List of cultural references in The Picture of Dorian Gray

This is a list of cultural references in Oscar Wilde's novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray".

Individual persons referred in the novel

The number of each chapter of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" in which an individual person is referred is in parentheses alongside his or her name. The chapter numbers are specific to the revised edition of the novel, first published in April 1891.

Fictitious (created by Oscar Wilde)

Seventy-one fictional characters, named in the novel, are Oscar Wilde's creations, and are listed in order of first mention in the novel's text. The listed chapter numbers are of the chapters wherein a person's name is referred, either in full form or in abbreviated form, but not for chapters wherein a person appears anonymously or pseudonymously. Titles and salutations are given only in lieu of a full name, when the full name is not given in the novel. Where a person appears elsewhere in Wilde's oeuvre also is indicated.

*Henry Wotton "(1-4, 6-12, 14-20)"
*Basil Hallward "(1-3, 6-14, 16, 19-20)"
*Dorian Gray "(1-4, 6-17, 19-20)"
*Lady Brandon "(1)"
*Southwark (named after the location Southwark) "(1)"
*Lord Goodbody "(1)"
*Lady Agatha "(1-3)"
*Parker "(1, 2)"
*George Fermor "(3)"
*Lord Kelso (named after the location Kelso) "(3, 10)"
*Lady Margaret Devereux "(3)"
*Carlington "(3)"
*Duchess of Harley "(3)"
*Thomas Burdon "(3)"
*Mr Erskine (also appears in the earlier short story "The Portrait of Mr WH" (1889) "(3)"
*Mrs Vandeleur "(3)"
*Lord Faudel "(3)"
*Victoria Wotton "(4, 19)"
*Sibyl Vane "(4-10, 16, 18-19)"
*Mrs Vane "(5)"
*Mr Isaacs "(5)"
*James Vane "(5, 16, 17, 18, 20)"
*Tom Hardy "(5)"
*Ned Langton "(5)"
*Duke of Berwick "(5, 12)"
*Lord Radley (named after the location Radley) "(6)"
*Victor "(8, 10)"
*Lady Hampshire (named after the location Hampshire) "(8)"
*Lady Gwendolen "(9, 12)"
*Mrs Leaf "(10, 20)"
*Mr Hubbard "(10)"
*Lady Radley (named after the location Radley) "(10, 12)"
*Mr Danby "(10)"
*Dr Birrell "(10)"
*Anthony Sherard (possibly named after the real/historical individual Robert Harborough Sherard) "(11)"
*Elizabeth Devereux "(11)"
*George Willoughby "(11)"
*Lord Ferrars (named after the real/historical individual Lord Ferrars of Groby) "(11)"
*Lord Beckenham (named after the real/historical location Beckenham) "(11)"
*Lord Staveley (named after the location Staveley) "(12)"
*Henry Ashton "(12, 20)"
*Adrian Singleton "(12, 14, 16)"
*Lord Kent (named after the location Kent) "(12)"
*Duke of Perth (named after the location Perth) "(12)"
*Lord Gloucester (named after the location Gloucester) "(12)"
*Francis "(13-14, 20)"
*Alan Campbell "(13-14, 19-20)"
*Lady Berkshire (named after the location Berkshire) "(14)"
*Harden "(14)"
*Lady Narborough (named after the location Narboroughdn, also appears in the later play "Lady Windermere's Fan" (1892)) "(15, 17)"
*Ernest Harrowden "(15)"
*Lady Roxton "(15)"
*Mrs Erlynne "(15)"
*Alice Chapman "(15)"
*Adolphe "(15)"
*Madame de Ferrol "(15)"
*Sir Andrew "(15)"
*Duke of Monmouth (named after the location Monmouth) "(15, 17)"
*Lord Rugby (named after the location Rugby) "(15)"
*Geoffrey Clouston "(15, 18)"
*Lord Grotrian "(15)"
*Mr Chapman "(15)"
*Gladys, Duchess of Monmouth (named after the location Monmouth) "(15, 17, 18, 19)"
*Lord Darlington (named after the location Darlington, also appears in "Lady Windermere's Fan") "(16)"
*George "(16)"
*Lady Hilstone "(17)"
*Thornton "(18)"
*Hetty Merton "(19, 20)"
*Lord Poole (named after the location Poole) "(19)"
*Bournemouth (named after the location Bournemouth) "(19)"
*Lady Branksome "(19)"

Textual variants (original edition)

The character of Mrs Leaf, in the novel's original edition published in July 1890, and her conversation with Dorian Gray, was significantly reduced for the novel's revised edition, first published in April 1891.

Mr Ashton, in the novel's original edition, was renamed Mr Hubbard for the novel's revised edition.

Fictitious (other)

Thirty-one fictional characters named in the novel are not Oscar Wilde's creations. These persons are listed in order of first mention in the novel's text, alongside details of their provenance.

