchants. These stories were collected and
written down much later. Contrary to the romances the literature of the towns did not
idealize their characters. These stories show a practical attitude to life.
 Geoffrey Chaucer ['dʒefri 'tʃɔ:sə] Chaucer was the 1st who broke away from medieval
forms and approached realism.
Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400) was born in the family of a wine merchant. Chaucer's
parents were far from being wealthy. Chaucer, however, received what education his
parents were able to give him. Many people think that he must have been educated at
Oxford or Cambridge, because he was a poet, but nothing is known about that for sure. As
his father had some connections with the court, Geoffrey was patch to a lady (мальчик на
побегушках) at the court of Edward the 3rd. Thus, he became a favourite with the Royal
Family.
The Three Periods of Chaucer's Writings
The 1st is the French period. Chaucer's earliest poems were written in imitation of the
French romances Chaucer spoke French brilliantly and was very fond of French poetry. He
translated from French the famous allegorical poem of the 14th century "The Romance of
the
The second period of Chaucer's writing was that of Italian influence. Chaucer made 3
trips to Italy and this country made a deep impression on him. To this period belong the
following poems "The parliament of Birds", The legend of "Good Women" is a dream
poem, which is written in couplets /ˈkʌplɪt/ and forms a bridge between the poems of
Italian period and the next one.
The 3rd one is the English period. It begins from the year 1374 when he became
entirely English as he started writing literary work in the English Language. It was in this
time that he wrote his masterpiece "Canterbury Tales".
"Canterbury Tales".This is a collection of stories written in Middle English (mostly
written in verse although some are in prose). The framework, which serves to connect the
stories, is a Pilgrimage to Canterbury. The Pilgrims agree to tell stories to shorten a
tiresome four days trip. Pilgrimages of every kind were extremely common in Chaucer's
time and strongly advocated by the church. The prize for this story-telling contest is a free
meal at an Inn on their return. Chaucer opens his work with a prologue in which 30 men
and women from all ranks of society pass before the reader's eyes. Chaucer makes a record
portrait of each traveller showing his character. Thus, there was a brave knight who loved
truth, honour and generosity. He was followed by two nuns and 3 priests. There was a fat
monk who loved hunting and a good dinner better than praying.
 It is obvious, however, that Chaucer borrowed portions, sometimes very large portions,
of his tales from earlier stories. The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio contains more
parallels to The Canterbury Tales than any other work. Like the Tales, it features a number
of narrators who tell stories along a journey they have undertaken (to flee from the Black
Death). It ends with an apology by Boccaccio, much like Chaucer's Retraction to
the Tales.
3. Reneissance in England. Thomas More-the first English humanist and his
«Utopia»
The word "renaissance" means "rebirth" in French. Renaissance is the name of a great
intellectual & cultural movement of the revival of interest in classical culture that occurred
in the 14th, 15th & 16th centuries in Europe. The concept of perfect Beauty becomes the
essence of the artistic philosophy of the Renaissance. Thus the philosophy of the
Renaissance resolves itself into a search for perfection, for ideal beauty, for symmetry,
proportion, and balance.
Humanism, system of education and mode of inquiry that originated in northern Italy
during the 13th and 14th centuries and later spread through continental Europe and
England. Humanism is a belief in the value, freedom, and independence of human beings.
The First Period of Renaissance. The wave of progress reached the shores of England
only in the 16th century. The freedom of thought of English humanists revealed itself in
antifeudal ideas, showing the life of their own people as it really was. Such a writer was
the humanist Thomas More (1458 -1535).
The Second Period of the Renaissance. The most significant period of the
Renaissance in England falls to the reign of Queen Elizabeth. There was a sudden rise of
the drama. The great plays were written in verse. Lyrical poetry also became wide-spread
in England. The country was called a nest of singing birds. Lyrical poetry was very
emotional. The poets introduced blank verse and the Italian sonnet. The sonnet is a poem
consisting of fourteen lines. The lines are divided into two groups: the first group of eight
lines (the octave), and the 26 second group of six lines (the sextet). The foremost poet of
the time was Edmund Spenser.
Thomas More(1478–1535) Many historical records suggest that Thomas More was
born in London, England, on February 7, 1478. He attended St. Anthony's School in
London, and as a youth served as a page in the household of John Morton, archbishop of
Canterbury and chancellor of England. More went on to study at Oxford University.
