THE HAPPY

PRINCE
GROUP 1 PRESENTATION
 OSCAR
WILDEOscar Wilde,
Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde
better known as was an
,

Anglo-Irish poet, playwright, novelist,

critic and dramatist. He was born on 16
October 1854 at 21 Westland Row,
Dublin, Ireland . In 1884, He married
Constance Lloyd and had two children,
Cyril Vyvyan
and , who were born in 1885
and 1886. During his period of VOCABULARY
apprenticeship ( 1887-1889 ), he VOCABULARY
The Happy Prince and Other
published Allegory – figure of
es, which showed his talent for speech that conveys
antic allegory in the form of fairy moral lessons.
tales. He was also known for his
gross for
criminal conviction indecency”.
“ Acute Meningitis – an
He was jailed for two years with hard acute inflammation of
labor from 1895 to 1897. After being out the layers of tissue
of prison, bankrupt, Wilde was that cover the brain
and spinal cord.
depressed and used his little money for
The Happy
Prince
ORIGIN OF TITLE

WHY DO YOU THINK THE TITLE WAS CALLED “THE HAPPY

PRINCE”?
The title was called “The Happy Prince”
because the story centers to the life of KEY
KEYFACTS
FACTS
the Happy Prince. In the story, the
Prince told the Swallow that his DATE WRITTEN: 1880s
courtiers used to call him the Happy DATE PUBLISHED: 1888
Prince for he was always seen happy, PLACE WRITTEN: London
cheerful and untroubled. He told the LITERARY PERIOD:
Swallow that he lived in a palace – the Victorian Literature,
Sans-Souci Palace – where there was Aestheticism
no presence of sadness. It was called GENRE: Children’s
the Happy Prince for his heart may be Literature, Fairy Tale
made of lead but it was pure and just. ANTAGONIST: Poverty and
And like Jesus Christ, it was his Inequality
compassion, selflessness and POINT OF VIEW: Third
willingness to sacrifice for his people person
that proved his true love for them.
The Happy
Prince
SUMMARY

Overlooking the city, stood the statue of the

Happy Prince. He was covered with gold, eyes
with two bright sapphires, and a large red ruby on
his sword-hilt.

One day a Swallow, who was about to travel to

Egypt, flew over the city and decided to stay
overnight in the statue of the Happy Prince. Just VOCABULAR
as he was about to sleep, water drops fell. The VOCABULAR
water drops keeps on falling on him so he decided YY
Swallow – it is a type
to leave. of bird that comes
from the family of
Just as he was about to leave he saw the Happy passerine birds.
Prince crying. He asked the Prince the reason why These birds are
he was weeping and the Prince told the swallow usually found in
his life in the Palace of Sans-Souci where there Europe. This type of
was no sorrow. He told the swallow that he was bird symbolizes love,
happy all his life. But sadness fills his heart when loyalty and peace.
he sees all the misery of his people.
The Happy
Prince
SUMMARY
The Prince asked for a favor to the Swallow if he’d be willing to help the little
boy who was sick by giving him his red ruby, the Swallow first hesitated but
felt guilty after seeing the prince sad, he quickly obliged to the favor asked
by the prince.

Help after help the Prince lost all his jewels – sapphires and ruby. After the
ruby gone, the sapphires were also given to the ones who really needed it –
the little match-girl and the playwright. He was blind so the kind-hearted
Swallow decided to never leave his side and be his companion. But as the
temperature gets colder and colder the Swallow finds it difficult to get warm
but insisted to be with the statue despite the cold weather.

One day he knew he was about to die so he bid his goodbye to the statue
with a kiss. As soon as the little bird lets go of his last breath, the leaden
heart of the prince breaks. The next day morning, the Mayor and his Town
Councilors noticed the prince’s appearance and decided to get rid of them
along with the dead bird. Then God had ordered one of his Angels to bring
Him the two most precious things in the city and the Angel brought him the
leaden heart and the dead swallow. God then promised that they’d – the
swallow and happy prince – live happily forever in His paradise.
The Happy
Prince
ELEMENTS OF THE STORY

CONFLICT:

The Happy Prince was not happy seeing how the

people around him was suffering from destitution
and miseries and he could not do anything about it.
The Happy
Prince
ELEMENTS OF THE STORY

EXPOSITION :

High above the city, stood the statue of the Happy Prince.
His statue was covered all over with thin leaves of fine gold,
two bright sapphires for his eyes, and a large ruby on his
sword-hilt. He was admired for his looks, he was
exceedingly beautiful.
RISING ACTION :
One day, a Swallow flew over the city and decided to take a
nap at the statue but before he could water drops fell on him
so he decided to leave. Upon leaving he saw the Happy
Prince with his eyes filled with tears. So the Swallow asked
the Prince and the Prince told him that he weeps because
he sees too much suffering of the people. The Happy Prince
asked the Swallow if he could be able to help him ease the
suffering of the townspeople.
The Happy
Prince
ELEMENTS OF THE STORY

CLIMAX :

