Critical Lens Essay on the Picture of Dorian Gray and Romeo and Juliet

"When one is in love, one always begins by deceiving one's self, and one always ends by deceiving others" from Oscar Wilde states that when one is in love, one tricks oneself into believing that everything is alright and that everything going on is perfect. One may even become blinded by so much love. However sometimes in the end, because the circumstances change, it becomes more complicated to maintain that commitment or passion to the extent that it may end up hurting one's partner or anyone else. This idea is conveyed through the actions of the characters in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray and William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the titular characters fall madly in love with each other. However, it is simply their minds playing a trick on them making it seem that the love that they share is real. Even though they are just deceiving themselves and the only thing they share is passion and lust, the desire they have to be with each other leads them to making unfavorable decisions. For example, Romeo and Juliet decide to get married even though they know it will disrupt the peace that is trying to be kept between their families. Also, they go to the extent of attempting to fake their deaths just so they can run away together. What Romeo and Juliet really have is infatuation with each other.

Another work of literature that supports this idea is Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Dorian Gray falls for Sybil Vane because of her beauty and her talent. At first he is fascinated by how she is such a great actress and how she plays her parts as if she lives them. Dorian is only fascinated by her beauty and acting skills. He is only being deceived by his own mind because he thinks he's in love with Sybil when he just admires her talent. When Sybil performs terribly, Dorian loses all form of affection for her. Afterwards, Dorian tells Sybil that he no longer has feelings for her and cancels the wedding. Sybil is upset by this and she kills herself, upsetting her whole family. Dorian tricked Sybil and her family by making them think what he felt for Sybil was love.

The quote "When one is in love, one always begins by deceiving one's self, and one always ends by deceiving others" by Oscar Wilde states that when one is in love, one tricks oneself into believing that everything is alright and that everything going on is perfect. However, not everything is how it seems. This idea is shown in The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.