*Adonis (figure in Greek mythology) "(1, 9)"
*Narcissus (figure in Greek mythology) "(1, 8)"
*Hermes (figure in Greek mythology) "(2)"
*Romeo (from the play "Romeo and Juliet") (~1595), by William Shakespeare) "(4, 7)"
*Mercutio (from "Romeo and Juliet") "(4, 7)"
*Juliet (from "Romeo and Juliet") "(4, 6-9)"
*Rosalind (from the play "As You Like It") (~1599-1600), by William Shakespeare) "(4, 6-7)"
*Imogen (from the play "Cymbeline") (year?), by William Shakespeare) "(4, 8)"
*Prince Charming (stock character in fiction) "(4-5, 7, 9, 16-17)"
*Lady Capulet (from "Romeo and Juliet") "(4)"
*Achilles (figure in Greek mythology) "(5)"
*Orlando (from "As You Like It") "(6)"
*Miranda (from the play "The Tempest") (1611), by William Shakespeare) "(7)"
*Caliban (from "The Tempest") "(Preface, 7)"
*Capulet (from "Romeo and Juliet") "(7)"
*Portia (from the play "The Merchant of Venice") (~1594-1597), by William Shakespeare) "(7)"
*Beatrice (from the play "Much Ado About Nothing") (~1598-1599), by William Shakespeare) "(7)"
*Cordelia (from the play "King Lear") (~1605), by William Shakespeare) "(7-8)"
*Desdemona (from the play "Othello" (~1603), by William Shakespeare) "(8)"
*Ophelia (from the play "Hamlet") (~1598-1602), by William Shakespeare) "(8, 19)"
*Brabantio (from "Othello") "(8)"
*Paris (figure in Greek mythology) "(9)"
*Athena (figure in Greek mythology) "(11)"
*Apollo (figure in Greek and Roman mythology) "(11, 19)"
*Ganymede (figure in Greek mythology) "(11)"
*Hylas (figure in Greek mythology) "(11)"
*Tartuffe (from the play "Le Tartuffe, ou L'Imposteur") (1664), by Molière) "(17)"
*Perdita (from the play "The Winter's Tale") (~1610-1611), by William Shakespeare) "(19)"
*Florizel (from "The Winter's Tale") "(19)"
*Marsyas (figure in Greek mythology) "(19)"
*Cupid (figure in Roman mythology) "(20)"

Textual variants (original manuscripts)

Two references to fictitious persons not created by Oscar Wilde, in the original manuscripts of the novel, were excised for the original edition of the novel published in July 1890.

*Sylvanus (figure in Roman mythology)
*:The reference to Sylvanus was replaced with the reference to Hermes listed above
*Venus (figure in Roman mythology)

Real/historical

104 real/historical individuals are referred to explicitly in the novel. These individuals are listed in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text, under the name by which they are most commonly known.
*Antinous "(1)"
*Robert Schumann "(2)"
*Isabella II "(3)"
*Juan Prim "(3)"
*Plato "(3)"
*Michelangelo Buonarroti "(3, 10)"
*Omar Khayyám "(3)"
*Claude Michel Clodion "(4)"
*Margaret of Valois "(4, 15)"
*Clovis Eve "(4)"
*Richard Wagner "(4)"
*William Shakespeare "(4, 6, 8, 10)"
*Giordano Bruno "(4)"
*Messalina "(6)"
*Adelina Patti "(8, 9)"
*John Webster "(8)"
*John Ford "(8)"
*Cyril Tourneur "(8)"
*Théophile Gautier "(9, 11, 14)"
*Georges Petit "(9)"
*Hadrian (referred to as 'Adrian') "(9)"
*Michel de Montaigne "(10)"
*Johann Winckelmann "(10)"
*Dante Alighieri "(11)"
*Jesus "(11)"
*Franz Schubert "(11)"
*Frédéric Chopin "(11, 19)"
*Ludwig van Beethoven "(11)"
*Alfonso de Ovalle "(11)"
*Bernal Díaz del Castillo "(11)"
*Hernán Cortés "(11)"
*Anne de Joyeuse "(11)"
*Alexander the Great "(11)"
*Philostratus "(11)"
*Pierre de Boniface "(11)"
*Leonardus Camillus "(11)"
*Democritus "(11)"
*Prester John "(11)"
*Thomas Lodge "(11)"
*Marco Polo "(11)"
*King Perozes "(11)"
*Procopius "(11)"
*Anastasius I "(11)"
*Cesare Borgia "(11)"
*Alexander VI "(11)"
*Pierre de Bourdeille "(11)"
*Charles II "(11)"
*Richard II "(11)"
*Henry VIII "(11)"
*James I "(11)"
*Edward II "(11)"
*Piers Gaveston "(11)"
*Henry II "(11)"
*Charles, Duke of Burgundy "(11)"
*Nero "(11)"
*King Chilperic "(11)"
*Bishop of Pontus "(11)"
*Charles, duc d'Orléans "(11)"
*Jeanne de Bourgogne "(11)"
*Catherine de' Medici "(11)"
*Louis XIV "(11)"
*John III Sobieski "(11)"
*Muhammad "(11)"
*Sebastian "(11)"
*Philip Herbert "(11)"
*Francis Osborne "(11)"
*Joan II "(11)"
*George IV "(11)"
*Maria Anne Fitzherbert "(11)"
*Emma Hamilton "(11)"
*Tiberius "(11)"
*Elephantis "(11)"
*Caligula "(11)"
*Domitian "(11)"
*Elagabalus "(11)"
*Filippo Maria Visconti "(11)"
*Paul II "(11)"
*Formosus "(11)"
*Gian Maria Visconti "(11)"
*Perotto "(11)"
*Pietro Riario "(11)"
*Sixtus IV "(11)"
*Leonora of Aragon "(11)"
*Ezzelin "(11)"
*Innocent VIII "(11)"
*Sigismondo Malatesta "(11)"
*Isotta degli Atti "(11)"
*Polyssena "(11)"
*Ginevra d'Este "(11)"
*Charles VI "(11)"
*Grifonetto Baglioni "(11)"
*Astorre Baglioni "(11)"
*Simonetto Baglioni "(11)"
*Atlanta Baglioni "(11)"
*William Ewart Gladstone "(12)"
*Georges Charpentier "(14)"
*Pierre François Lacenaire "(14)"
*Tintoretto "(14)"
*Anton Rubinstein "(14)"
*Elizabeth I "(15)"
*John Debrett "(15)"
*Diego Velázquez "(19)"
*Robert Browning "(19)"