Help after help the Happy Prince lost all his jewels and
became blind. The Swallow then decided to stay by his side
despite knowing that the weather would soon be cold. Soon
after the poor little Swallow grew colder and colder, but he
knew he would not want to leave the Prince behind, he loved
him too well. The time came when he knew he was about to
die. He used his remaining strength to fly up the Prince’s
shoulder and bid him goodbye. He kissed the Happy Prince
on the lips and fell down at his feet. At the moment a
curious crack sounded inside the statue – the heart of the
Prince fell broken.
The Happy
Prince
ELEMENTS OF THE STORY

RESOLUTION:

The Mayor and his Town Councillors decided to melt down

the statue of the Happy Prince but the leaden heart of the
Prince didn’t melt so they decided to throw it away with the
body of the Swallow. Then God ordered one of his angels to
bring him the two most precious things in the city and the
angel then brought him the leaden heart and the dead bird.
God praised the angel and said the dead bird shall live once
more in the paradise God had built for everyone.
The Happy
Prince
SETTING

SETTING: An unnamed town near the Sans-Souci

Palace
The setting took place at a certain
unnamed town the Sans-souci Palace in
the Northern Europe near Berlin. In the
story it was told that the setting takes
place in a certain city. Then as we read
further the swallow said that the climate
of the north of Europe was dreadful.
When the Prince told the Swallow of his
life when he was still alive he mentioned
that he lived in the Sans-Souci Palace as a
prince. His statue wouldn’t have been
placed there high above the city if he
wasn’t an important or a known person of
that place. So we therefore conclude that
the setting is near the Sans-Souci Palace,
Postdam, Germany in the North of Europe
near Berlin on winter.
The Happy
Prince
CHARACTERS

The Happy Prince – He is both the protagonist and namesake of the story.
The townspeople described him as an angel with his body covered with
gold, eyes with two bright sapphires and a large red ruby in his sword-hilt.
He used to lived in a life full of pleasure as a prince in the Palace of Sans-
Souci where sorrow was forbidden to enter. His statue stood up high,
overlooking the city, where he can see all the miseries and hardships of
his people making him feel the emotion he had never felt before –
sadness. Like Jesus, he too had sacrificed everything he had for the
happiness and convenience of his people.

The Swallow – As a supporting main character and another protagonist

of the story, the Swallow truly was a warm-hearted, kind and brave bird.
Although he was not as selfless as the prince – for he repeatedly
emphasized his desire to leave for Egypt – he comes to love the prince
and cherish the importance and value of doing good. He proved that he
truly was the greatest friend the Prince could ever have after making an
ultimate sacrifice out of love and friendship – staying by the Prince’s side
till his last breath.
The Happy
Prince
CHARACTERS

The Seamstress – she embroiders passion-flowers on a satin gown

for one of the Queen’s maid-of-honor. Her son was lying ill wanting
for some oranges but she was too poor to be able to purchase an
orange for him. Their pitiful situation inspired the Happy Prince to
give away the ruby from his sword-hilt.

The Little Match-Girl – In the story, the prince saw the little match-girl
crying on a gutter, with no shoes nor stockings, feared that her
father would beat her up again if she doesn’t return home with
sufficient money. She was in a tragic situation until the prince
sacrifices his one sapphire eye in order to help her. The author
emphasized her youth and innocence in contrast with evil and
neglectful adults that populate the town.

Playwright – Battling with cold and hunger, the prince shows his
deep sympathy to the playwright by giving him one of his immediate
and most valuable gift – his sapphire eyes – in order for him to buy
The Happy
Prince
CHARACTERS

The Mayor – In the story, his narcissistic attitude epitomizes the

problems of power. The Mayor was presented as a politician with
selfish motivations. After seeing the statue of the Happy Prince
looking shabby, he saw the opportunity to melt it down and replace it
with his own image. He also wants to issue a proclamation of
banning the birds from dying in public.

The Town Councillors – In the story, the councilors symbolizes

corruption in the city. The town councillors were obsessed with their
reputation that they ignored anything that doesn’t seem beautiful or
necessary for their self-promotion. Truly they were people with
selfish motivations against the city.

God – in the story, he appeared in the very last lines to rescue the
Swallow’s body and the leaden heart of the Happy Prince. Although
his lines were brief, God shows both the theme of Christianity and
proves that explicitly the narrative takes the side of compassion over
 The Happy
Prince
THEME
THEME: Love, Compassion and Sacrifice

The theme also projects aboutlove, compassion and sacrifices . The

Happy Prince, though have a leaden heart, has a heart full of love.
The Prince outlines the feeling of compassion that seeing the people
of the city in misery awoken him, seeing their situations make him
weep. He felt useless that he sees so much suffering yet isn’t
capable of helping them. The Prince may be described as
exceedingly beautiful with all his amazing features but true beauty is
what’s inside – compassion for his townspeople and his willingness
to sacrifice everything he has for them. Love and compassion
caused the Happy Prince to sacrifice his beauty for the sake of his
townspeople. Love caused the Swallow to stay with the Happy
Prince in the midst of the cold weather. Love is so powerful , it
makes us feel that we can overcome anything as long as we’ve got it
Keep
in our hearts. As Wilde love
says, “ in your heart. A life without it
a sunless garden when the flowers are dead .”
The Happy
Prince
THEME
THEME: Poverty, Corruption, Inequality, and Greed

