Research on the story “ The nightingale and the rose ” by Oscar Wilde

● Author Biography
● Summary
● Theme
● Stylistic analysis
● Historical context

Muhaiman Ikram
Bs English
Qurtuba University D.I.Khan

Biography

Oscar Wilde was born in 1854 in Dublin, Ireland, to Sir William Wilde and Jane Francesca
Elgee, who was a poet. He liked art because of his mom, and he got scholarships for school.
First, he went to Trinity College, then to Oxford. After finishing school, he moved to London.
People liked his cleverness and his idea that art is valuable by itself.

In 1881, Wilde started his writing career with poetry. But it wasn't super successful until the late
1880s. During this time, he wrote fairy tales inspired by Irish stories his mom told him. One of
them was "The Nightingale and the Rose."

Wilde became really famous in the early 1890s with works like "The Picture of Dorian Gray." But
then, problems started. Even though he was married to Constance Lloyd since 1884, Wilde had
relationships with men. One with Lord Alfred Douglas caused trouble, and Wilde was sent to
prison in 1895 for being with men. After prison, he left England and went to Paris. He never got
better and died in 1900.
Summary

The Nightingale hears the Student feeling sad, so she thinks he's a "true lover" and wants to
help. She asks different rosebushes for a red rose in exchange for her song, but they only have
white or yellow roses. Then she finds a rosebush under the window that can make a red rose if
she gives her heart's blood.

The Nightingale says, "Love is better than Life, and what is the heart of a bird compared to the
heart of a man?”So , She goes to tell him the good news, asking him to stay true to love. She
describes love as wiser than philosophy and mightier than power, with flame-colored wings and
a sweet, honey-like breath.

But the Student can only understand things from books. He analyzes the Nightingale's song and
decides it means nothing. He thinks artists, like the Nightingale, are selfish and wouldn't
sacrifice themselves for others. Ignorant of her sacrifice, he falls asleep.

Stylistic Analysis

1 Personification

The Nightingale, the Lizard, the Butterfly, the Moon and the other characters have
human characterisrics.
Examples:
1. “the tree shook its head.”
2.” the tree cried to the Nightingale to press closer against the thorn”
3. “the white Moon heard it, and she forgot the dawn”
4 . “Pearls and pomegranates cannot buy it,”
Explaination
1. The tree moving its head is like saying the tree is alive and showing disapproval or
sadness.

2. When the tree cries to the Nightingale, it's as if the tree is talking and asking for help
from the bird.

3. The white Moon hearing and forgetting the dawn means the Moon is like a person
who listens and changes her focus based on what she hears.

4. Saying pearls and pomegranates cannot buy it means these things cannot purchase
love, using words like "buy" for something emotional or abstract.
Simile

1. "His hair is dark as the hyacinth-blossom, and his lips are red as the rose of his
desire."

2. “Passion has made his face like pale ivory”

3. "It is more precious than emeralds, and dearer than fine opals."

4. "She passed through the grove like a shadow, and like a shadow she sailed across
the garden."

5. "My roses are white," it answered; "as white as the foam of the sea, and whiter than
the snow upon the mountain."

6. "My roses are yellow," it answered; "as yellow as the hair of the mermaiden who sits
upon an amber throne, and yellower than the daffodil that blooms in the meadow before
the mower comes with his scythe."

7. "My roses are red," it answered, "as red as the feet of the dove, and redder than the
great fans of coral that wave and wave in the ocean-cavern.”

Hyperbole

Hyperbole is when you exaggerate or overstate something to emphasize a point or

create a strong effect.

Example

“She will dance so lightly that her feet will not touch the floor”
“Here is the reddest rose in all the world.”

Inversion

Order of the words reversed to achieve a particular effect.

Example
 She passed through the grove like a shadow and like a shadow she sailed across
the garden.”

Alliteration
Repetition of consonant sound to create a weak or smooth sound effect.

Example

She swept over the garden like a shadow. (repetition of S sound – shows the
swiftness of her movement)

Symbols
· Nightingale - symbolizes goodness and virtue and sacrifice, and
· The Rose - true love and true art.
· The oak tree – wisdom
· The girl - materialism and hypocrisy.
· The student - cynicism as he can’t appreciate beauty.
· Lizard – cynic, a person who sees little or no good in anything
· Butterfly – curiosity
· Daisy – purity
· Cartwheel – materialism

Imagery
“ as yellow as the hair of the mermaiden who sits upon an amber throne, and yellower
than the daffodil that blooms in the meadow”
“ and he threw the rose into the street, where it fell into the gutter, and a cart-wheel went over
it”

Historical Context of The Nightingale and the Rose

In the 1800s, England was changing a lot. People started to think more about reason
and science because of the Enlightenment. Charles Darwin, for example, questioned
old ideas about where humans came from. At the same time, technology was growing
fast, and the Industrial Revolution was happening. This changed how people thought
about money and buying things – it became more about having a lot of stuff. Around the
mid-1800s, philosophy and art began to reflect these changes. Utilitarianism, a way of
thinking, said something is good if it makes things better overall, not because it has
some special good quality. "The Nightingale and the Rose" and Wilde's love for
Aestheticism can be seen as a response to these changes. Unlike many others at the
time, Wilde believed in the importance of things like beauty, which are not material, in a
world that was becoming more logical and machine-like.

Fairy Tale Elements

Birds , world, animals, insects,trees, feeling

Good character and evil characters.
· Royalty vs poverty.
· Magic and enchantments.
· Frequent use of personification.
· Use of symbols and motifs.
· Vivid and simple narration.

Themes

1 Sacrifice:

In the story, love means giving up things for someone else. The boy doesn't give up
anything physical, but inside, he hides his feelings when the girl rejects the rose and
refuses to dance. The nightingale, on the other hand, sacrifices her life for a red rose.
She doesn't want it for herself but for the boy.

The nightingale asks the plant how to get a red rose, and it says she can have it at the
cost of her life. Without thinking, she sacrifices herself for the red rose. The main idea is
that some people sacrifice for their own benefit, while others do it for others. The
nightingale doesn't gain anything but gives her blood to make the boy happy with a red
rose. Clearly, sacrifice and helping others are the main themes in Oscar Wilde's "The
Nightingale and the Rose.”

2 Love vs Reason

In the story, love and reason don't agree. The Student wants a red rose to impress his
crush, showing the emotional side of love. But the Professor, who likes logic and
practical thinking, tells the Student it's not sensible to sacrifice for love.

The conflict between these emotional and logical views is clear as the story goes on. It
makes us think about whether to follow our feelings or use practical thinking when
chasing love. In the end, the story suggests that the real world might not always match
our romantic and emotional ideas about love.