EXTEND – Art versus life #647819 - Prove ed esercizi Zanichelli

STEP 2 Understanding Sybil's words

Match each quote from the passage to its meaning. Write the correct letters (A-C) in the gaps.

1 To-night, for the first time, I became conscious that the Romeo was hideous, and old, and painted, that the moonlight in the orchard was false, that the scenery was vulgar, and that the words I had to speak were unreal, were not my words, were not what I wanted to say. ________
2 You had brought me something higher, something of which all art is but a reflection. ________
3 I might mimic a passion that I do not feel, but I cannot mimic one that burns me like fire. ________

A Dorian has made Sybil aware of real love, which art can only hope to represent.
B The performance and its surroundings were fake and excessive, and the words Sybil spoke on stage did not express her true feelings.
C The love Sybil feels is so real that it is impossible to fake through acting.

Extend

Completamento aperto

STEP 3 Dorian vs Sybil

Read the text about the differences between Dorian and Sybil and complete it with the words given.

Dorian and Sybil have ________ relationships to art and life. Dorian is attracted to Sybil because of her ________ personas: he values her as a ________ of different characters rather than who she truly is. Sybil, however, cares about ________, and cannot continue performing when she realises that her acting traps her in ________.
While Sybil matures and becomes fascinated with life itself, Dorian's ________ with perfection leaves no room for change or ________.

Extend

Posizionamento

STEP 4 Focus on language

Read the statements and select the ones that best reflect the language used by Wilde in the passage.

A:

The language often pairs contradictory ideas (such as freedom vs imprisonment, substance vs shadows) to show the tension between art and life.

B:

Sybil speaks in a passionate and exuberant way in order to replicate theatrical performances.

C:

Dorian's way of referring to Sybil suggests he has only ever seen her as an artistic product.

D:

Dorian's description of Sybil as 'shallow' has a paradoxical effect, as he himself is obsessed with superficial appearances.

Extend

Scelta multipla

STEP 5 Think further and prepare for your test: the dissolution of the self

Read the passage which explores Dorian's identity and fragmentation. Decide if the statements are true or false. Then look at the prompts and write some extra reflections in your exercise book. You can use the final text as revision material for your test.

PROMPTS:
- Refer to the box 'Plot' in 'All about The Picture of Dorian Gray' in your textbook to expand on the consequences of Dorian's destruction of the portrait.
- Compare The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to The picture of Dorian Gray. Discuss the relationship between each character and his double, and how the balance between them changes.

A:

Dorian Gray is concerned with keeping the image of himself shaped by artistic tropes, rather than his actual human identity.

B:

The author argues that the novel's tension revolves around the difference between Dorian's 'textual' ideal self and his real self.

C:

The portrait allows Dorian to join his textual self with his real, physical self.

D:

Dorian's rejection of Sybil reveals his inability to accept any perception of himself that is not framed as art.

E:

The passage argues that, in the murder-suicide scene, Dorian is able to fully merge his physical self with the painted image.

Extend

Vero o falso

STEP 1 Skim for gist and find out more about reality and performance

Read the passage and choose the correct alternative to complete the sentences.

1 Dorian's attraction to Sybil shows that he is mainly interested in ________.
2 Before performing, Sybil experiences a world in which ________.
3 Sybil's realisation that the theatre is shallow primarily makes her feel ________.
4 Dorian's response to Sybil's confession shows that he rejects her because ________.

Extend

Completamento chiuso