Once upon a time, there was a painter, Basil Hallward, who was infatuated with the beauty of a man named Dorian Gray. Basil stated that Dorian was his muse, inspiration, and helped him to create the best work of his lifetime. Basil was so obsessed with Dorian that he refused to even sell his work, believing it would reveal too much about him personally. Correspondingly, a man named Lord Henry Wotton, one of Basil's good friends, started to question Hallward on as to why he did not sell his painting if it was his best work yet. Basil explained to Lord Henry, and Henry is insistent upon meeting Dorian. As soon as the two men met, Lord Henry convinced Dorian through his cunning words that beauty fades but genius never does. This frightened Dorian into the realization that one day he may never have anything to offer to the world, so he decided to sell his soul; this caused him to stay young and beautiful forever while his painting records his aging, flaws, and sins. Through The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde’s writing disagrees with the cliche “actions speak louder than words” through the influence Lord Henry had over Dorian Gray solely by the use of words and through Dorian basing his personality off the words of the yellow book given to him by Lord Henry.

Dorian Gray is influenced heavily by the thoughts and words Lord Henry expresses to him throughout the novel. Lord Henry expresses his views on beauty to Dorian, which Dorian happens to have an abundant amount of. Dorian Gray is a beautiful young man, around the age of twenty, who has gorgeous blue eyes, crisp golden hair, and plump scarlet lips. Lord Henry believes beauty is a form of genius, but genius is indeed higher and needs no explanation. On the contrary, he explains that once beauty leaves Dorian he will have nothing left, but those with genius will always have that attribute. Lord Henry states to Dorian, “‘You only have a few years in which to live really, perfectly, and fully. When your youth goes, your beauty will go with it, and then you will suddenly discover that there are no triumphs left for you, or have to content yourself with those mean triumphs that the memory of your past will make more bitter than defeats’” (Wilde 21). Moreover, these words by Lord Henry influence Dorian’s outlook on the rest of life and cause him to make terrible decisions in the fear of aging.

As the novel progresses, Dorian begins to base his personality off of a book because of the influential words contained within its pages. Lord Henry gives this book to Dorian, and it is referred to as “the yellow book.” This book communicates the message of living solely for a pleasuring sensation throughout life, causing Dorian to become a man with no real relationships or emotions. Once Dorian begins to base his life off of this book, he commits terrible acts of sin such as killing one of his good friends, Basil Hallward.

Dorian becomes so influenced by the yellow book that [One hardly knew at times whether one was reading the spiritual ecstasies of some medieval saint or the morbid confessions of a modern sinner. It was a poisonous book. The heavy odor of incense seemed to cling about its pages and to trouble the brain. The mere cadence of the sentences, the subtle monotony of their music, so full as it was of complex refrains and movements elaborately repeated, produced in the mind of the lad, as he passed from chapter to chapter, a form of reverie, a malady of dreaming, that made him unconscious of the falling day and creeping shadow] (Wilde 109).  This book becomes like scripture to Dorian, who buys a dozen copies of the book. In conclusion, the yellow book shows the mere influence words have on Dorian Gray, especially when it comes to the words and influence of Lord Henry Wotton.

Dorian Gray is easily influenced by the words of Lord Henry Wotton throughout Oscar Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, proving the cliche “actions speak louder than words” to not always be a true statement. Lord Henry is able to warp Dorian’s perception of his beauty, causing him to believe he will have nothing to provide to others after his youth disappears. This causes Dorian to sell his soul to remain young forever. Lord Henry also gives Dorian a book referred to as the yellow book. This book conveys the message that life should solely consist of searching for the next pleasurable sensation. This causes Dorian to ruin his relationships with others and destroy his emotions. After reading the book and creating a new outlook on life, he begins to commit terrible sins such as murder. The novel communicates the unpopular opinion that words speak louder than actions, proving the cliche “actions speak louder than words” to be inaccurate.