Growth of a person (allegory)
George Erskine gives a very vivid portrayal of his friend in one single sentence: “Cyril Graham was very fascinating, and very foolish, and very heartless”. Each step of this description is an allegoric development of his character. Being a fascinating fellow Cyril received a lot of attention from others, which made him feel special and as a result he became foolish. Foolishness becoming a characteristic of a person cannot lead anybody to a place where he would be respected, and absence of respect results in heartlessness. In such an allegoric way, the author has given a picture of growth and development.
Masks of Tragedy and Comedy (symbol)
The story has mostly to deal with William Shakespeare and his works – Sonnets in the first play. William Shakespeare is a world famous English playwright, and such attributes as Masks of Tragedy and Comedy are connected with his activity. In the story, both masks are painted on the portrait, and they become the symbol of playwriting as a sphere of human activity.
The portrait (symbol)
The portrait of Mr. W.H. becomes the main symbol of the story – it symbolizes one’s (in this case Cyril Graham’s) obsessed idea, which was to prove that the initials W.H. belonged to some Willie Hughes, who supposedly was an actor in Shakespeare ‘s times. The portrait itself was a forgery – as well as the very idea which had no sound proof.
