"To project one's soul into some gracious form, and let it tarry there for a moment; to hear one's own intellectual views echoed back to one with all the added music of passion and youth; to convey one's temperament into another as though it were a subtle fluid ..."
-PAGE 33
I chose this passage because it conveys several important points of the novel thus far. First and foremost Wilde uses Dorian as a vessel for youth and beauty, by which Basil and Lord Henry become engrossed. It portrays the storyline of the book as deep and complex, but dealing with shallow subject matter- which is ironic. Wilde goes into great depth about the 'realities' of being human, and the want for everlasting youth. This passage also reveals two important things about Lord Henry- that he values youth and appearance above all else, and that he is fixated on projecting these views into Dorian, therefore corrupting Dorian’s innocence.
Wilde uses syntax through semi-colons in order to connect each of Lord Henry's ideas- giving them a 'scheming' tone. He also uses personifies Henry's ideas in order to humanize them and make them appear less threatening, allowing the reader to accept Dorian’s corruption as an effort to be "awakened." Wilde's soft diction comes across as gentle- using many soft sounds he makes the whole corruption of Dorian a smooth coup.
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