Around 1494, his father, brought More back to London to study common law. And in
February 1496, More was admitted to Lincoln's Inn, to prepare for admission to the bar,
and in 1501 he became a full member of the profession.In 1504 More was elected to
parliament. More was knighted in 1521 and in 1523 More was made the speaker of the
House of Commons. In 1525 More was given the post of Chancellor of the Duchy of
Lancaster, which gave him considerable powers in the North of England.
In the 1510s Thomas More wrote a very biased account of King Richard III (1483-
1485), which helped to establish Richard's reputation as a tyrant /ˈtaɪə.r nt/. Meanwhile, in
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1516 he wrote his famous book Utopia. It was a fantasy about an ideal republic.In 1529
Thomas More became chancellor of England. Then in 1534 King Henry VIII became head
of the Church of England. Thomas More refused to swear an oath recognizing Henry as
head of the English Church. So he was tried for treason and he was found guilty. Thomas
More was beheaded on 6 July 1535.
Utopia was published in 1516. The name, which is Greek, means No−Place, and the
book is one of the most famous of that series of attempts to outline an imaginary ideal
condition of. It consists of two parts. In the first there is a vivid picture of the terrible evils
which England was suffering through war, lawlessness. In the second part, a certain
imaginary Raphael Hythlodaye describes the customs of Utopia, a remote island in the
New World. Everything about this island is ideal- there`s no evil, all people are equal,
everyone is happy, ideal social order.
 4. Life story of William Shakespeare. 3 periods of his literary work. Central
themes.
On April 23rd , 1564 a son, William was born to John and Mary Shakespeare in
Stradford-upon-Avon. His mother was the daughter of a farmer. His father was a glove-
maker. William went to a grammar school in Stratford . While still a teenager, William
married Anne Hathaway, a farmer's daughter eight years older than himself. During these
years his three children were born: Susannah [su:'zӕnə], the eldest, then twins – a son,
Hamnet and another girl, Judith ['dʒu:diθ]. Shakespeare established his reputation in
London by 1592. But the intervening/ˌɪn.təˈviː.nɪŋ/ years are considered a mystery.
Scholars generally refer to these years as ‘The Lost Years’. During his time in London,
Shakespeare became a founding member of The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a company of
actors. The company would later become The King’s Men under the patronage of King
James I (from 1603).Around 1613, at the age of 49, he retired to Stratford, where he died
three years later.. He died on 23 April 1616, at the age of 52. He died within a month of
signing his will. Shakespeare left his large estate to his elder daughter Susannah.
His literary work is usually divided into three periods.
The first period (1590-1600) - comedies: His early classical and Italianate comedies,
like A Comedy of Errors, containing tight double plots. A Midsummer Night's Dream is a
witty mixture of romance, fairy magic, and comic scenes. The wit and wordplay of Much
Ado about Nothing, the charming rural setting of As You Like It, and the lively
merrymaking of Twelfth Night . After the lyrical Richard II, written almost entirely in
verse, Shakespeare introduced prose comedies, Henry IV, and Henry V.
The second period (1600-1608) - tragedies: His characters become more complex and
tender as he switches between comic and serious scenes, prose and poetry, and achieves
the narrative variety(верАєті) of his mature work. This period begins and ends with two
tragedies: Romeo and Juliet, the famous romantic tragedy of a love and death; and Julius
Caesar. In the early 17th century, Shakespeare wrote the so-called "problem plays",
Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida, and All's Well That Ends Well, as well as a
number of his best known tragedies, including Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, King Lear and
Anthony and Cleopatra. Humanistic ideas are particularly stressed in “Hamlet”: something
must be done to change the world, the laws and moral. Human relations depend on social
problems; intelligence is not enough to be happy.
The third period (1609-1612) - Romantic Dramas: In his final period, Shakespeare
turned to romance or tragicomedy and completed three more major plays:
Cymbeline( sim-buh-leen), The Winter's Tale and The Tempest. Less bleak than the
tragedies, these three plays are graver in tone than the comedies, but they end with the
forgiveness of potentially tragic errors.
These are the central themes Shakespeare dealt with in his plays:
1. Humanism. The love for mankind is seen in every play.
2. Freedom. The idea of freedom for people is felt in Shakespeare’s tragedies and
historical plays.
3. Patriotism
4. National unity under one strong monarch. These last two themes are stressed in
Shakespeare’s historical plays and in the tragedy of “King Lear”.
