REVIEW OF THE HAPPY PRINCE

“The Happy Prince” is the one of the wonderful short stories that was written by
Oscar Wild, a talented writer who lived in the 19th century.

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish author, playwright and poet.
Oscar Wilde was born at 21 Westland Row, Dublin, the second of three children
born to Sir William Wilde and Jane Wilde. Wilde's mother, under the pseudonym
"Speranza" wrote poetry for the revolutionary Young Irelanders in 1848 and was a
lifelong Irish nationalist.

Oscar Wild succeeded brilliantly at Oxford, were he had developed a reputation for
being a dandy and a wit. His first collection Poems was published in 1881. This
year, he produced his best novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, which tells the
story of a man who leads a very bad life but remains young and good-looking,
while his portrait ages horribly. He died of cerebral meningitis on November 30,
1900, penniless, in terrible agony, in a cheap Paris hotel at the age of 46.

The title of the short story is “The Happy Prince”. It was written in the eighties of
the 19th century. The plot of the story takes place in some northern European
country, most likely in England, during autumn–winter, in the second half of 19 th
century.

The main characters are The Swallow and The statue of the Happy Prince

Also there are some other characters: Swallows, the citizens of town where story
take place.

This tale tells us the story of a little Swallow and his friend Happy Prince. They
met one night in the end of autumn when Swallow wanted to fly to Egypt. The
statue told about himself, who he is, what a carefree life he had lived when he was
a human and how he grieved now when he learned how much poverty and sorrow
exist in the world. Happy Prince asked Swallow to help some people survive
bringing them precious stones and metals of which the Statue consisted of.
Swallow fell in love with Statue and couldn’t refuse. But it cost him his life
because winter had come and he died from the cold. After a while they are reunited
in the afterlife.

I think that this is a very beautiful tale and not only for children. It teaches us to be
kinder and stronger, and not to leave the ones you love. It gives strength to live on
and leaves a trace in your soul.

Vladislav Timofeychik