As a result of his classical training in the Honours School of Literæ Humaniores at Oxford, Oscar Wilde drew frequently on the works of Plato for inspiration, especially the Republic. The idea of a New Republic and its philosophy resonated profoundly with Wilde—so much so that the philosophical questions raised in Plato’s Republic become the central problems of The Picture of Dorian Gray. This chapter maps the parallels between the Republic and Dorian Gray, with specific focus on several of Plato’s most striking images from the Republic. In particular, the depiction of Lord Henry suggests not only the philosophical soul gone corrupt, but also the ‘drone’ who seduces the oligarchic young man into a life of ‘unprincipled freedom’, according to Plato’s definition of democracy. By invoking the Socratic lens, Wilde critiques Lord Henry’s anti-philosophy of the ‘New Hedonism’ and contrasts it with the Socratic eros.