5. The masses as a political force. This is clearly shown in the play “Julius Caesar”
 6. The themes of love and friendship are developed in Shakespeare’s sonnets as well as
in his plays.
5. Enlightment in England. Daniel Defoe.`Robinson Crusoe` as a study of man.
It was a sound-thinking & rational age. Common sense ruled the day. This period saw a
remarkable rise of literature. The problem of vital importance to the writers of the 18th
century was the study of man & the origin of his good & evil qualities.
The writers of the age of Enlightenment insisted upon a systematic education for all.
This period saw a transition from poetry to the prosaic age of the essayists. An essay is a
composition of moderate length on any subject usually written in prose. The writer does
not go into details, but deals in an easy manner with the chosen subject, shows his relation
to the subject. The style of prose became clear, graceful & polished.
Satire /ˈsætaɪə(r)/became popular. This period also saw the rise of the political
pamphlet. Most of the authors of the time wrote political pamphlets, but the best ones
came from the pens of Defoe & Swift. The leading form of literature became the novel.
The hero of the novel was no longer a prince but a representative of the middle class.
English writers of the time formed two groups. To one group belonged those who hoped
to better the world simply by teaching: Joseph Addison Richard Steel ,Daniel Defoe,
Samuel Richardson . The other group included the writers who openly protested against
the vicious social order: Jonathan Swift , Richard Sheridan, Robert Burns.
Daniel Defoe (1661 -1731) Daniel Defoe was born in 1661 in London in the family of a
well-to-do butcher. His father wanted him to become a priest, therefore at the age of 14 he
was placed in an academy to get the training of a priest, & remained there for the full
course of five years. But Daniel Defoe became a merchant. Several times he went
bankrupt because he was more interested in politics than in business. Having always been
interested in politics, Defoe published his first literary piece, a political pamphlet, in 1683.
He continued to write political works, working as a journalist, until the early 1700s.
Pamphleteering and political activities resulted in his arrest and placement in a pillory on
31 July 1703, principally on account of his December 1702 pamphlet entitled The
Shortest-Way with the Dissenters; Or, Proposals for the Establishment of the Church,
purporting to argue for their extermination. According to legend, the publication of his
other poem Hymn to the Pillory caused his audience at the pillory to throw flowers. Defoe
took a new literary path in 1719, around the age of 59, when he published Robinson
Crusoe, a fiction novel based on several short essays that he had composed over the years.
A handful of novels followed soon after—often with rogues and criminals as lead
characters—including Moll Flanders, Colonel Jack, Captain Singleton, Journal of the
Plague Year and his last major fiction piece, Roxana (1724).Defoe died on April 24, 1731.
Robinson Crusoe. Selkirk's story interested Daniel Defoe so much that he decided to
use the story for a book. His hero, Robinson Crusoe, however, spent 26 years on a desert
island. The charm of the novel lies in Robinson as a person. Defoe shows the development
of his personality. At the beginning of the story we see an inexperienced boy, who then
becomes a strongwilled man. Defoe was a great master of realistic detail. Robinson
Crusoe's most characteristic trait is his optimism. His guiding principle in life became
"never say die". He had confidence in himself & in man & believed it was within the man
power to overcome all difficulties & hardships. Another of Crusoe's good qualities, was
his ability to put his whole heart into everything he did Crusoe believes in God & the hand
of Providence. In desperate moments he turns to God for help. The novel "Robinson
Crusoe" is a glorification of practicalness & energy, yet when concentrated in an
individual man these qualities are exaggerated. According to Defoe, man can live by
himself comfortably .
Summary
Crusoe set sail from Kingston upon Hull on a sea voyage in August 1651, against the
wishes of his parents, who wanted him to pursue a career in law. After a journey where his
ship is wrecked in a storm, his lust for the sea remains so strong that he sets out to sea
again. This journey, too, ends in disaster, as the ship is taken over by Salé pirates (the Salé
Rovers) and Crusoe is enslaved by a Moor. Two years later, he escapes in a boat with a
boy named Xury; a captain of a Portuguese ship off the west coast of Africa rescues him.
The ship is en route to Brazil. Crusoe sells Xury to the captain. With the captain's help,
Crusoe procures a plantation.
Years later, Crusoe joins an expedition to bring slaves from Africa, but he is
shipwrecked in a storm about forty miles out to sea on an island (which he calls the Island
of Despair) near the mouth of the Orinoco river on 30 September 1659. He observes the
latitude as 9 degrees and 22 minutes north. He sees penguins and seals on his island. As
for his arrival there, only he and three animals, the captain's dog and two cats, survive the
shipwreck. Overcoming his despair, he fetches arms, tools and other supplies from the ship
before it breaks apart and sinks. He builds a fenced-in habitat near a cave which he
excavates. By making marks in a wooden cross, he creates a calendar. By using tools
salvaged from the ship, and some which he makes himself, he hunts, grows barley and
rice, dries grapes to make raisins, learns to make pottery and raises goats. He also adopts a
small parrot. He reads the Bible and becomes religious, thanking God for his fate in which
nothing is missing but human society.
More years pass and Crusoe discovers native cannibals, who occasionally visit the
island to kill and eat prisoners. At first he plans to kill them but later realizes he has no
right to do so, as the cannibals do not knowingly commit a crime. He dreams of obtaining
one or two servants by freeing some prisoners; when a prisoner escapes, Crusoe helps him,
naming his new companion "Friday" after the day of the week he appeared. Crusoe then
teaches him English and converts him to Christianity.
After more natives arrive to partake in a cannibal feast, Crusoe and Friday kill most of
the natives and save two prisoners. One is Friday's father and the other is a
Spaniard, /ˈspæn.jəd/ who informs Crusoe about other Spaniards shipwrecked on the
mainland. A plan is devised wherein the Spaniard would return to the mainland with
Friday's father and bring back the others, build a ship, and sail to a Spanish port.
Before the Spaniards return, an English ship appears; mutineers have commandeered
the vessel and intend to maroon their captain on the island. Crusoe and the ship's captain
strike a deal in which Crusoe helps the captain and the loyal sailors retake the ship and
leave the worst mutineers on the island. Before embarking for England, Crusoe shows the
mutineers how he survived on the island and states that there will be more men coming.
Crusoe leaves the island 19 December 1686 and arrives in England on 11 June 1687. He
learns that his family believed him dead; as a result, he was left nothing in his father's will.
Crusoe departs for Lisbon to reclaim the profits of his estate in Brazil, which has granted
him much wealth. In conclusion, he transports his wealth overland to England from
Portugal to avoid travelling by sea. Friday accompanies him and, en route, they endure
one last adventure together as they fight off famished wolves while crossing the Pyrenees.
 6. Oscar Wild- representative of aestheticism. Aesthetic principles in the Portrait
of Dorian Gray. The idea of art in the novel
Oscar Wilde was the major representative of the Aesthetic Movement. He was born in
Dublin in 1854, the son of a surgeon and of an ambitious literary woman. He gained a first
class degree in Classics. He became a disciple of Walter Pater, the theorist of aestheticism
in England, accepting the theory of “Art for Art’s Sake”. After graduating, he left Oxford
and settled in London. In 1881 Wilde edited Poems. In 1883 he married Constance Llloyd
who bore him two children, but he soon became tired of his marriage. In the late 1880s
Wilde’s literary talent was revealed by a series of short stories, The Canterville Ghost,
Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime, The Happy Prince and Other Tales and the novel The Picture
of Dorian Gray (1891), which damaged his reputation because it was considered immoral.
He developed an interest in drama and he produced a series of plays, such as A Woman of
No Importance, An Ideal Husband, The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), which is his
masterpiece. In 1891 he met the young Lord Alfred Douglas with whom Wilde had an
affair. The boy’s father forced a public trial and Wilde was convicted of homosexual
practices and sentenced to two-year hard labour. When Wilde was released from prison, he
lived in France as an outcast in poverty. He died of meningitis in Paris in 1900.
Aestheticism (also the Aesthetic Movement) is an intellectual and art
movement supporting the emphasis of aesthetic values more than social-political themes
for literature, fine art, music and other arts.  This meant that art from this particular
movement focused more on being beautiful rather than having a deeper meaning — "art
for art's sake". Such features of Aesthetic literature:
- Evocative use of the language of the senses.
- Excessive attention to the self.
- Hedonistic attitude.
- Absence of didactic aim.