Textual variants (original manuscripts)

8 references to real/historical individuals, in the original manuscripts of the novel, were excised for the original edition of the novel published in July 1890.
*Geoffrey Chaucer
*Alfred Tennyson
*Julius Caesar
*Servilia Caepionis
*Marcus Junius Brutus
*Caesonia
*Gustave Moreau
*Manfred of Sicily

Textual variants (original edition)

One reference to a real/historical individual, in the original edition of the novel published in July 1890, was excised for the revised edition of the novel that was first published in April 1891.
*Peter Schouvaloff

Creative works referred to in the novel

The number of each chapter of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" in which a creative work is referred to is given in parentheses alongside that work's title. These chapter numbers are specific to the revised edition of the novel first published in April 1891.

Chapter numbers are listed only for chapters in which a creative work is referred to explicitly. For chapters in which individuals from particular creative works are referred to, see 'Individuals referred to in the novel', above.

Fictitious

Two fictitious creative works are referred to in the novel. These creative works are listed in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text.
*"The Idiot Boy, or Dumb but Innocent" (play) "(4)"
*"Le Secret de Raoul" (book by the fictitious individual Catulle Sarrazin) "(10, 11)"
*:The title and author of this fictitious book are only given in Oscar Wilde's manuscripts of "The Picture of Dorian Gray". The book and its author are still referred to in the published editions of the novel, but are unnamed.

Real/historical

16 real/historical creative works are referred to in the novel. These works are listed in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. Where the work is explicitly quoted in the text, in addition to being referred to, this is indicated.
*"Waldszenen" ("Forest Scenes") (piano composition by Robert Schumann, opus 82, 1849) "(2)"
*"Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles" (collection of anonymously authored short stories, 1462) "(4)"
*"Manon Lescaut" (novel by Antoine François Prévost, 1731) "(4)"
*"Lohengrin" (opera by Richard Wagner, 1850) "(4)"
*"Romeo and Juliet" (play by William Shakespeare, ~1595) "(4)"
*"Satyricon" (collection of prose and poetry by Petronius, ~60) "(11)"
*"Tannhäuser" (opera by Richard Wagner, 1845) "(11)"
*"Petri Alfonsi Disciplina Clericalis" (book by Petrus Alphonsus, ~1100) "(11)"
*"A Margarite of America" (romance by Thomas Lodge, 1596) "(11)"
*The Qur'an (central text of Islam) "(11)"
*"Memoires on the Reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King James" (history book by Francis Osborne, 1683) "(11)"
*"Émaux et camées" (collection of poems by Théophile Gautier, 1852) "(14)"
*:The second of two poems in this collection which are collectively entitled "Études de Mains" is quoted
*The Bible (central text of Christianity) "(17)"
*"Hamlet" (play by William Shakespeare, ~1598-1602) "(19)"
*:Words spoken by Claudius in Act IV, Scene VII are quoted

Textual variants (original manuscripts)

The original manuscripts of the novel contained a reference to an unnamed volume of sonnets by the real/historical individual Paul Verlaine. This was replaced with a reference "Émaux et camées", by Théophile Gautier, for the original edition of the novel published in July 1890.

News publications/periodicals referred to in the novel

The number of each chapter of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" in which a news publication/periodical is referred to is given in parentheses.

6 news publications/periodicals are referred to in the novel.
*"The Times" "(3)"
*"The Standard" "(8)"
*"The Globe" "(9)"
*"St James' Gazette" "(10)"
*"Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage" "(15)"
*"Morning Post" "(15)"