The theme projects ofpoverty, corruption,

inequality, and greed. According to the story, DID YOU KNOW?
misery and suffering leads the lives of the DID YOU KNOW?
majority of humanity in order to support the
Oscar Wilde wrote
greed with money and power. This is the state of
this story during the
inequality that forces many to live in lives full of
Victorian era when
misery, destitution, and hardship. The politicians
the East End of
and individuals who were responsible for the
London was filled
welfare of their people used their power for
with suffering.
selfish and corrupt motivations. Greed was
Children were forced
presented by the Mayor. He wanted to melt
into labor, women
down the statue of the Prince and replace it with
were forced into
his own disregarding the fact that his people
prostitution and
were already suffering. Corruption was
almost everyone
presented by the Town Councillors who only
lived in poverty.
cares for their reputation and discard everything
that seemed unnecessary or unpleasant for
The Happy
Prince
MORAL LESSON

“Worst aspects of the modern society can be overcome by love

and with unity.”

With his love and sympathy for the people

who needed him the Happy Prince although
MORAL
MORALLESSON
LESSON
a statue still tried and gave his all just to help
and alleviate the sufferings of the God rewards those
townspeople by cooperating and uniting who feel
with the Swallow. There are more lessons compassion and
that we can learn from this: sympathy for the
poor and makes
“Appearances can be deceptive.” - the sacrifices to
Prince didn’t just proved that he was alleviate their
exceedingly beautiful outside, he also miseries and
proved that he was beautiful inside. sufferings.
 The Happy
Prince
SYMBOLISM

THE LEAD HEART CHILDREN

Although the Prince’s heart was The children symbolize innocence
made of lead, his heart broke and goodness in the story. Wilde
when his beloved Swallow dies of invokes the children as a symbol
the cold. The lead heart of innocence to emphasize the
represents both thesteadfast corrupting force of society – evil is
nature of love and the value of not born, but taught. They make
compassion . Truly his heart was the ultimate symbol for suffering
pure. and misery in the story.
EGYPT
The Swallow’s desire to migrate in
Egypt symbolizes a shallow and
fleeting pleasure. Egypt comes to
represent a pleasure-seeking
mindset that blinds one to what
truly bears importance in the
world.
The Happy
Prince
GUIDE QUESTIONS

How did the statue of the Happy Prince look?

The townspeople described him as an angel gilded with thin gold leaves
all over, sapphires for his eyes, and a large red ruby on his sword-hilt.

Why was his statue made that way? Why was it named the Happy Prince?

It is designed to be the city’s pride. Something that will show the town
and its people in good light.

What did he see that made him cry? Did he know about this when he was
alive?

He cried when he saw hardship and suffering to the people around him.
No, in the story he told the Swallow that there was no sadness in the
Palace where he lives.
 The Happy
Prince
GUIDE QUESTIONS

Describe the city. What does it represent?

The city represents inequality within its people. In the story, it states
there that the rich were seen merry in their beautiful houses while the
poor beggars were sitting at the gates.

Research on the English society in the nineteenth century. What does the
story say about it?

The story says that the English society in the nineteenth century is filled
social injustice, redemptive power of love, and the loss of innocence.

What does this statement mean? “The statue of the Happy Prince was
pulled down because it was no longer beautiful thus it was no longer
useful.”
It means the prince has no value anymore for he already looks
unpleasant.
The Happy
Prince
GUIDE QUESTIONS

Describe the Swallow. What did he decide to do after fulfilling all the
Prince’s commands? What transformation occurred to him?
At first he was hesitant on helping the Prince and following his
commands but after fulfilling one command he told the prince that he felt
warm so he continued on fulfilling the others. Even with the little
memories they had, the bird grew fond of the Prince.

Describe the Mayor and the members of the Town Council. What do they
represent?

The Mayor represents greed. At the beginning of the story he said that he
finds the statue of the Prince beautiful yet not quite useful. He said that
because he actually wanted to replace the statue of the prince with the
statue of his own. The Town Council represents corruption. The Town
Council didn’t actually cared for the townspeople, all they cared wanted
was the money, reputation, promotion and the power that they could get.
The Happy
Prince
GUIDE QUESTIONS

What do the last two paragraphs convey?

The last two paragraphs convey that the God will make the two most
precious things – the leaden heart and the dead bird – live happily
forevermore in his Paradise.

How is this story similar to the previous stories in this unit?

The happy prince tells a story of the statue of the late “happy prince” who
sacrificed everything he had while the gift of Magi is about a newlywed
couple that sacrificed their most prized possessions to buy each other
gifts. Both stories are both about sacrificing the things that were
important to them because of love.
THE END.
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