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Available Reading Circles

Example 12 Week Syllabus

The Picture of Dorian Gray (WARNING!!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!)

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A glimpse into the pacing, depth, and linguistic focus of our circles. We read at a slow, deliberate pace of roughly 20–30 pages per week to ensure deep comprehension and rich discussion.

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Week 1: The Studio & The Philosophy

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  • Reading: Preface & Chapters 1 – 2

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  • Thematic Focus: Aestheticism, the worship of youth, and the nature of influence.

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  • Language Spotlight: Decoding Oscar Wilde’s famous "aphorisms" (witty, philosophical one-liners) and the vocabulary of visual art.

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Week 2: The Pact & The Aristocracy

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  • Reading: Chapters 3 – 4

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  • Thematic Focus: Lord Henry’s manipulative rhetoric and Dorian’s introduction to high society.

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  • Language Spotlight: Formulating arguments and expressing abstract philosophical concepts in English.

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Week 3: The Illusion of Love

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  • Reading: Chapters 5 – 6

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  • Thematic Focus: Sibyl Vane, the working-class contrast, and falling in love with "art" versus reality.

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  • Language Spotlight: Victorian social vocabulary and analyzing differences in class-based dialogue.

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Week 4: The Performance & The Cruelty

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  • Reading: Chapters 7 – 8

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  • Thematic Focus: The tragic performance, Dorian's cold rejection, and the first terrifying change in the portrait.

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  • Language Spotlight: Advanced adjectives for describing shifting emotions, heartbreak, and sudden coldness.

Week 5: Paranoia & The Hidden Room

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  • Reading: Chapters 9 – 10

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  • Thematic Focus: Basil’s interrogation, hiding the painting, and the birth of Dorian's paranoia.

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  • Language Spotlight: Verbs and phrasing related to concealment, anxiety, and psychological dread.

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Week 6: The "Poisonous" Book & Years of Decadence

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  • Reading: Chapter 11

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  • Thematic Focus: A deep dive into the passage of time, hedonism, and obsessive collecting.

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  • Language Spotlight: Navigating incredibly dense, highly descriptive, and sensory-rich 19th-century syntax.

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Week 7: The Confrontation & The Macabre

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  • Reading: Chapters 12 – 13

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  • Thematic Focus: The fateful reunion with Basil Hallward and the descent into physical violence.

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  • Language Spotlight: Analysing how authors use sentence length and punctuation to build narrative tension.

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Week 8: The Cover-up & The Dinner Party

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  • Reading: Chapters 14 – 15

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  • Thematic Focus: Blackmailing Alan Campbell and returning to the glittering, hypocritical world of high society.

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  • Language Spotlight: "Reading the room" – how to understand subtext when characters use polite dialogue to mask dark secrets.

Week 9: The Underworld

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  • Reading: Chapter 16

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  • Thematic Focus: The opium dens of London, escaping one's conscience, and the return of a ghost from the past.

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  • Language Spotlight: Gritty, atmospheric vocabulary used to describe urban decay and desperation.

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Week 10: The Hunt & The Psychological Terror

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  • Reading: Chapters 17 – 18

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  • Thematic Focus: The shooting party, the fainting incident, and the inescapable weight of guilt.

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  • Language Spotlight: Expressing psychological terror and discussing the concept of "karma" or cosmic justice.

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Week 11: The Climax & The Soul

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  • Reading: Chapters 19 – 20

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  • Thematic Focus: Dorian’s attempt to be "good," the final confrontation with the portrait, and the tragic resolution.

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  • Language Spotlight: Analysing conclusive moral arguments and summarizing complex character arcs.

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Week 12: Retrospective & Synthesis

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  • Reading: No new reading.

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  • Thematic Focus: The lasting legacy of Oscar Wilde, the duality of human nature, and final takeaways from the text.

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  • Language Spotlight: High-level debate, synthesizing 12 weeks of learning, and celebrating your linguistic progress!

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