as Sibyl is dressing for the performance, she and Dorian sing of their love. After Dorian leaves, Sibyl's brother James, a sailor, says goodbye as he is about to depart for Australia. Having heard that a gentleman visits her backstage every night, he asks his name, to which Sibyl replies 'Romeo'. James tells her that if this man does her any wrong, he will 'kill him like a dog'. Scene 4 Sibyl's performance was unexpectedly poor, with the audience expressing its disapproval. Dorian, Basil, and Lord Henry go backstage, where an embarrassed Dorian sends his friends away before Sibyl enters the dressing room. On doing so, she explains her poor performance by saying that because Dorian has shown her real love, she will no longer be able to 'mimic passion' on the stage. Dorian replies that she has killed his love for her: "Without your art, you are nothing!" Sibyl begs him not to leave her, but as she lies sobbing at his feet, he leaves. In a soliloquy, she wishes for his return, recalling fragments of Romeo and Juliet, and stares at the poison bottle in her hands. Scene 5 The next morning, Dorian sees that his portrait has changed, with a cruel expression around the mouth. He muses that the painting has become 'the visible emblem of my conscience'. He pledges to reform his life and marry Sibyl to make amends. However, Lord Henry arrives with the news that Sibyl Vane has committed suicide. He calms Dorian by assuring him that she was less real than Shakespeare's heroines that she portrayed. Dorian agrees to go to the opera with him that night. Looking again at the altered portrait, he resolves to let it represent the life he shall now lead, in search of 'pleasures secret and subtle, wild joys and wilder sins'. Basil arrives to console Dorian for the loss of Sibyl, but is dismayed to find Dorian calmly dressing for the opera. Although Basil feels unease, he promises to Dorian never to speak again about the matter. After Basil departs, Dorian tells his butler, before going to the opera, to hire two men to move the painting to the attic. He finally looks into a gilt hand mirror. Act II Scene 1 Eighteen years later, Dorian and Basil meet at Dorian's home. Whilst Basil has aged considerably, Dorian looks unchanged. Before leaving for Paris, Basil wants to