The Picture of Dorian Gray: Reading Comprehension Tasks

Activities While Reading

Chapters 1 and 2: Initial Questions

Read Chapters 1 and 2, and then answer these questions.

• Why didn't Basil Hallward want to exhibit the portrait? Because the portrait held a lot of intimate feeling of himself, and Basil didn't want people to know that feeling.
• Why did Basil prefer not to be beautiful? Because Basil thinks that beauty only brings problems to people, and he prefers to have a good soul.
• Why did Basil now see art in a different way? Because since he met Dorian and fell in love, he began to draw pictures with love and feelings.
• Why didn't Basil want Lord Henry to meet Dorian? Because Lord Henry was a bad influence on Dorian.

Chapters 3 to 5: Dialogue Identification

Read Chapters 3 to 5. Who said this, and to whom?

• “I'm afraid I must ask you to go away.” — Basil said these words to Lord Henry.
• “I'd like you to talk to me.” — Dorian said these words to Lord Henry.
• “You have a wonderfully beautiful face...” — Lord Henry said these words to Dorian.
• “It's your best work.” — Lord Henry said these words to Basil.
• “I wish the picture could change, and I could stay as I am.” — Dorian said these words to Basil and Lord Henry.
• “You're my dearest friend.” — Basil said these words to Dorian.

Chapters 6 to 8: True or False Assessment

Read Chapters 6 to 8. Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)? Rewrite the false ones with the correct information.

• Dorian fell in love with an actress called Sybil Vane. TRUE
• Sybil Vane's family was rich. FALSE: Sybil's family was a poor family.
• James Vane didn't worry about his sister and Dorian. FALSE: James Vane told his mother that if Dorian hurt Sybil, he would kill him like a dog.
• Lord Henry thought that Sybil was a good actress. FALSE: Lord Henry saw Sybil performing, and he thought that she wasn't a good actress.
• Dorian loved Sybil for her beauty. FALSE: Dorian fell in love with Sybil for her art.
• Dorian said that he never wanted to see Sybil again. TRUE

Before Reading Chapters 9 and 10

The Death of Love: Prediction Task

Before you read Chapters 9 and 10 (The Death of Love), can you guess what happens? Choose one of these answers.

• Sybil kills herself and Dorian is very sorry.

Chapter 11: Vocabulary Completion

Dorian Gray's Secret Life

Read Chapter 11. Use these words to complete this paragraph about Dorian Gray. Then find words in the chapter that mean the opposite of the words given.

“Dorian Gray was in love with the beauty of his face. Strange stories were told about his secret, dangerous life. But people did not believe the evil stories because Dorian's face was young and good-looking. The portrait was the only thing that showed the real Dorian. It became more and more terrible and ugly, and Dorian grew more and more afraid of it, but he loved it too.”