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde’s only novel, was first published in an American
magazine in 1890 and then appeared in book form in 1891. Focusing on the idea of
pleasure and beauty, Wilde’s main character, Dorian Gray, lives a life of pure pleasure,
free from moralizing, and becomes interested only in that which is beautiful. Beauty,
therefore, is the only purpose of art. Lord Henry Wotton, is the novel’s resident
aestheticist. It is he who proposes this search for and admiration of beauty and pleasure
should extend into one’s life and he is drawn to Dorian for this reason. Wilde , clearly
ends his novel with an illustration of Aestheticism’s failure in Dorian life. It could be that
man cannot live completely without morals. It could be describing the dedication to beauty
that one must have to succeed in life; 
The idea of art in the novel- The novel opens with a theory of the purpose of art,
which Wilde reasons out until he reaches that “all art is quite useless”. As long as the artist
manages to live his art, as long as he is in hisr world of lies and concealment, he will be
creating masterpieces. While Basil was inspired by Dorian Gray, he lived his most prolific
artistic days. While she was living the lives of her characters and experiencing their
feelings, Sibyl Vane achieved high-profile roles and performances. But when the artist, for
the first time, has doubts about the truthfulness of his/her creation, his/her art acquires
characteristics of mediocrity. Both Basil and Sibyl Vane, everyone in their own way, lose
links with art which ultimately results in their artistic death. Basil has failed to retain his
artistic ideal, and Sibyl Vane discovers love outside the theatre.

Summary
The Picture of Dorian Gray begins on a beautiful summer day, where Lord Henry
Wotton, is observing the sensitive artist Basil Hallward painting the portrait of Dorian
Gray. While sitting for the painting, Dorian listens to Lord Henry espousing
his hedonistic world view and begins to think that beauty is the only aspect of life worth
pursuing, prompting Dorian to wish that his portrait would age instead of himself.
Dorian fully explores his sensuality. He discovers the actress Sibyl Vane, who
performs Shakespeare plays in a working-class theatre. Dorian approaches and courts her,
and soon proposes marriage. Dorian invites Basil and Lord Henry to see Sibyl perform
in Romeo and Juliet. Sibyl, too enamoured /ɪˈnæməd/with Dorian to act, performs poorly,
which makes both Basil and Lord Henry think Dorian has fallen in love with Sibyl
because of her beauty instead of her acting talent. Embarrassed, Dorian rejects Sibyl,
telling her that acting was her beauty; without that, she no longer interests him. On
returning home, Dorian notices that the portrait has changed; his wish has come true.
Dorian decides to come back to Sibyl, but he is too late, as Lord Henry informs him that
Sibyl has killed herself. Dorian then understands that, where his life is headed, lust and
beauty shall suffice. Dorian locks the portrait up, and over the following eighteen years, he
experiments with every vice, influenced by a morally poisonous French novel that Lord
Henry Wotton gave him.
One night, before leaving for Paris, Basil goes to Dorian's house. Dorian takes Basil to
see the portrait. The portrait has become so hideous that Basil is only able to identify it as
his by the signature he affixes to all his portraits. Basil is horrified. In anger, Dorian
blames his fate on Basil and stabs him to death. Dorian then calmly blackmails an old
friend, the scientist Alan Campbell, into using his knowledge of chemistry to destroy the
body of Basil Hallward. Alan later kills himself.
Dorian goes to an opium den, where James Vane(Sibil`s brother) is present(the only
thing he knew about Dorian was the name Sibyl called him, "Prince Charming"). IHe
hears someone refer to Dorian as "Prince Charming", and he accosts Dorian. Dorian
deceives /dɪˈsiːv/ James into believing that he is too young to have known Sibyl, who
killed herself 18 years earlier, as his face is still that of a young man. James is then
approached by a woman. She confirms that the man was Dorian Gray. James runs after
Dorian, but he has gone.James then begins to stalk Dorian. However, during a shooting
party, a hunter accidentally kills James Vane
. On returning to London, Dorian tells Lord Henry that he will live righteously from
now on. His new probity begins with deliberately not breaking the heart of Hetty Merton,.
Dorian wonders if his newfound goodness its impact on the picture, but when he looks at
it, he sees only an even uglier image of himself. From that, Dorian understands that his
true motive for moral reformation was the desire to restore beauty to the picture.
In a rage, he takes the knife with which he murdered Basil Hallward and stabs the
picture. The servants of the house awaken on hearing a cry from the locked room; on the
street, a passerby who also heard the cry, calls the police. On entering the locked room, the
servants find an unknown old man stabbed in the heart, his figure withered and decrepit.
The servants identify the disfigured corpse by the rings on its fingers, which belonged to
Dorian Gray. Beside him, the portrait is now restored to its former appearance of beauty.