Gothic Literature
Gothic literature is a genre of fiction which was popular in the 18th century to the very early 19th century which includes an atmosphere of horror and mystery.
There are many elements throughout the novel which can be defined as Gothic. One of the characters, Lord Henry, has been described by many as a devilish figure due to the fact he manipulates Dorian and treats him as though he is his possession this is a key concept of typical Gothic literature. The whole ideology of the picture changing and Dorian staying perfectly youthful gives the novel a supernatural element and thus is another point why this novel is deemed as Gothic.
Classical examples of Gothic novels: Frankenstein – Mary Shelly, Dracula – Bram Stoker and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde – Robert Louis Stevenson.
Tragedy
A ‘Tragedy’ is the dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending, mostly which concerns the downfall of the protagonist. In this explored in ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ when Dorian (the protagonist) acknowledges the terrible situations he has caused by his own actions e.g. killing his dearest friend Basil Hallward. This is also reflected at the end of the novel when Dorian retaliates and stabs the painting using the same knife that has killed Basil Hallward.
Popular tragedies: Romeo and Juliet and The Great Gatsby.
Tragic
Tragic is when something is defined as being troublesome or indeed calamitous. An example of this could be the death of Dorian Gray as this was indeed a tragic ending to the novel as a whole and thus states that the novels genre is indeed a tragedy because it could have had a different ending if Dorian had reacted differently to the manipulation from Lord Henry. Before Dorian knew Lord Henry Wilde describes him as young and having a “beautiful nature”. This highlights how tragic this event was as the painting had became him and therefore by destroying this he is in fact destroying himself.
The Room of Requirement. 