The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray

by

Oscar Wilde

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Picture of Dorian Gray makes teaching easy.

Lord Henry Wotton Character Analysis

Cultured and intellectual, he inhabits the most fashionable circles, spreading his own brand of highly intelligent, paradoxical philosophies about art and life. He is a powerful, often poisonous influence on young Dorian. As the story goes on, Dorian’s speech seems to mimic Lord Henry’s tricky style and his heartless sentiments seem to take Lord Henry’s tempting philosophies too seriously, that artful, pleasure-filled experiments in living is more important than morality.

Lord Henry Wotton Quotes in The Picture of Dorian Gray

The The Picture of Dorian Gray quotes below are all either spoken by Lord Henry Wotton or refer to Lord Henry Wotton. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Mortality of Beauty and Youth Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

“Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul”

Related Characters: Lord Henry Wotton (speaker)
Page Number: 23
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

“I never approve or disapprove of anything now. It is an absurd attitude to take towards life.”

Related Characters: Lord Henry Wotton (speaker)
Page Number: 72
Explanation and Analysis:

“I am changed, and the mere touch of Sybil Vane’s hand makes me forget you and all your wrong, fascinating, poisonous, delightful theories.”

Related Characters: Dorian Gray (speaker), Lord Henry Wotton, Sybil Vane
Page Number: 75
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

“What a place to find one’s divinity in!”

Related Characters: Lord Henry Wotton (speaker)
Page Number: 79
Explanation and Analysis:

“The girl never really lived and so she never really died.”

Related Characters: Lord Henry Wotton (speaker), Sybil Vane
Page Number: 100
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 15 Quotes

“She is very clever, too clever for a woman. She lacks the indefinable charm of weakness. It is the feet of clay that make the gold of the image precious.”

Related Characters: Lord Henry Wotton (speaker), The Duchess of Monmouth
Page Number: 173
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18 Quotes

“You would sacrifice anybody, Harry, for the sake of an epigram.”

Related Characters: Dorian Gray (speaker), Lord Henry Wotton
Page Number: 195
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19 Quotes

“It is not in you Dorian to commit a murder. I am sorry if I hurt your vanity by saying so, but I assure you it is true. Crime belongs exclusively to the lower orders. I don’t blame them in the smallest degree. I should fancy that crime was to them what art is to us, simply a method of procuring extraordinary sensations.”

Related Characters: Lord Henry Wotton (speaker), Dorian Gray
Page Number: 203
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Picture of Dorian Gray LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Picture of Dorian Gray PDF

Lord Henry Wotton Quotes in The Picture of Dorian Gray

The The Picture of Dorian Gray quotes below are all either spoken by Lord Henry Wotton or refer to Lord Henry Wotton. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Mortality of Beauty and Youth Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

“Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul”

Related Characters: Lord Henry Wotton (speaker)
Page Number: 23
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

“I never approve or disapprove of anything now. It is an absurd attitude to take towards life.”

Related Characters: Lord Henry Wotton (speaker)
Page Number: 72
Explanation and Analysis:

“I am changed, and the mere touch of Sybil Vane’s hand makes me forget you and all your wrong, fascinating, poisonous, delightful theories.”

Related Characters: Dorian Gray (speaker), Lord Henry Wotton, Sybil Vane
Page Number: 75
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

“What a place to find one’s divinity in!”

Related Characters: Lord Henry Wotton (speaker)
Page Number: 79
Explanation and Analysis:

“The girl never really lived and so she never really died.”

Related Characters: Lord Henry Wotton (speaker), Sybil Vane
Page Number: 100
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 15 Quotes

“She is very clever, too clever for a woman. She lacks the indefinable charm of weakness. It is the feet of clay that make the gold of the image precious.”

Related Characters: Lord Henry Wotton (speaker), The Duchess of Monmouth
Page Number: 173
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18 Quotes

“You would sacrifice anybody, Harry, for the sake of an epigram.”

Related Characters: Dorian Gray (speaker), Lord Henry Wotton
Page Number: 195
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19 Quotes

“It is not in you Dorian to commit a murder. I am sorry if I hurt your vanity by saying so, but I assure you it is true. Crime belongs exclusively to the lower orders. I don’t blame them in the smallest degree. I should fancy that crime was to them what art is to us, simply a method of procuring extraordinary sensations.”

Related Characters: Lord Henry Wotton (speaker), Dorian Gray
Page Number: 203
Explanation and Analysis: